The generally held belief is that domestic violence is “men beating up on women,” said Karen Scroggins, legal advocate for Someplace Safe, Trumbull County’s provider of shelter and advocacy for those experiencing domestic violence.
While Scroggins has seen more women with black eyes, stitches, busted lips and broken collarbones than she would care to recall, the definition of domestic violence is much broader. The abuse does not have to be physical, and a growing trend is for women to be the aggressors, she said.
Karen Scroggins
“Domestic violence can take many shapes and forms,” Scroggins said at the General Federation of Women’s Clubs Northeast Ohio District Fall Conference Sept. 27. “It can be verbal, nonverbal, physical, emotional, psychological, financial.”
An uneven relationship, where one partner has an unhealthy level of control over the other, can be domestic violence, she said, noting that she has seen highly educated women who do not work because their partner forbids it.
“He manages the finances, the budget so you don’t have money to get on the bus to go to a movie, treat yourself or friends to lunch,” Scroggins said. “When the partner has total control over finances and doesn’t allow you to work, I was amazed at the amount of women that were willing to do that.”
That “willingness” might be a product of low self-esteem or a lack of understanding of self-worth.
“You have to have a sense of who you are and what your rights are as a human being,” Scroggins said. “Everyone has the right to pursue life, liberty, happiness, and anything that obstructs you from obtaining that is a form of abuse.”
Scroggins was abused by her mother, who would undercut her hopes and dreams and tell her that she had to stay in her “place.”
“Domestic abuse starts with people in your family, loved ones, close ones, close people to you that you would think would never do it,” she said.
As a legal advocate, working out of the Brookfield and Niles courts, Scroggins is a sounding board, a shoulder to cry on. But, she also guides domestic violence survivors through the court system, explaining to them what is happening and why, and their rights.
“Crime victims have the right to reasonable notice, to be present and heard at all court proceedings, to be informed of the release of the offender, to offer input on negotiated pleas, to a prompt conclusion of their case, and to restitution for economic losses resulting from the criminal offense or delinquent act,” according to the Ohio Supreme Court. “Some rights are automatic, some must be requested to be exercised.”
In order to exercise their rights, domestic violence victims have to show up in court, Scroggins said. While that can be tough for the victim to do, it has benefits.
“The judge has some questions that he needs to ask (the victim) that myself, as a legal advocate, is not equipped to answer,” she said.
Most domestic violence incidents, even some severe ones, are not reported, Scroggins said. It takes a lot to break that control the abuser has, so that the abused can move on.
“One of the first things that people need to realize is that they need some help,” she said. “Once you realize that, then the help can begin, the healing can begin.”
The conference, held in Hubbard, was hosted by the Masury Brookfield Women’s Club.
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