Many reporting abuse in the First State may find the resources that they need aren’t available.
As part of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, one group is trying to highlight those gaps in services.
Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence policy director Mariann Kenville-Moore says its annual census from women living in shelters and the coalition’s 24/7 hotline show a rising need for housing and legal services in the First State.
The 2015 census conducted last September reported one day with 17 unmet requests in Delaware - and 88% of them were housing-related.
But Kenville-Moore says the need for legal resources is also significant.
“We don’t have services perhaps beyond that immediate emergent crisis situation," Kenville-Moore said. "We have support and available legal for people who want to file protection from abuse orders, but we need services for custody and divorce, visitation.”
She adds another trend she’s seeing in Delaware is a decline in the rate of abusive partners being prosecuted – currently around 40% she attributed to data from the Delaware Department of Justice's Violence Against Women Act grant. She says 15 years ago that number was double, including pleas, trials and diversion programs for first offenders. She feels this issue needs to be part of criminal justice reform.
“There are certain protections – whether it be no contact orders or restrictions for the court – that go away when that prosecution is no longer successful," she said. "So you might have been able to keep your abuser at bay because of that no contact order but now that that’s gone, they’re back on your doorstep.”
Kenville-Moore says an unsuccessful prosecution can also embolden an abuser to re-assert power over his or her victim.
And while research shows that when victims are connected to needed services they’re much more likely to feel empowered to seek out other resources and support, many of those supports aren't available in Delaware.
“What we see happening is when people leave and they aren’t ready to leave or they don’t have the financial resources to maintain things on their own or they haven’t contemplated all of the issues with children they might be forced to return," Kenville-Moore said.
She said victims can call a local 24-hour bilingual hotline in Northern Delaware at 302.762.6110 or Southern Delaware: 302.422.8058 or 302.745.9874 (bilingual).
