Proposal to Develop Second Responder Program for Domestic Violence Victims

The worldwide issue of domestic violence is a serious issue that continues to plague our community. Developing a program that will direct more domestic violence victims to second responders will result in fewer cases of recidivism and more successful outcomes for these victims.

A study by Jacquelyn Campbell, Ph.D., of the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing found that "the re-assault of domestic violence victims in high danger was reduced by 60 percent when they went to a shelter," yet, according to the study, "only 4 percent of domestic violence murder victims nationwide had availed themselves to domestic violence intervention services" (Kanable, 2013). By developing a strong second responder program, more victims of domestic violence will be directed to resources that will enable them to seek shelter and counseling, which will in turn reduce instances of recidivism and, in some cases, save lives.

Benefits of a Second Responder Program

Paramount to the importance of a second responder program is the number of domestic violence victims who will avoid the pain and suffering repeated instances of abuse would otherwise cause. In addition, directing domestic violence victims to second responders is critical in assessing and helping these victims as a whole, rather than merely focusing on the immediacy of their situations. As victimization often breeds issues that extend beyond the physical abuse, second responders "must address the acute conflation of legal, medical, psychological, emotional and financial crises" that may beset a victim (Baker, 2011). Implementing an effective second responder program will therefore assist victims in not only escaping their abusers, but in staging a full recovery from their abuse.

Implementing the Program

Implementation of the program is centered on training of police officers and linking law enforcement to second responders such as psychologists, counselors, and shelters. Following Maryland's Lethality Assessment Program (LAP), all domestic violence calls will include two steps: a "lethality screen" used by law enforcement to determine which victims are at an increased risk of homicide and a standard protocol to steer victims to second responders (Kanable, 2013).

A critical improvement on Maryland's program involves extending patient confidentiality from being limited to discussions with individual second responders to including interactions with multiple second responders in each other's presence (Baker, 2011). Doing so will "promote collaboration, ensure client trust, and generate more favorable outcomes for clients and society" (Baker, 2011).

Obstacles

The primary obstacle involved in implementing a second responder program is financial. Training police officers and ensuring that an adequate number of second responders and shelters exist to aid victims will cost taxpayer money. It goes without saying that there must be a continuous source of funding for this program in order to avoid a situation like that of California in 2009, when state budget cuts resulted in a debilitating $16 million slash to the state's Domestic Violence Program (McKinley, 2009).

Ultimately, the financial cost of implementing a second responder program pales in comparison to the human cost that not implementing such a program will permit. It is critical that a second responder program be implemented soon in order to best benefit current and future victims of domestic violence. Thank you for your time; I look forward to discussing this further with you in the near future.

References

Baker, J. R. (2011). Necessary third parties: multidisciplinary collaboration and inadequate professional privileges in domestic violence practice. Columbia Journal of Gender and Law, 21 (1), 283+. Retrieved from http://ssrn.com/abstract=1405814.

Kanable, R. (2013). Police officers can prevent repeat abuse by directing victims to available services. In Dedria Bryfonski (Ed.), Family Violence, (pp. 108-115) Detroit: Greenhaven Press.

McKinley, J. (2009, September 6). Cuts ravage California domestic abuse program. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/26/us/26domestic.html