NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #31/NN_1992_31.iso/spool/soc/women/21982

Internet Message Format | 1992-12-31 | 2.6 KB

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From: [e-mail] (Bronis Vidugiris)
Subject: Re: How to Protect Women
Organization: Motorola, CCR&D, CORP, Schaumburg, IL
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Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 11:11:24 GMT
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In article <bob1.725059087@cos> [e-mail] (Bob Blackshaw) writes:
)In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Steve Taylor) writes:
)
)>Will Steeves <[e-mail]> writes:
)
)>>In my humble opinion, IF I were in an abusive relationship, I would LEAVE!  I
)>>would never allow it to degrade to a situation where I was in a life and death
)>>struggle and was forced to use deadly force in order to prevent someone from
)>>using deadly force against me.
)
)>It's not that simple. Leaving can be a risk in itself. Do you have the
)>courage to leave when you know that you're risking much more extreme
)>violence? Yes, leaving is the right thing to do, but it's no always safe.
)
)It sure isn't. Note that many of the stalking cases were women who
)elected to leave an abusive relationship, only to have the abuser
)track them down.

This seems rather alarmist to me.

Here are some figures from 'Fatal Violence among Spouses in the
Unites States', 1976-85, by Mercy & Saltzman

                                        Victim
Spouse Homicides                    Husband  Wives

Single Victim Single Offender       7105     9262
Multiple Victim Single Offender       10      218

Ex-Spouse Homicides

Single Victim Single Offender         131     195
Multiple Victim Single Offender         0     100

Other Spouse-Related Homicides

Multiple Offender                      147     46
Justifiable                            107      6

These are total figures (based on police reports - the Uniform Crime
reports - for a *10 year period*.)

Though it is certainly important to see that justice is done in cases
of stalking leading to homicide, I think it is rather alarmist and
inappropriate to paint it as a common occurence.  (This is in spite of
the imperfections in the police report data which Mercy & Saltzman
discuss in their study, such as, for example, incosistency in police
classification an identification of common-law marriages.)