Family Attorney
Violence Begins at Home
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An evening in Anywhere, U.S.A. John and Jane Doe are in their bedroom. Above them, and clearly audible, a man is beating a woman. He is shouting, she is weeping. The Does look at one another; Mr. Doe then looks toward the phone. Should he call the police? A none-of-our-business shrug, and he turns off the light instead. The scene is a fiction – a television spot that is part of a new public education campaign from the Family Violence Prevention Fund. But it is also a fact. Millions of Americans have known for a long time what it is to hear the neighbors battling, or see a wife take a punch from her husband. Those that didn’t know do now. The story of O. J. and Nicole Simpson has become a national teach-in. Last year the fund released a poll showing that the great majority of Americans realized domestic violence was a serious problem. More than a third said they had witnessed it. And they had finally lost patience with the two great excuses: “He was drunk” and “She asked for it.” But when it came to doing something about the problem, most admitted to feeling helpless. More : query.nytimes.com |
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