Domestic Violence Introduction

Introduction | Indicators of Abuse | Seeking Medical Treatment | When Violence and Abuse Affects Children
How to Use the Law | Divorce, Child Custody, Visitation & Child Support | Can't Afford to Leave?
Employment Law | Financial Assistance | Medical Benefits | Legal Resource Guide 

 

Domestic Violence: We Can Live Without It - Rights and Options Available Under the Law
 

INTRODUCTION

Violence done to us by someone we love is frightening and degrading.  It is also against the law.  If you have been abused, you have a right to stop the abuse.  Every year in the United States, more than 4,000,000 individuals are beaten by their partners . . . some leave, some stay and hope it will end, some go to shelters, some go to battered persons’ support groups or counseling, some petition for protective orders through the court, some press criminal charges against the abuser, and some are killed or kill their partners.

Domestic abuse means committing abuse against a domestic victim, defined as adults or minors who are current or former spouses; adults or minors who live together or have lived together; adults or minors who are dating, have dated, or have had a sexual relationship; adults or minors related by blood or adoption; adults or minors who are related or were formerly related by marriage; or adult or minor children of a person in one of these relationships.[1]  Domestic violence is a misdemeanor in Tennessee.[2]  The violence can be physical, sexual, or psychological, with the primary purpose of controlling, dominating, or hurting another within the relationship.  Most cases of domestic violence are never reported to the police.

According to recent studies, one in four women in the United States will experience domestic violence in her lifetime, and 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year.[3]  Although the great majority of domestic violence victims are women, approximately fifteen percent are men.  Females who are 20-24 years of age are at the greatest risk of encountering non-fatal violence from an intimate partner.  Estimating rates of domestic violence continues to be a difficult task, in part, because many factors inhibit individuals from reporting these crimes.  The private nature of the event, the perceived stigma, and the belief that no purpose would be served in reporting the problem keep an unknown portion of the victims from talking about the event.  Domestic violence occurs at all levels of society and in all classes and communities, regardless of social, economic, or cultural backgrounds.

In addition, studies show that dating violence is on the rise.  One in five teens in a serious relationship reports having been hit, slapped, or pushed by a partner.  Fourteen percent of teens report having either received a threat of physical harm or a threat that a partner will self-inflict harm to avoid a break-up.  One in ten teens has been verbally or physically abused by a boy/girlfriend who was drunk or high.  Fifty-one percent of college males admit perpetrating one or more sexual assault incidents during college.

Instances of domestic violence are far from unknown to our community.  In 2018, the Knoxville/Knox County dispatch received 17,657 calls related to domestic violence.  Similarly, the dispatch received 18,250 domestic violence-related calls in 2017 and 17,843 in 2016. During this period, the calls that dispatch received related to domestic violence averaged to one call every thirty minutes.

Statewide, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation reported that in 2018, simple assault was by far the most frequently reported domestic offense, accounting for 67.2% of all domestic violence offenses, outnumbering all other offenses by more than three to one.[4]  Boyfriend/girlfriend relationships were involved in the most frequently reported incidents in Tennessee, accounting for 46.2% of all domestic violence.[5]  Juveniles in Tennessee accounted for approximately 9.8% of domestic violence victims in 2018.[6]

It is no coincidence that domestic violence tends to correlate with economic losses and higher rates of unemployment.  Despite shortages in housing for victims and in funding and personnel needed to provide support to places like Legal Aid and the Young Women’s Christian Association (“YWCA”), Knoxville has some advantages when it comes to domestic violence.  The city began addressing victims’ advocacy in the 1980s and has been moving forward since.  Knoxville is one of only about fifteen cities across the country to serve domestic violence victims through a family justice center.  In 2018 alone, Knox County’s Fourth Circuit Court granted 2,191 orders of protection to alleged victims of domestic violence.

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Domestic Violence Handbook

With nearly 25 percent of women experiencing some form of abuse during their lifetimes, domestic violence is epidemic. Economic pressure increases stress on families and stress increases domestic violence. And, domestic violence affects all of us — at work, in health care and in the courts.  This Handbook is provided as a resource for attorneys, social service providers, but most importantly for victims and their family members.  

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If you have questions about issues discussed in this handbook, you should contact an attorney. The Knoxville Bar Association Lawyer Referral & Information Service (865‐522‐7501) can refer you to an attorney who handles the kind of legal problem you are experiencing. Other options are listed in the Local Legal Resource Guide at the back of the handbook. Domestic Violence: We Can Live Without It Rights & Options Available Under the Law.

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