Arkansas saw an increase in the number of domestic violence victims, mostly women, who sought refuge and help from victims’ shelters and victims’ advocates last year.
Figures released by the Arkansas Coalition Against Domestic Violence, an umbrella professional organization that lends training and oversight to the state’s 31 member shelters, show that the number of adults housed at least one night in a shelter increased by 24.1 percent, going from 2,007 in 2012 to 2,490 last year.
Among those sheltered included 1,781 women, a 15.8 percent increase from the 1,538 women who sought refuge in shelters in 2012.
Rebecca Bennett, spokesman for the coalition, as well as its education coordinator, said the increase was something of a mixed blessing for domestic violence prevention advocacy.
“It’s a Catch-22,” Bennett said. “We go out in 2012 and pound the pavement [through education and promotion] and 2013 comes around and people have more access to resources they didn’t know existed.These people who are victims, they were the same people who were victims before, they just weren’t reaching out.”
When asked if the increase in demand for services meant an increase in domestic violence in Arkansas, Bennett said it’s possible, given that a struggling economy can often trickle down and become a “stressor” in relationships prone to domestic violence.
While it’s impossible to tell whether there has been an increase in domestic violence, state records show that arrests for domestic battery and other domestic-related charges are down.
In fact, they’ve been dropping since 2009, when 1,036 arrests were recorded statewide for first-degree domestic battery, second-degree domestic battery, third-degree domestic battery, and aggravated assault on a household or family member.
In 2012, there were 903 such arrests made, and that figure dropped by 14.7 percent, to 770 arrests, in 2013.
Bennett thinks that greater awareness of the shelters, many of which operate 24 hours a day, and run their own hotlines and education and rehabilitation programs, resulted in more access.
The number of “crisis calls” coming into the centers rose as well, climbing 22.2 percent from 7,956in 2012 to 9,722 in 2013. Other types of calls, such as nonemergency calls for information, referrals, or other resources, saw the biggest boom, going from 13,844 in 2012 to 24,825 last year.
“It could be a couple of things. … It might very well be a reflection of the community engagement… more people are calling about it but they don’t necessarily want to be identified as a victim,” Bennett said. “Or it could be community people calling in, whether to report, volunteer or donate.”
Angela McGraw, head of Women & Children First in Little Rock, the state’s biggest shelter, said it’s difficult to pinpoint the increase in battered women, children, and even men coming through her shelter’s doors.
With 45 beds, McGraw’s shelter has been at, or over, capacity for the past year and a half, McGraw said that whatever the cause, the need is real.
“Some of it has to do with the fact that there were additional things we’re tracking … we’re tracking human trafficking numbers now as well, so that will increase the numbers,” McGraw said. “Awareness is important. But to pinpoint the reason there’s been an increase, I can’t say.”
Paulette Hill, who runs Serenity, Inc., a shelter based in Baxter County, said she’s seen an increase in volume over the past two years.
Like Bennett, Hill attributes the increase seen at smaller, more rural shelters to heightened awareness of the services available.
“Take a woman who is 40 and has been in an abusive situation since she was 18. By that time, she’s thinking that’s the way people live. It becomes normal for her. When she realized she doesn’t have to live that way, that there’s ashelter nearby, she’s more likely to make that 911 call,” Hill said. “We’ve gotten our name out, our message out. … We’ve done a better job letting everyone know what we do and what our hot-line number is.”
Although her organization has yet to compile data from the first quarter of 2014, Bennett expects the 2013 increase will continue into 2014.
“With the different efforts we’re engaging in, with teens and males, we’re covering more ground,” Bennett said. “I would be more surprised if there’s not an increase.”
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 7 on 03/03/2014