Help for Spokane Women in Crisis

The most significant resource for victims of Domestic Violence in Spokane and Spokane County is The Spokane County Domestic Violence Consortium (SCDVC, the website is http://www.domesticviolenc.net ). "The SCDVC is one of the largest, most formalized local coalitions of its kind in the country. A community-wide collaborative effort, members include legal services, law enforcement, the courts, medical and social service providers, education, military and religious institutions, private business, intimate partner violence survivors and community volunteers" (SCDVC). Not only does the website describe what domestic violence is (the website refers to it as Intimate Partner Violence, or IPV), but also provides a database on IPV related services located in Spokane County, Washington and surrounding areas. Although the database is difficult to find, (it is under the link "what is IPV?", then click on IPV services, then click on IRIS), it is the most comprehensive listing of services for victims of IPV in Spokane County.

Under the SCDVC database (IRIS), the searcher can find listings that are also included in the phone book, such as the YMCA Domestic Violence Hotline and the Spokane Police Departments Regional Domestic Violence Team. The Qwest Dex Spokane, Spokane County Phone book's yellow pages, under Domestic Violence, lists STOP (Social Treatment Opportunity Programs), offering counseling for IPV, anger management, and mental health treatment. The Spokane County Domestic Violence Consortium (SCDVC) and YMCA Domestic Violence Hotline are also listed in Dex. Under the City of Spokane, in the government pages, is the listing of the Spokane Police Department's Spokane Regional Domestic Violence Team. Also, the YMCA Domestic Violence Hotline is listed under the Community Service Pages in the phone book, under crisis hotlines. In addition to the YMCA, under crisis hotlines, there are also the Alternatives to Domestic Violence/YWCA 24 hour hotline, a Domestic Violence Hotline and a Spokane Sexual Assault Center 24 hour Rape Crisis line.

The SCDVC IRIS database lists other resources, as well, that are not listed in the phone book. These listings include SAFeT, Sexual Assault & Family Trauma Response Center, or http://www.lcsnw.org/spokane/SAFeT.html, and Act 4 Kids, or http://www.actforkids.org/ . SAFeT serves "individuals and families affected by sexual violence, and has expanded its counseling program and education to include those who have been impacted by other crimes and traumatic, life-altering events" (SAFeT website). Act 4 kids is a resource for adult survivors of child sexual abuse and for the prevention and healing of child sexual abuse and other forms of family trauma.

In addition, IRIS provides information regarding shelters, such as the Women's Drop In Center, or http://www.help4women.com/wdic.html . It is also a resource for transitional housing such as The Transitional Living Center (TLC), which provides housing, specialized child care, and comprehensive support services to homeless women and their young children, and Miryam's House of Transition, which provides a residential program for women wanting to recover from domestic violence, abuse, addiction, and displacement. "Leaving process for most battered women" (LaViolette 145, emphasis added). It does not happen just by simply removing themselves from the physical residence where they were abused. They need time to find another place to live, a place to work, and a place to find support and acceptance. This is one of the benefits shelters. "Shelters also help women seek appropriate support services in the community. An emerging trend is to provide transitional housing and other post-shelter services" such as employment or continuing education (LaViolette 143). Shelters are a stepping stone, providing the support needed for the leaving process.

An additional component, to supporting a victim leaving, is education. Education is an essential ingredient in combating the roots and causes of domestic violence. "Education is an essential piece of primary prevention programs and has the potential to reach across generational and cultural differences" (LaViolette 141). Not only does the public, but the victims as well, need to learn about and understand the extensive and long term consequences of domestic violence. The nature of domestic violence may make a victim feel isolated and alone. With education, they can learn that there is hope and that they are not alone. "The underlying philosophy is that knowledge about domestic violence and the belief that they are not alone will crack through denial and isolation and reinforce action" (LaViolette 141). The opportunity to talk with counselors and with survivors is a crucial element for someone trying to escape a violent situation. It is the community that can be the final catalyst for hope and change. Education, counseling, and support from shelters and transitional housing are essential in a victim's recovery and empowerment after leaving.

"Increasingly, it has become clear that criminal justice must become aware of the key components of integrated criminal justice response. The system needs to develop a coordinated, system-wide response to battering, including law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, probation offices, and victim advocate" (LaViolette 148). Spokane seems very serious about doing this. A victim of DV or sexual assault, besides only having to make one phone call to receive a response from the police, is only one phone call away from receiving help from other resources like crisis counseling and shelter information.

In comparison to two other student's community's resources, it appears that Spokane is a head of the game when it comes to utilizing many different professions to help deal with and eliminate domestic violence. Neither in Green Bay, Wisconsin nor Wenatchee, Washington, are there resources like Spokane, where so many pieces of Domestic Violence puzzle are acknowledged and addressed. "To really help battered women, the entire community needs to be involved. Shelters, medical personnel, employers, police, and members of society at large need to become involved" (LaViolette 159). This appears to be true in Spokane, where, through the Spokane County Domestic Violence Consortium, the police, courts, prosecutors, medical personnel, and employers are all involved and invested in, albeit at different degrees, combating domestic violence.

However, in contrast, Spokane is not as proficient in providing services to non-English speaking immigrants because of their small percentage of the Spokane population. Nevertheless, Spokane and surrounding county's Russian and other immigrant population is growing substantially. In addition to the other minority non-English speaking citizens, it is obvious that Spokane needs to work on providing information and help in an immigrant's native language.

With all the effort that non-profit and government agencies are putting into combating domestic violence, it is obvious, still, that society as a whole must change its understanding of and views regarding domestic violence. There is a strong relationship between "social support and the psychological well-being of battered women" (LaViolette 147). There in not only one cause of, and, similarly, not only one strategy to deal with, domestic violence. "It is society's (not women's) responsibility to change practices and policies that encourage battering. Much of the intervention that occurs must happen at the most basic level. Society must change its view of women as subordinate to men and change the structure that imposes that subordination" (LaViolette 148). With attitudes changing regarding the mistreatment and abuse of women, in combination with criminal justice, medical, and social service players maintaining awareness of, and involvement in, victim's lives, communities will be even closer to eliminating the social problem of domestic violence.

REFERENCES

DEX, Spokane County Qwest Dex Phone Book

Derrick, Donna, Student, Wenatchee, WA. WSU DDP WebCT online class. (Spring 2005) CRMJ/WST403 Violence Toward Women. Posted on March 3, 2005.

LaViolette, A., and Barnett, O. (2000). It Could Happen to Anyone: Why Battered

Women Stay (2nd Ed). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

SCDVC, Spokane County Domestic Violence Consortium. Last viewed March 4, 2005. http://www.domesticviolence.net .

Smith, Jackie, Student. Green Bay, Wisconsin. WSU DDP WebCT online class. (Spring 2005) CRMJ/WST403 Violence Toward Women. Posted on February 17, 2005.