General Discussions

[Mantis]

I was talking to an associate about domestic violence, they spend some time volunteering in shelters so they see a lot of the effects up close.

They mentioned the current media calls for stronger penalties are completely misplaced. The problem is that the offenders are not in a stable mental space already. His fear is then that if the penalties are stronger the situation will become like the regions with death penalties in the US, in those regions offenders (insane as they may be) conclude if you are going to do the time then you may as well do the crime. In domestic violence law this could be very bad for victims.

My friend would much rather see the use of monitoring devices for repeat offenders, much like the ankle type trackers used in early release. He said it's very rare that the victims of domestic violence are victims of a first offense. Most of the bad cases turn out to be recidivists. He also said legal papers and orders do nothing, a piece of paper is of no use in defence against a knife, gun or fists of someone who is otherwise not quite right in the head!

I lived in a house of serious domestic violence for 22 years. I would love to tell people what I experienced but some might not want to hear the reality of what takes place. How it has a long term effect on children. I am happy to tell the story if people want to hear it first hand. How it was resolved after a further 25 years later.