No DV Law Enforcement in Topeka

susiestar

Roll With It
The city council in Topeka, KS has decided to decriminalize domestic violence. The city prosecutor refused to file charges for misdemeanor dv cases. Period. He figured that would be the best way to cut his budget.

He was trying to force more $$ from the city and also force the county to go ahead and deal with all the dv cases. It is NOT going well for him. While some things are not prosecuted even though they are illegal, in my opinion this is NOT the one to pick.

I can think of few things more likely to make women go vote. I hope they replace EVERY elected official who was involved in this in the next election. I am flat out horrified. Yes, budget cuts need to happen and priorities have to be made. But that is NO excuse for women to be left with NO legal recourse to protect themselves. Talk about sending us back to the dark ages.

Public backlash is causing them to reconsider and agree to prosecute cases again, but I am willing to bet that they won't do much after the spotlight disappears. If it was mostly MEN being abused the budgets would be a LOT higher and the cases would be prosecuted - and many of the ones now considered misdemeanors would be felonies. But it is about women and kids getting hurt, so they think they can just ignore it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/12/us/topeka-moves-to-decriminalize-domestic-violence.html
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
If it was mostly MEN being abused the budgets would be a LOT higher and the cases would be prosecuted - and many of the ones now considered misdemeanors would be felonies. But it is about women and kids getting hurt, so they think they can just ignore it.

I think decriminalizing domestic violence is one of the WORST IDEAS I have EVER heard. Period. They're cutting off their head to spite their face. Seriously.

I must disagree however on the quoted point - in most cases where men are abused, they are laughed at and told to "man up". And arrested, even if they did nothing violent and were the victim. This leads to non-reporting... I don't think the budget for this would be higher. (Opinion... Just my thoughts...)

I think the whole thing is ridiculous. They can't just NOT prosecute DV. In a perfect world, DV wouldn't be an issue - but the fact is, it not only exists, it's horrible and it's getting worse.
 

keista

New Member
Step, you're right, BUT let's just say, hypothetically speaking, of course, that free Viagra for all men was in the budget. I'm CERTAIN they would NOT be cutting that.

What drives me even more nuts is when women in politics side with this stupid "man thinking"
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
Good point...

...Personally, I get a bit tired of the good old boys' network and the extreme feminists both going to bat. (Give me real feminism any day - the ones who said women should have a choice and be equal!)

I won't jump up on my soapbox. The fact is, no matter who the abuser is and who the victim is, DV is a REAL PROBLEM. Decriminalizing it won't make it go away or cheaper for the government!
 

muttmeister

Well-Known Member
I try not to be political on here as I know members of both parties have their heads up their behinds but I think that as long as the prevailing political climate prevails (cut taxes for the rich, cut services for the poor and middle class) we are going to see more of this, not less. Because of budgets, most places have cut police, firefighters, and teachers. Next will be more services that actually help normal people. You are right to I hope they replace EVERY elected official who was involved in this in the next election. So are you going to "hope" or are you going to get involved in the process. "They" know that, no matter how disgusted a lot of us are, we don't necessarily have the time or money or ability to go out and campaign and raise the devil. Until we all do, we are stuck with the mess that is developing.
 

keista

New Member
Mutt, I agree, but this is an issue that affects the rich as much as the poor. Only now, the rich women will have more money to spend on make up to cover up those black eyes thereby "hiding" the problem even more.
 

muttmeister

Well-Known Member
But most of the rich people who make the laws or control the lawmakers are MEN. Services that help women and kids are being cut across the board and that promises to get even worse.
 

DaisyFace

Love me...Love me not
Forgive me if this is too politically charged...

But there is a reason that attacks on women and children work so well -

it causes families to have to spend all their time and effort caring for their own.

They CANNOT fight back because their time and resources have been exhausted just trying to survive.

(Terrorists have known this for decades and decades.)
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
"It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness."

Micro-activism is an option that didn't exist before.
And it does have power.

Start a FB campaign... post a few tweets.
Get OTHER people talking and thinking, and sometimes it has a life of its own.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
Hey, I got y'all talking and thinking about this.

Step, I meant that if most of the DV occurred toward men, and all else was the same in our culture, then it would be a BIG issue. Just like the medical community did almost NO testing on anyone but men and just assumed women reacted the same as men while they told women that the problems were all in our heads. I do know that DV toward men is not even considered to be a problem and that male victims are just ignored. Pretty much like many of us are ignored if we report that our children are abusing us - no one really cares because we are supposed to be in control of our kids and even if they are bigger than we are or stronger it is still not something most people would ever bother to consider to be a "real" problem.

Sorry I was not clear.

This isn't something my community is doing, and I am not close to Topeka, but it is something I won't forget. It still affects me because it is a trend I do NOT want to see spread to other areas.
 

buddy

New Member
If it was mostly MEN being abused the budgets would be a LOT higher and the cases would be prosecuted - and many of the ones now considered misdemeanors would be felonies. But it is about women and kids getting hurt, so they think they can just ignore it.

yup
 
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