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Domestic Violence
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Frazier vs. State
In Texas, Frazier v. State, a husband is convicted of assault with the intent to commit rape. The appellate court overturns the conviction. -
First Family Court
The first family court wasncreated in Buffalo, NY in 1911. But in 1914, professionals started to believe that domestic relations courts will better solve family problems in a setting of discussion and reconciliation engineered by social service intervention. This was the beginning of the systematic official diversion and exclusion of violence against wives from the criminal justice system. -
Important California Statute
A California statute states, "Any husband who willfully inflicts upon his wife corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition, and any person who willfully inflicts upon any child any cruel and inhumane corporal punishments or injury resulting in a traumatic condition, is guilty of a felony, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 10 years or in the county jail for no more than 1 year." -
Family Problems become a psychological problem
Arrest is inappropriate for solving the complex social and psychological problems demonstrated in these "family squabbles." Police officers become counselor and mediators trained in the skills of crisis intervention. Couples can then be referred to the appropriate social or psychiatric agency. By the time the battered women's movement develops, family courts and psychiatric and social work approaches reduce these criminal assaults to problems of individual or social pathology. -
Domestic violence transferred courts
In New York, domestic violence cases are transferred from Criminal Court to Family Court where only civil procedures apply. The husband never faces the harsh penalties he would suffer if found guilty in Criminal Court for assaulting a stranger. -
First Battered Women Shelters
Rainbow Retreat (Phoenix, AZ) and Haven House (Pasadena, CA) treated battered women married to alcoholic men. Between 1964 and 1972, Haven House sheltered over 1,000 women and children. -
Grounds for Divorce in NY
Beating, as cruel and inhumane treatment, becomes grounds for divorce in New York, but the plaintiff must establish that a "sufficient" number of beatings have taken place. -
Domestic Violence grows in Chicago
A study in Chicago reveals that from September 1965 to March 1966, 46.1% of the major crimes perpetrated against women took place in the home. It also found that police response to domestic disturbance calls exceeded total response for murder, rape, aggravated assault, and other service crimes. -
Chicago Women Against Rape forms
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Cases Disappear
James Bannon, Commander of the Detroit police department, describes how 4,600 battered women's cases "disappeared" as they moved through the criminal justice system in Detroit. Only 300 cases went to trial. -
"We will not be beaten"
"We will not be beaten" becomes the mantra of women across the country organizing to end domestic violence. A grassroots organizing effort begins, transforming public consciousness and women's lives. The common belief within the movement is that women face brutality from their husbands and indifference from social institutions. -
The New Jersey Coalition for Battered Women is founded.
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The Bay Area Women Against Rape
The Bay Area Women Against Rape forms in California to provide support to rape victims and combat their "criminal" treatment in the legal system. -
National Day
On October 17, The National Coalition declares a national day of unity on behalf of battered women across the country. Also, the first annual Domestic Violence Awareness Week was celebrated in 1981 -
In 1983...
Over 700 shelters are in operation nationwide serving 91,000 women and 131,000 children per year. -
By 1989... (the growth)
The U.S. has 1,200 battered women programs which shelter 300,000 women and children per year. -
Rape statistics
Studies show that 1 out of 7 wives report being raped by their husband; 2/3 of the rapes occurred more than once. -
United Nations
The United Nations recognizes domestic violence as an international human rights issue and issues a Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women. A similar resolution is issued by the Organization of American States -
Congress passes the Violence Against Women Act,
funds services for victims of rape and domestic violence, allows women to seek civil rights remedies for gender-related crimes -
October is domestic violence awareness month
Activities start taking place such as The Silent Witness Project, a national demonstration using mannequins in public places to represent the many who have died at the hands of abusive partners; -
murders by an intimate partner
In 2005, 1,181 women were murdered by an intimate partner -
Bureau of Justice Statistics estimate
The United States Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that 3.4 million persons said they were victims of stalking during a 12-month period in 2005 and 2006. -
Statistics
Every 9 seconds in the US a woman is assaulted or beaten. Around the world, at least one in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime. Most often, the abuser is a member of her own family.