Domestic Violence

The cartoon shows a policeman and a plainclothes detective examining an apparent crime scene in a ransacked living room as a body is carried out on a stretcher. Standing by two chalk outlines, the officer asks, "Well, Hal . . . What d'ya make of it? Some woman-hating sicko fresh out of the loony bin?" "Nope," the detective replies. "Couple of lesbians with PMS at the same time. " The cartoon struck me funny when I first saw it years ago. It hung on our refrigerator for a long time.

A toll-free hotline for Philadelphia-area victims of domestic violence was introduced yesterday. The hotline, 1-866-723-3014 (1-866-SAFE-014), combines telephone operations previously handled by four local anti-domestic-violence groups. Mayor Street introduced the hotline at a City Hall event yesterday. Most costs associated with the number will be covered by a $250,000 annual city subsidy. Street declared domestic-violence prevention a priority a year ago, adding $1 million to the 2005 city budget for programs.

IF YOU HAVE an Internet connection, you've probably seen the leaked police picture of Rihanna's battered face after she allegedly was beaten by then-boyfriend Chris Brown on Feb. 8. And man - if that picture doesn't make people stop thinking domestic-violence jokes are ironic or cute, SatTatt doesn't know if there's hope for us as a species. The photograph, which police say had been kept under very tight wraps, somehow meandered out of the LAPD files and onto TMZ.com at about 8:30 p.m. Thursday.

A few weeks ago, a 7-year-old overweight boy came in for a "well-child check. " His mother was concerned because he was "always getting into trouble" in his new school and his teacher thought he should be evaluated for attention deficit disorder (ADHD). At home, he was more withdrawn, twitchy, and continually fighting with his older sister. I had a hunch about what was wrong. That same day in the mail I received the 2011 report from the Women Against Abuse shelter, the largest of its kind in Philadelphia, with 85 beds and 15 cribs.

Philadelphia police released statistics yesterday showing a dramatic spike in domestic-disturbance calls and domestic violence-related murders so far this year. In just under nine months, there have been 82,000 domestic-disturbance calls to the city's 911 system, compared with 68,000 calls in the 12 months that ended in June 2002. There have been 24 domestic murders so far in 2003, up from 19 last year. At a news conference yesterday where Mayor Street announced the formation of a task force on domestic violence, Police Commissioner Sylvester M. Johnson said he believed the economy and other social factors could be to blame.

In the wake of a Philadelphia police officer's suicide and attempted murder of his wife Tuesday, Police Commissioner John Timoney announced a police directive on domestic violence yesterday. Officers with active orders of protection against them must surrender their police-issued weapons and will be reassigned to restricted administrative duties until the orders are rescinded, Timoney announced. Timoney said he knew of at least 28 officers out of 7,000 who will be affected by this ruling.

WASHINGTON - After winning a fight just last week to preserve contraceptive health-insurance coverage for women, Senate Democrats on Thursday battled conservative Republicans who say they don't want to expand an 18-year-old federal law that created a national strategy to prevent domestic violence against women. While Democrats say they're shocked at any opposition to renewing the Violence Against Women Act, which passed in 1994 with bipartisan support, opponents are trying to block the legislation because they fear it would broaden American Indian tribal rights and has too many protections for gay and illegal-immigrant victims of violence.

After Eddie Carpenter threatened his estranged wife with a gun, a judge issued a restraining order to keep him away from Maryann Carpenter. Four months later - after violating the order twice - Carpenter returned last month to the blue ranch house he once shared with his wife on Spruce Lake in Monroe Township. Again armed with a handgun, he killed the 34-year-old mother of three. The Carpenter case highlights the nature and limits of domestic restraining orders. To police and prosecutors, they are vital legal weapons.

Philadelphia has been chosen as the pilot city for a $1 million, three-to- five-year demonstration project aimed at reducing domestic violence. The funding, earmarked for Philadelphia by a donor who wishes to remain anonymous, comes through the national Family Violence Prevention Fund in San Francisco, said Lori Burns-Simms, director of the new project, called Philadelphia: Let's Stop Domestic Violence! Mayor Rendell yesterday announced the start of the program and said that beginning Oct. 1, employers throughout the city would display posters, distribute information, and host brown-bag seminars and other activities to raise awareness about domestic abuse.

Witness after witness told a state panel yesterday that domestic violence torments children in households, and that schools can be an invaluable source of intervention. But a stark shot of reality cast a shadow on the good intentions. The day-to-day practicalities of school life and teacher training remain challenges to overcome. Too few resources, too little time, and too little money already strain the system, experts said yesterday. Still, the Family Violence Task Force, formed last year by Attorney General Mike Fisher, met at the Middle Point Middle School yesterday with the intention of finding realistic solutions to what Fisher termed "the culture of abuse.

