Fort Knox, Ky. (Sept. 1, 2016) - On Aug. 24 and 25 more than 80 social workers, sexual harassment/assault response coordinators, law enforcement and Family advocacy workers attended domestic violence and sexual assault prevention training at the Saber & Quill that was conducted by the National Institute of Crime Prevention. Those in attendance represented five states which included Kentucky, California, Indiana, Wisconsin and Tennessee.
The two-day training covered issues like drug-facilitated rape, effective intervention, officer involved incidents, domestic violence, stalking and how children are affected by these crimes and incidents to name a few.
Col. Steve Aiton, the commander of Garrison Command, opened the training by expressing appreciation for those in attendance.
"I personally (can't) thank everyone enough for their dedication to helping Soldiers, civilians and our communities on the local, state and national level," Aiton said. "The team here at Fort Knox (is) the best team (I've) worked with in 25 years of service."
Marla Harris, a victim advocate with the Family Advocacy program, said the training was a great opportunity to bring together various professionals to gain more understanding of domestic violence and sexual assault.
"I am so excited that we, (the) Army Community Service's Family Advocacy program, were able to bring Rod Reder and Bill Rousseau from the National Institute of Crime Prevention to Fort Knox," said Harris. "DV (domestic violence) and SA (sexual assault) are community problems and we must work as a team with our community partners to bring more awareness and work toward decreasing the number of incidents we see here at Fort Knox."
Lisa Stewart, the Fort Knox Family Advocacy program manager, said the community collaboration is the high point of bringing this training to Fort Knox. She also believed everyone would benefit from the training in their specific area of expertise.
Although frequency rates of domestic violence declined from 1994 to 2010, Reder said those numbers tripled in the military. He attributes this increase to better reporting methods that the military has implemented.
He added that domestic violence is 21 percent of all violent crimes. Reder also said that some believe that this is a genetic or instinctive problem, but it's not. An abuser, he said, will still find a reason even when the victim complies.
"Batterers batter because it's a learned behavior," explained Reder. "Society in the past condoned it (because) violence was (used) to solve problems. We hear victims say, 'he's not violent, he only hit me twice in the last year.'"
Reder said an abusive relationship can become controlling and sometimes the person being controlled is unaware this is happening because the abuser is paying a lot of attention to them, and the victim believes attention equals love.
"That's why many women miss the fact they are being controlled," he said. "Controlling behaviors (include) verbal abuse that alone can break you down. Intimidation and threats (like) if you leave me I will kill the kids (and) isolation."
Reder pointed out that some states need to change their laws about domestic violence because in Florida it's a misdemeanor to abuse your partner but a felony to kick a dog.
"Some states have pet protective orders … some states (are) adding an animal section," he said.
One of the questions that's asked by many is, "why do women stay?" Reder said many don't, but three-fourths of the incidents were inflicted after the separation.
Although men are normally the batterers in a domestic violence incident, women sometimes use violence in intimate relationships.
"Seventy to 80 percent are victims of domestic violence … become aggressive --it's a learned behavior from him," explained Rousseau.
He added that many women trigger an event so they can get the incident over with and when women use violence it's done in self-defense.
"Understanding what causes domestic violence is key to making safe changes," Rousseau said. "What we believe causes violence shapes our response to that violence."
What is sometimes lost in domestic violence is how it affects the brain. It causes trauma to the prefrontal cortex and causes it to shutdown, he said.
"(It) affects the way memory is laid down and (causes) difficulties in recall," said Rousseau. "It's not just psychological it's also physiological."
The forgotten in domestic violence can be the children and how it affects them. If the family household is a nightmare for the mother, what is it like for the children? They don't know what it's like because they are in a bad situation, explained Rousseau.
"They feel powerless because they have no control," said Rousseau. "They feel guilty and internalize because (their) parents are arguing (and) it's about them--it's their fault. (There is also a) lack of control caused by frustration (and) frustration causes anger. (They are) confused because they don't understand what is happening (and) guilty because they think it's their fault.
"When children are in crisis mode (they) can't learn. (Exposure) to violence is a lifetime legacy. The brain of your child will be what they are exposed to. (The) human brain is a mirror to a child's developmental experience. … Violence witnessed is violence experienced."
Rousseau added that a child's brain functions is affected because lessons learned in childhood carry into adulthood. One way parents can help their children is through positive adult contact because that can bring healing.
"If we help Mom we are indirectly helping the children," Rousseau said.
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