SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) Singer Chris Brown will not spend a day in prison for beating, choking, and biting his girlfriend Rihanna. He entered a guilty plea to a felony charge and will be on probation for five years, and perform community labor. Keri Jones with Utah’s YWCA says it sends a dangerous message to victims of domestic violence. “Anytime a victim essentially feels failed by the system, or failed by the people who are meant to be keeping her safe, that’s an additional victimization for her.”
Jones says because Chris Brown will not serve a sentence, other victims of abuse might fear prosecuting their abusers. “There’s a challenge that she may not further push to report or prosecute or to follow through with some of the charges because she’s learned that the backlash will come to her.”
But Sim Gill, Chief Prosecutor for Salt Lake City says domestic violence is complicated, and sometimes difficult to prosecute. He says often victims help abusers go free.
“Domestic violence is a very complex issue, you know half, to two-thirds of the victims will go back to their abusers, and they will come and they will recant, they will minimize.”
Jones says” there’s a relationship there. There is a reason why they are engaged in that relationship in the first place, and it’s hard to let that go, no matter how horribly someone is treating you. It’s common for victims to minimize what happened. It’s common for them to believe the perpetrator when he says it’s not going to happen again. They’re hopeful that the relationship that they fell in love with to begin with will return.” But Jones says abuse is cyclical, and the only way to break the cycle of violence is to make a change. “I encourage them to seek out support. They may not be in a place where they are interested in pursuing prosecution, that’s ok. We are still interested in their safety and we are interested in supporting them, where they are, and making sure they, and their children are safe.”
Women’s advocates are also concerned that too often the focus is put on the victim and not on the abuser. Jones says “we put a lot of pressure on the victims to be leaving instead of pressure on the perpetrator saying; you should not be acting like this. This is not appropriate behavior, especially in your own house.”
Gill says that is an especially important message to send to teens right now that might look up to pop singer Chris Brown. “I think that every person, every parent, every church official, every social interaction that we have we have and obligation to communicate one consistent message: domestic violence, family violence is never acceptable.”
Gill says the same message needs to be sent consistently by the judicial system.
For domestic violence help and prevention call 1-800-LINK, or 801-537-8600
