"Duluth model" updated by "experts"--victims of DV could have told you all this long ago (Duluth, Minnesota)

Hmm. Trying to think of the Monty Python skit where some pompous intellectual announces his new theory--an utters something entirely inane. Readers?

Anyway, thought of that when I read what the "experts" on domestic violence are pondering these days. They have a brilliant new theory!

Ready?

Protect the victims! More "accountability" from abusers!

Wow! What an amazingly innovative idea! Blasted my socks off. How 'bout you?

And they just realized that domestic abusers often commit sexual assault! Really? Who ever thought?

And check this out (hold on to your hats, kiddies). When Daddy abuses the wife or kids while on probation, jail him immediately instead of letting him go to abuse them so more!

These are the geniuses who are doing their best to protect you and your kids, ladies! No, don't tell me you've been calling on all these reforms for years. Ladies, ladies. You're not the experts. The experts are the experts, capiche?

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/182024/

Published October 23 2010
Duluth updates domestic violence efforts
Thirty years after the so-called “Duluth model” changed the way domestic violence is combated, local government and nonprofit officials rolled out an updated model on Friday.
By: John Lundy , Duluth News Tribune

Thirty years after the so-called “Duluth model” changed the way domestic violence is combated, local government and nonprofit officials rolled out an updated model on Friday.

At a news conference, Duluth Mayor Don Ness, City Attorney Gunnar Johnson and St. Louis County Attorney Melanie Ford and a lineup of other officials announced several initiatives to further enhance the city’s efforts at keeping women and children safe from domestic violence.

The much-imitated Duluth model pioneered mandatory arrests in domestic violence cases and a coordinated effort by all agencies involved in a case.

The new efforts represent “a continuation of Duluth’s efforts to make sure that families and spouses are protected from those that abuse and use physical intimidation or even verbal, emotional intimidation to create control and power in their homes,” Ness said.

Among new and recent initiatives:

Duluth has been chosen as one of three pilot test sites by the Department of Justice for a two-year program to protect witnesses in domestic violence cases. “We’re finally going to … offer a greater level of protection to victims and more accountability for the people who are intimidating them,” said Mary Asmus of the city attorney’s office.

Specialized units within the county attorney’s office and within Arrowhead Regional Corrections exclusively dedicated to domestic violence cases.

Efforts to coordinate responses to sexual assault and domestic violence. “We’ve long suspected that the crimes of domestic violence and sexual assault go hand in hand,” said Candace Harshner, executive director of the Program for Aid to Victims of Sexual Assault.

A new focus on domestic violence victims who are disabled, such as making sure services are accessible.

The new initiatives are based, in part, on what’s known as the “Blueprint for Safety,” developed in St. Paul over the past two years. The architect of the Blueprint is the same woman who developed the Duluth model: Ellen Pence.

In an interview after the news conference, Pence said one of her hopes is to get men who commit abuse while on probation jailed immediately rather than be allowed to remain free while prosecutors build their case. “In the meantime, he might hit her two or three times,” she said.

“We’re trying to get the whole system to think, ‘If you’re in those shoes, what would you want the policy to be?’ ” Pence said. “And you would want him instantly under control, not wait six months.”