Ninth in a series about aspects of the justice system
By DEBORAH E. LANS
HUDSON–As Hudson Chief of Police Mishanda Franklin says, “Domestic violence is always with us.” Both nationally and locally, that is sadly true, but the local court system has a new tool to help address the issues – the Integrated Domestic Violence Court.
Nationally, more than 12 million women and men are victims of rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner every year — an average of 24 people per minute, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. One in four women and one in seven men aged 18 or older has been a victim of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in her or his lifetime. The figure swells to one in three women and one in four men when rape, physical violence and/or stalking are considered. And, nearly half of all women and men have experienced psychological aggression by an intimate partner.
Children are not isolated from the violence. Children witnessed violence in nearly one in four intimate violence cases filed in state courts – and of course only a fraction of instances of violence result in court cases because victims often do not report, much less file for protection from, violence. Moreover between 30% and 60% of intimate violence perpetrators also abuse children in the household. Domestic violence may be the single major precursor to fatalities from child abuse and neglect according to the U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect.
The prevalence of intimate partner violence makes it a national health concern. The American Psychiatric Association says that about 75% of female survivors experience some form of physical injury and, in addition, “common physical symptoms include headaches, insomnia, chronic pain, gastrointestinal symptoms, chest, back and pelvic pain.” Victims suffer post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and substance use disorders at rates significantly higher than non-victims and are three times more likely to engage in self-harming conduct. The federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says victims are also more susceptible to “conditions affecting the heart, muscles, and bones, digestive, reproductive and nervous systems, many of which are chronic.” The consequences are also felt in lost productivity in the workplace.
Earlier this year, recognizing the particularly deadly mix of firearms and domestic violence, the U.S. Supreme Court, with only Justice Thomas dissenting, affirmed the legality of a federal statute banning possession of a firearm by a domestic abuser against a challenge under the Second Amendment “right to bear arms.” The statute says that if a protective order issued to a victim finds that the abuser represents a credible threat to the physical safety of an intimate partner or his/her child, the order may also prohibit the abuser from possessing a firearm.
In a concurring opinion, Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor noted that a “woman who lives in a house with a domestic abuser is five times more likely to be murdered if the abuser has access to a gun” and that “over 70 people are shot and killed by an intimate partner every month” in the U.S. Indeed, the CDC has found that one in five homicide victims are killed by an intimate partner, and over half of all female homicide victims are killed by a present or former male intimate partner.
The New York State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence (OPDV) tracks incidence data statewide, and it has recently expanded its work “beyond domestic violence to include other forms of gender-based violence” in the belief that to address intimate partner violence will also require society to address other forms of gender-based misconduct such as sexual violence and trafficking.
OPDV reports some good news; statewide, excluding New York City, intimate partner homicides fell 46% from 2019 to 2023 and the percentage of female victims of homicide also fell. That said, the numbers are still appallingly large. A report by the New York State Comptroller in October 2023 found that outside New York City there were 49,598 victims of domestic abuse in the state in the prior year alone; eighty percent of the intimate partner violence victims were female.
The primary judicial tool to protect victims is the Order of Protection. Orders of protection are court orders issued to protect victims of violence from perpetrators. In New York, they can be issued by any of the Town, County, Family and Supreme Courts, generally preclude the perpetrator from having any contact with the victim, requiring him or her to stay away from the victim’s home, and are carried out by law enforcement.
Research shows that protective orders are effective in deterring future abuse and encouraging victims to contact police for intervention. In New York, violation of an order of protection is itself a criminal act.
Locally, OPDV statistics show a downward trend in gender-based violence in Columbia County from 2020 through 2023, with 177 incidents in 2020 reducing year-over-year to 106 in 2023. In contrast, in Greene County the incidence nearly tripled in that same timeframe, from 61 events in 2020 to 165 in 2023.
A relatively new development in handling domestic violence cases in the courts has come to Columbia County in the form of the Integrated Domestic Violence (IDV) Court, a “problem-solving” court. Presided over by Supreme Court Justice Richard Rivera, the court takes on cases where there have been multiple orders of protection issued, at least one of which was issued by the Family Court. Justice Rivera is able to remove the cases from the various courts where they are pending (which may be Town Court, Family Court or Criminal Court) and he can then consolidate and handle them all at the IDV Court.
As Justice Rivera and the court’s Resource Coordinator Taylor Catlin explained in a recent presentation to the county’s Town Justices, attended by the Columbia Paper, the concept behind the IDV court is several-fold. First, by bringing the cases involving a given perpetrator into one court, the potential for “gaming the system” or for the issuance of conflicting orders is minimized. Second, the IDV court can more readily provide resources addressing the family’s needs. These may include mental health services, visitation between the accused and his/her children in a safe, supervised setting, and referral to DV shelters. Columbia County has one shelter, that can house 28, whose location is kept confidential to protect those living there from potential contact with their abusers. It is run by Community Action of Greene County (CACG). CAGC runs a slightly smaller facility in Greene County.
In addition, by centralizing cases before one judge, if there are violations of an order of protection or new incidents involving the family, they will be heard by a judge who already has knowledge of the family situation and can react in a case-specific manner.
Justice Rivera has indicated that he is hopeful that an IDV court can be opened in Greene County in 2025.
Among the resources available locally for victims of domestic violence are various 24/7 hotlines, including that of Community Action of Greene County (CAGC) (1-518-943-9211), OPDV (1-800-942-6906 or text 844-997-2121) and the National Domestic Violence Hotline (800-799-7233) which makes local referrals. CAGC, both counties’ Department of Social Services and the Mental Health Association of Columbia-Greene Counties all offer supportive services.
To contact reporter Deborah Lans, email deborahlans@icloud.com.
