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| Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Sherrie Miday (standing, foreground), as members of her domestic violence team receive training. |
By Editorial Board, cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer
Domestic, elder, child and intimate partner abusers love closed doors. In the confines of those four walls, they can best exercise their twisted sense of power over those isolated from help or from the knowledge of others. And experts well know that the isolation, stress and fear caused by this pandemic have created the perfect conditions for such abuse.
Domestic partners may be cut off from jobs that might otherwise give them resources to escape, or they might be too fearful of COVID-19 infection in communal shelters to attempt such flight, or they could be without the social interaction with others that might sound the alarm about trouble.
Elder abuse and exploitation are greater risks, too, with seniors vulnerable to COVID-19 complications and death under added stress.All of which means that it’s up to the rest of us, as a community, to make sure the resources are there to identify and break up this cycle of abusive power and the demeaning of others. That’s especially important when, too often, the anger and abuse can escalate -- as happened in the tragic case of Aisha Fraser, the Shaker Heights 6th grade teacher knifed to death by her ex-husband, the now-imprisoned Lance Mason, a former judge.
That’s why Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court’s creation of a domestic violence docket amid the pandemic is so welcome. Led by Judge Sherrie Miday, a former prosecutor of domestic violence cases, the docket will be looking for new approaches to the riskiest kind of violent abusers seen in felony court. And unlike domestic violence dockets in Summit and Stark county courts, the docket won’t require a substance abuse component for alleged offenders to qualify.
Instead, it will focus on allegations involving attempted strangulation or use of a gun. Miday told cleveland.com reporter Peter Krouse that a survivor of a domestic assault is 20 times more likely to die at the hands of their abuser if a gun was involved in the prior assault, and eight times more likely if attempted strangulation was involved.
With Cuyahoga County averaging 17 domestic violence homicides a year, according to Miday -- a shocking number -- consolidating at-risk cases into a specialty docket seems wise.
But the docket -- made possible by a $1 million U.S. Department of Justice grant -- is not aimed at throwing abusers in prison and throwing away the key.
Like most specialty dockets, it’s instead intended to bring more resources to bear on recovery, rehabilitation and what Miday calls “offender accountability.” According to Krouse, the parameters of the docket were decided in consultation with the public defender’s office and others, to ensure that it also upholds the rights of defendants charged with domestic violence. Outgoing County Public Defender Mark Stanton told Krouse he was reassured after the docket was designed so an eligible defendant can opt not to be assigned to Miday’s docket.
Helping survivors of abuse escape their abusers remains a challenge during the pandemic, but providing rental assistance and other safe housing alternatives could be key, as outlined in a recent cleveland.com story by Report for America’s Conor Morris.
Help can be found at all hours of the day and night. Melissa Graves, CEO of Cleveland’s Journey Center for Safety and Healing, formerly the Domestic Violence and Child Advocacy Center, told Krouse that calls and texts were hitting the center’s hotline at odd hours of the night -- suggesting survivors remain fearful their abusers will detect their calls for help.
Cuyahoga County child abuse workers also are still on the job, and the county implemented new reporting methods during the pandemic, including for elder abuse, where allegations of “physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, self-neglect and financial exploitation” increased 25% in the last two years.
Most important, do not be silent. If you suspect abuse, take action. If you are being abused, reach for help. Help is available.
In an emergency, call 911.
To reach the Journey Center’s domestic abuse hotline: (216) 391-4357.
To report suspected child abuse: Call Cuyahoga County’s Department of Children and Family Services hotline at (216) 696-KIDS or email protecting-cuyahoga-kids@jfs.ohio.gov.
To report suspected elder abuse: Call Cuyahoga County’s Division of Senior and Adult Services intake line at (216) 420-6700 or file a report online at https://hhs.cuyahogacounty.us/divisions/detail/senior-and-adult-services.
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