When we think of the women that Republicans in Congress want to exclude from some protections in the Violence Against Women Act — undocumented immigrants, Native Americans, lesbians abused by female partners — we can't help but think of a speech attributed to the Civil War-era abolitionist Sojourner Truth in 1851:   "And ain't I a woman?" To paraphrase another eloquent author, if undocumented immigrant women are beaten, do they not bruise? If Native American women are sexually assaulted by non-Native men, are they not traumatized?

WASHINGTON - House Republicans set up a showdown Wednesday with the Senate and President Obama over legislation to protect women from domestic violence, a fight that's become as much about female voters this election year as cracking down on abuse. The House voted 222-205 to reauthorize the 1994 Violence Against Women Act for five years, as the Senate already had done. But big differences remain: Obama, other Democrats and a long list of advocacy groups say the House bill doesn't go far enough to protect abused immigrants, Native Americans or gays.

House approves cyber security bill WASHINGTON - The House ignored Obama administration objections Thursday and approved legislation aimed at helping stop electronic attacks on critical U.S. infrastructure and private companies. On a bipartisan vote of 248-168, the GOP-controlled House backed the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, which would encourage companies and the federal government to share information collected on the Internet to prevent electronic attacks from cybercriminals, foreign governments and terrorists.

Lakers forward Metta World Peace was suspended seven games by the NBA on Tuesday for throwing a vicious elbow at Oklahoma City's James Harden, meaning the Los Angeles starter likely will miss six playoff games. World Peace was ejected from Sunday's game against the Thunder for striking Harden in the head, giving him a concussion. World Peace claimed the contact was an accidental, overzealous celebration of a dunk. World Peace will miss the Lakers' season finale on Thursday at Sacramento and the next six games for which he is eligible.

Headlines like "Stabbing victim feared estranged husband would kill her" and "Two plead guilty to raping 12-year-old girl" are haunting reminders of the violence and sexual abuse that occur far too often. According to a 2010 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, more than 1.9 million women in Pennsylvania have been victims of sexual assault, physical violence, or stalking. Domestic violence and sexual assault leave scars beyond the physical damage. The emotional wounds cut far deeper than the injuries we can see. Victims are often left to heal, physically and emotionally, on their own. As current and former prosecutors, we know from firsthand experience that Southeastern Pennsylvania has some of the best victim services organizations and advocates to help women and children through the healing process.

A few weeks ago, a 7-year-old overweight boy came in for a "well-child check. " His mother was concerned because he was "always getting into trouble" in his new school and his teacher thought he should be evaluated for attention deficit disorder (ADHD). At home, he was more withdrawn, twitchy, and continually fighting with his older sister. I had a hunch about what was wrong. That same day in the mail I received the 2011 report from the Women Against Abuse shelter, the largest of its kind in Philadelphia, with 85 beds and 15 cribs.

Life Among the Cannibals?A Political Career, a Tea Party Uprising, and the End of Governing as We Know It?By Arlen Specter with Charles Robbins?St. Martin's Press. 372 pages. ?$26.99   Reviewed by Steve Weinberg   Arlen Specter considers himself a rebel among professional politicians. To some extent, he is correct. After all, he won term after term in the U.S. Senate as a Republican in a state with traditionally strong Democratic voter registration. He is from Philadelphia in a state with a heavy rural base.

RENEE NORRIS-JONES remembers all too vividly the seven long years she spent with her husband, Carl, who blackened her eyes, broke her nose and burned her with grease. Women Against Abuse operates the only emergency shelter in the city for abused women and their children, and it was instrumental in helping Norris-Jones escape her abuser 30 years ago. Last fiscal year, WAA served 615 victims, but had to turn away 7,705 requests for safe shelter, up from 2,552 in fiscal year 2009 - a sign of the need for more emergency shelters, advocates say. "The number doesn't reflect how many are turned away and have lost their lives," Meghan Kincade, director of shelter services for WAA, told City Council's Committee on Public Safety yesterday.

Thirty years ago, Renee Norris-Jones fled to a women's shelter after seven years of a violent marriage. Like many survivors of domestic abuse, Norris-Jones, now 54, believes the decision saved her life. Today, the place that was Norris-Jones' haven remains Philadelphia's only emergency shelter for abused women and their children. Operated by the advocacy group Women Against Abuse, the 100-bed facility is always full. Last year, the shelter served 615 people - and turned away 7,705.

WASHINGTON - After winning a fight just last week to preserve contraceptive health-insurance coverage for women, Senate Democrats on Thursday battled conservative Republicans who say they don't want to expand an 18-year-old federal law that created a national strategy to prevent domestic violence against women. While Democrats say they're shocked at any opposition to renewing the Violence Against Women Act, which passed in 1994 with bipartisan support, opponents are trying to block the legislation because they fear it would broaden American Indian tribal rights and has too many protections for gay and illegal-immigrant victims of violence.