Guns and domestic violence: panelists discuss causes, solutions at KC Star event
High rates of domestic violence in Missouri and Springfield could be helped by a broader understanding of the issue and an easier path toward getting guns out of the hands of abusers, panelists said at a digital event hosted by the Kansas City Star and American Public Square at Jewell.
The event Thursday was the second of three programs in The Star’s Gun Violence in Missouri: Seeking Solutions series. The discussion, moderated by Wendy Doyle, president and CEO of United WE, focused on the connection between guns and domestic violence.
The program followed a collaborative report between The Star and The Springfield News Leader.
Panelists included Janice Thompson a domestic violence survivor and victim advocate; Springfield Police Chief Paul Williams; Jamie Willis, project coordinator for the Green County Family Justice Center and Susan Sorenson, director of the Ortner Center on Violence & Abuse at the University of Pennsylvania.
Missouri has the second-highest rate in the nation of women murdered by men.
The panelists discussed the causes of domestic violence in Springfield, which has the highest rate of domestic violence in the state and possible solutions.
Springfield
Williams, the police chief, said he first noticed a high number of domestic violence cases in 2012 and created a task force to address the problem.
He said he has since worked to educate his officers on trauma-informed practices to better support survivors who come forward.
Common risk factors such as poverty and drug use, Williams said, contributed to domestic violence in Springfield. However, he said there might be higher reporting rates in Springfield than other areas and therefore fewer cases going undetected.
“Awareness has increased reporting and my hope would be increased availability of resources,” Williams said.
Thompson, a victim advocate, agreed with Williams. She added that, Springfield has a small town mentality and residents like to comment on how safe the town is. Because other forms of crime are lower, Thompson said, domestic violence gets more attention.
“There’s nothing in the water here that makes us more prone to it,” Thompson said.
Sorenson added that guns play a role in domestic violence because they create a real threat of death that makes victims less likely to fight back. Furthermore, she said, about half the time women are killed by a male intimate partner it is with a gun.
“Gun use can facilitate chronic abuse,” she said.
Solutions
Federal laws limit domestic abusers’ access to guns. Many states, including Kansas, have passed state statutes that mirror those laws. Missouri has not, thereby making it harder for police to have guns taken away from abusers.
Missouri law allows abusers to keep guns unless a judge orders they be taken away.
Stricter laws, panelist said, would likely reduce domestic violence and reduce the chances of a deadly encounter.
“Anything you can do to remove guns from a situation would have a collateral affect of reducing domestic violence,” Williams said.
Thompson and Willis said legislators in Missouri have been reluctant to move toward stricter policies out of a misguided belief that victims exaggerate and lie about their abuse.
In reality, Thompson said, victims are more likely to underplay what they’ve experienced than dramatize it.
Even if someone lied, Willis said, the alleged abuser would go through due process before losing their guns.
“It’s such a difficult process and so many women are disenfranchised by the system and so the likelihood that a woman falsely accuses someone and that person is convicted of a crime is so incredibly low,” Willis said.
In addition to limiting access to guns, panelists said more awareness and a better understanding of domestic violence and that it can happen anywhere is needed.
Sorenson added that solutions can successfully “thread the needle” between protecting gun rights while protecting women.
“I would encourage people to do whatever you can to engage people in more nuanced discussions,” she said. It’s very easy to talk about extremes.”
