Engler: State gets tough on violence

"Around the country, people look at us as a model state for prevention and treatment of domestic violence," Engler said. "The long arm of the law is around the shoulders of those who are battered."

Engler made the remarks as part of the 20th anniversary of the state's Domestic Violence Prevention and Treatment Board. Engler and others wore white ribbons and shared cake in the Capitol Rotunda to celebrate the board.

Engler also presented new recommendations from the batterer intervention task force he convened last year. The group includes judges, police officers and abuse prevention specialists.

Among the group's recommendations were:

* Closer communication between courts and victim services, including mandatory reporting of violations of court orders to courts, police and victim services.

* Establishment of minimum levels of violent behavior for which intervention will be mandated.

* Mandate comprehensive evaluations for any batterer who needs treatment, including substance abuse and mental health screenings.

* Set criteria for successful completion of batterer intervention programs, including no reported incidents of violence and acknowledgment of responsibility for abuse.

Engler said he would take the group's recommendations to the state Supreme Court, which will help implement them across the state.

Lt. Gov. Connie Binsfeld, who helped pass the state's first series of domestic violence bills 20 years ago, said the task force shows how far the state has come.

"It was from those first public hearings in 1978 that the public began to come forth and tell their stories and we realized what a widespread problem domestic violence was," Binsfeld said. "Women had very little security in those days. They didn't have the checkbook, they didn't have the health card."

Michigan and Minnesota were the first two states to have such legislation, Binsfeld said.

Engler and Binsfeld also presented a state award to Beverly Geyer of Muskegon, a survivor of domestic violence who went on to open her own shelter for battered women.

"When I was first battered, there was no place to go. Violence in the family was a little secret that nobody talked about," Geyer said.

"If we are to end domestic violence, we must protect the victims and give them a place to learn, heal and grow and we must hold the batterers accountable."

09-25-98