Speaking out against domestic violence

By CHANSE WATSON

Managing Editor

In no way is domestic violence strictly a Shoshone County issue. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, an average of 20 people experience intimate partner physical violence in the nation every minute. This equates to more than 10 million abuse victims annually.

On the state level, the estimated domestic violence rate in Idaho is 19 victims/survivors per 1,000 people, totaling approximately 30,000 domestic violence individual victims/survivors. In Idaho, 29.3% of women and 33.3% of men will experience intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner sexual violence and/or intimate partner stalking in their lifetimes.

So while domestic violence is prevalent everywhere, that doesn’t make it any less important to reduce its presence here at home.

In recognition of October being Domestic Violence Awareness month, the News-Press recently sat down with Shoshone County Prosecuting Attorney Keisha Oxendine and Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Benjamin Allen on the SNP NOW podcast to learn more about domestic violence in our area and the troubles they face when approaching these types of cases.

Oxendine, who has dealt with countless local domestic violence cases over the years, stated that in 2019 alone there have been 62 filed domestic violence cases in Shoshone County. This number is right on track to meet the average total number of 70-80 a year.

“Those are just the ones that get reported to law enforcement and rise to the level of having enough evidence and filing a case,” she said.

Oxendine knows though that the actual number of local domestic violence offenses is much higher.

“The reason I know it’s higher, is because the calls for service for law enforcement are higher than that,” she said.

The annual Idaho State Police Crime report shows that Shoshone County law enforcement agencies responded to a total of 158 simple assault offenses, 33 aggravated assault offenses, eight rape offenses, one sodomy offense, one sexual assault with an object offense and eight intimidation offenses in 2018. The report does not differentiate which of these crimes also qualified as domestic violence, but it is almost certain that many of them do.

While domestic violence is generally thought of as a male-on-female crime, the truth is that abuse doesn’t see gender — especially in Shoshone County.

“Domestic violence happens to women and it happens to men — it’s not gender specific,” Oxendine said. “I think because we are a small area, over the past several years, we have seen several cases in which men are victims of domestic violence.”

Both Oxendine and Allen have also recently seen more “rolling domestics,” or domestics that occur in a vehicle. Often associated with this is attempted strangulation and often leads to a fatality.

When it comes to trying any domestic violence case in court, the biggest challenge prosecutors/law enforcement face is victims not wanting to cooperate or recanting their original statements.

Allen cited a recent study from the National Institute of Justice which indicated that approximately 80% of domestic violence cases have victims that recant on their original statements that they make to law enforcement at the time of the incident.

“What that means is that law enforcement responds, victims are desiring for whatever abuse that is present to stop and they’re generally willing to speak at that point in time,” he said. “Then after that initial fear is gone or when the case is proceeding (because cases can take a while to work through the system), they end up recanting or changing their story.”

When this happens and prosecutors are left with two different stories (or no story at all), it’s difficult for juries to establish what actually happened and find the perpetrator guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Oxendine and Allen both argue that two recent domestic violence case rulings outside the county have made it even harder on both prosecutors and law enforcement to get victims to not only participate, but even to come forward.

The Idaho Supreme Court case, State V. Clark, may possibly reduce the number of domestic violence reports because officers now cannot take immediate action on-scene unless it rises to the level of a felony domestic violence crime.

“Before, a person who perpetrated the violence was taken to jail. Now, if it’s a misdemeanor level domestic violence, officers are citing that person (aggressor) and releasing them — creating a greater safety risk for the victim who called 911 in the first place,” Oxendine said.

In a separate U.S. Supreme Court case, Crawford V. Washington, another huge precedent was set. Before the ruling, prosecutors could use the original statement given by the victim of domestic violence during a trial, regardless if they showed up to court or not. Now, victims must show up to the trial and retell the events of that day (whenever it may have been).

Oxendine explains that the reasons for a victim not showing up to court or changing their statements are complicated and unique to each situation.

“When you understand the dynamics of domestic violence, you know that there’s a lot of reasons. The crisis has ended, they’re safe for that moment and now the offender is back in the home at their request. Maybe the offender handles all the finances, maybe there’s children involved. They’ve likely set up this historical relationship where it’s power and control. They (victims) feel like they cannot make it on their own.”

Even though it is a misconception that victims are the ones who decide whether or not charges are filed against someone (that’s the state’s choice), their involvement is vital in the prosecution process. An in-depth investigation by the responding law enforcement agency can sometimes only go so far without victim cooperation.

The duo have seen jurors struggle with the “why don’t they (the victim) just leave” question when making a determination in a trial. Due to the unique circumstances of each situation though, leaving can be complicated.

“We have had several jury trials that have not convicted on a domestic violence case in Shoshone County and we have had the opportunity to talk to some of them who sat on those cases,” Oxendine explained. “A few of them gave feedback like, ‘well, we just didn’t feel like there were any witnesses.’ It’s 100% common that a domestic violence situation, by its nature, does not have witnesses other than the people who live in the household.”

Not only are witnesses rare in these types of cases, but they usually involve the same offender and victim over and over.

Oxendine stresses that in order to put these repeated abusers away, the community needs to get more educated on domestic violence and understand that it’s not a private matter that can be written off.

“It is a community problem, not just a problem in the household … people are being harmed in their homes and we need to be able to hold someone accountable, get them rehabilitation if they need it, and help people be safe within the place they should be safe the most.”

If you or someone you know has been the victim of domestic violence, call the Shoshone County Crisis and Resource Center 24-hour hotline at 208-556-0500.

For questions about a particular case, contact the Shoshone County Prosecutor’s Office at 208-752-1106 and ask for the victim witness coordinator.

For any emergency situations, call 911.