FUCK THE POLEEEESE
Today I had my second "official" crisis line shift.
I believe I've had around 14 calls total now, half of which have been pretty intense, all of which have been domestic violence related.
What is starting to really frustrate me is that every single caller has said that the police haven't been able to help them, and they feel that they would be better off if they hadn't even reported in the first place.
What do I tell them? "You did the right thing."
What do I think? "The abuser is gonna get out, he's gonna come after you, the police cannot protect you."
Our system really, truly sucks. A woman today called after spending a whole night in the emergency room with her newborn, whom her husband backhanded. And do you know where her husband is? At home in their spacious 4 bedroom apartment, while the victim is calling me from a hotel phone in a room that she managed to pay for by a combination of favors and change from the bottom of her purse. Her husband has all of her money, belongings, and medication safe-guarded in the home he has now infaltrated. This woman doesn't even have formula for her baby.
And as she complained to me about how the police haven't done anything but made the situation worse, I had to keep telling her to maintain faith in the system, that in the long run, it would pay off. But is it worth the price?
To top it off, I had to make a CPS report (Child Protective Services) which is pretty much a half-hour process, but I can't complain too much, their people were very gracious.
I feel ok, I'm not really concerned about me, even though this 45 minute call wore me down a little. My fellow crisis line volunteers were very helpful and supportive. But I asked myself what help we were truly providing if we keep telling the survivor to have faith in this system that continually releases perps because of over-crowding, possession powers, and general innefficiency of our courts and law enforcement? What about this woman's children? How will they be affected by all of this drama?
Basically, FUCK THE SYSTEM. It's not just about the police anymore, it's the damn system. There should be support groups for survivors of the judicial process, not just the crime that was committed against them.
As for my client, I requested a DVRT (Domestic Violence Response Team) to escort her to her home so that she could collect all of her belongings, money, pills, etc.
I pray that everything works out for her.
I believe I've had around 14 calls total now, half of which have been pretty intense, all of which have been domestic violence related.
What is starting to really frustrate me is that every single caller has said that the police haven't been able to help them, and they feel that they would be better off if they hadn't even reported in the first place.
What do I tell them? "You did the right thing."
What do I think? "The abuser is gonna get out, he's gonna come after you, the police cannot protect you."
Our system really, truly sucks. A woman today called after spending a whole night in the emergency room with her newborn, whom her husband backhanded. And do you know where her husband is? At home in their spacious 4 bedroom apartment, while the victim is calling me from a hotel phone in a room that she managed to pay for by a combination of favors and change from the bottom of her purse. Her husband has all of her money, belongings, and medication safe-guarded in the home he has now infaltrated. This woman doesn't even have formula for her baby.
And as she complained to me about how the police haven't done anything but made the situation worse, I had to keep telling her to maintain faith in the system, that in the long run, it would pay off. But is it worth the price?
To top it off, I had to make a CPS report (Child Protective Services) which is pretty much a half-hour process, but I can't complain too much, their people were very gracious.
I feel ok, I'm not really concerned about me, even though this 45 minute call wore me down a little. My fellow crisis line volunteers were very helpful and supportive. But I asked myself what help we were truly providing if we keep telling the survivor to have faith in this system that continually releases perps because of over-crowding, possession powers, and general innefficiency of our courts and law enforcement? What about this woman's children? How will they be affected by all of this drama?
Basically, FUCK THE SYSTEM. It's not just about the police anymore, it's the damn system. There should be support groups for survivors of the judicial process, not just the crime that was committed against them.
As for my client, I requested a DVRT (Domestic Violence Response Team) to escort her to her home so that she could collect all of her belongings, money, pills, etc.
I pray that everything works out for her.