Legislation Reform Domestic Abuse

Legislation Reform Domestic Abuse

Domestic violence legislation: Funding for vocational training for abused women

In 2010 President Obama signed the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), which includes the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) within its provisions. "VPSA funds nearly 1,700 shelters and service programs for victims of domestic violence and their children. It also supports the National Domestic Violence Hotline, whose staff and volunteers answer more than 22,000 calls for help each month and link victims with the resources they need to rebuild their lives" (Rosenthal 2011). However, battered women need more than shelter. They also need hands-on support to change their lives and the lives of their families after they have emerged from shelters. That is why it is necessary to also include funding specifically earmarked for the vocational training of victims of domestic abuse, to enable women to economically 'free' themselves from their abusers.

One of the most sobering and frustrating aspects of treating victims of domestic abuse is the fact that so many women fail to press charges against the men that batter them. Women often return to their abuses. For this reason, some police officers are not vigorous in enforcing domestic abuse legislation, simply because they assume that the victims will not press charges. "Why doesn't she just leave? It's the question many people ask when they learn that a woman is being battered and abused. But if you are in an abusive relationship, you know that it's not that simple. Ending an important relationship is never easy. It's even harder when you've been isolated from your family and friends, psychologically beaten down, financially controlled, and physically threatened" (Help for abused and battered women, 2011, Help Guide). Women in abusive relationships may fear that they cannot economically survive on their own or support their children.

The reasons for a woman's failure to leave an abusive relationship are often complicated and have psychological as well as economic roots. However, the economic aspect of domestic abuse cannot be ignored. If women do not feel as if they can support themselves independently, they are more apt to return to an abusive spouse or boyfriend. Additionally, without the ability to support themselves, even if the women do manage to 'break away' from an abuser, they may fall into a similar relationship pattern with another man who uses his economic power to control them and belittle them.

Refuges for domestic abuse victims can provide women with a safe place to stay for a period of time. But they must also offer direction as to where the women can go and how they can shape their lives after they leave the 'halfway' house. Shelters and relief organizations should provide vocational counseling and, if at all possible, job search and training skills for women. They should also have the funding to establish liaisons with the community, to direct women to more formal educational and professional opportunities. Grants and scholarships should be provided for women who wish to take advantage of these connections and seek to expand their skill set to make themselves more marketable in the workforce.

The psychological support and empowering counseling offered at shelters can be coupled with job-related skills. Searching for a job helps a woman define herself outside of her role as a girlfriend or a wife, and enables her to see herself as a separate entity, not beholden to a man. The self-respect garnered through education will enable the woman to begin a new life. Training women how to comport themselves in an interview and to assert themselves in a confident manner can be linked to the type of emotional and psychological resiliency they are cultivating in learning how to spot and deal with abuse. Working with the community would also allow the women to 'get their feet wet' in new occupations through internships and other programs. Bridge programs can give women confidence and enhance their practical skills and reinforce behaviors that are important in the workforce, like coming to work on time. For women who have not worked in many years, or whose jobs have been compromised by the emotional and physical struggles associated with spousal abuse, these are important lessons to learn.

The Internet has also expanded to offer a support network to abused women. Even after women pass through a shelter, they can continue to connect with counselors and fellow survivors through email and webpages. Having a shelter run a webpage for 'graduates' of a vocational training program would give the women a source of support, and also enable them to check back with one another, to see how their friends were faring, and to learn from their collective experiences and support.

Another way to support abuse victim's vocational aspirations would be to solicit donations of used professional clothing, which would enable the women to comport themselves with dignity on job interviews and eventually in the workforce. Learning how to 'dress for success' should not be underestimated. Style 'consultation' can boost confidence from the outside in, and also make women feel valued and attractive in a way that enables them to shake off the pressures to fall back into their old lives.