STATEMENT BY
LIEUTENANT GENERAL GARRY L. PARKS
AND
MS. DEBORAH D. TUCKER
CO-CHAIRS
OF
THE DEFENSE TASK FORCE ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE
ON TOTAL FORCE
HOUSE ARMED SERVICE
COMMITTEE
UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
CONCERNING DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE
MARCH 19, 2003
Chairman McHugh, Congressman
Snyder, and members of the Subcommittee:
We are honored to appear
before you today to provide an overview of
the findings of the Defense Task Force on
Domestic Violence (DTFDV).
INTRODUCTION
In an
effort to assist the Department of Defense (DoD)
in preventing domestic violence in the
military whenever possible and responding
more effectively when it does occur,
Congress, in the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000,
Public Law 106-65, Section 591, required the
Secretary of Defense to establish the DTFDV.
The
overall goal of the Task Force was to
provide the Secretary of Defense with
recommendations that will be useful in
enhancing existing programs for preventing
and responding to domestic violence, and,
where appropriate, to suggest new approaches
to addressing the issue. In accomplishing
its goal, the Task Force envisioned
reframing the DoD's Family Advocacy Programs
and the entire military community response
to domestic violence into a model for
America.
In
fulfilling the Congressional mandate, the
Task Force looked at the entire spectrum of
domestic violence issues and the roles and
responses of command, law enforcement,
advocates, legal, medical, chaplains,
counselors, and social workers in
intervening and preventing domestic
violence.
The Task
Force believes that domestic violence is
best dealt with by having a consistent,
coordinated community response. This
approach clearly communicates to potential
offenders, as well as to those who have
already offended, that domestic violence is
simply unacceptable, will not be tolerated,
and that there are consequences for such
behavior. This consistent, coordinated
approach seems to fit perfectly into the
military community. In order to be most
effective, however, every element of the
response system, from law enforcement to
medical to the command, must be "singing off
the same sheet of music." It is important
for everyone associated with the military to
know what domestic violence is, its dynamics
and risk factors, effects on victims or
children who witness domestic violence, and
consequences for offenders.
Over
three years, the Task Force visited military
installations throughout the world and met
with numerous victims, offenders,
commanders, first responders, and service
providers. The cooperation of those at
installations and in the surrounding
communities willing to share their
experiences, critical thinking, and ideas
for improvements was essential to inform our
research and recommendations. The depth of
our understanding and service to the
Department would not have been
possible without the exemplary support of
the staff assigned to work with us,
to facilitate these installation visits and
our intense deliberations. In addition to
our site visits, the Task Force met 15 times
to process information, resolve issues, and
come to agreement regarding recommendations
for the Secretary of Defense. The staff's
support made it possible for the
recommendations, and the substance behind
them, to be effectively communicated to the
Secretary, with you and others in
Congress, and with the concerned public
through our reports. The result is a recent
snapshot of how well domestic violence
policy is being executed throughout DoD's
many commands and installations.
KEY ELEMENTS TO PROPOSED DOD
STRATEGIC PLAN
In its
three annual reports, the DTFDV made some
200 specific recommendations. In its
responses to the first two reports, the DoD
agreed with the vast majority of our
recommendations for improvement, and we have
no reason to believe the Department's
response to our final report will be
significantly different. While all of the
Task Force's recommendations are valid and
each will result in improvement of DoD's
prevention of and/or response to domestic
violence, there are nine points that we
believe are key elements to the
proposed DoD Strategic Plan for
addressing domestic violence. If
implemented by the DoD as recommended by the
Task Force, these key points will have the
most lasting, significant, and positive
effect on the prevention of and response to
domestic violence in the military. While we
believe that all these key points are
equally important, first and foremost, the
Department of Defense should.
·
Demand a
culture shift that.
o Does
not tolerate domestic violence;
o Moves
from victims holding offenders accountable
to the system holding offenders accountable;
and,
o Punishes
criminal behavior.
The remaining eight
recommendations support such a culture
shift:
· Establish
a Victim Advocate Program with provisions
for confidentiality
to enhance victim safety and
provide a well-defined, distinct program
where victims can receive the advocacy,
support, information, options, and resources
necessary to address the violence in their
lives without a requirement for mandatory
reporting.
· Implement
the proposed Domestic Violence Intervention
Process Model with the following protocols:
(1) Victim
Advocate Protocol, (2) Commanding Officer's
Protocol/Guidelines, (3) Law Enforcement
Protocol, and (4) Offender Intervention
Protocol. The Intervention Process Model
and the amplifying protocols provide both a
graphic and narrative description of the
recommended intervention process with
specific guidance for key components of the
system when responding to domestic
violence. Additional protocols are
recommended for other professionals who play
a role in intervention and prevention.
· Separate
abuse substantiation decisions from clinical
decisions to
enhance victim safety and support the
commander/commanding officer in ensuring
offender accountability and intervention.
· Enhance
system and command accountability and
include a fatality review process
as one on-going mechanism
for identifying policy and system
deficiencies with a goal of increasing
accountability throughout the system,
reducing domestic violence, and preventing
future fatalities.
· Implement
DoD-wide training and prevention programs
that encompass not
only general awareness training, but also
include specific training for commanding
officers and senior noncommissioned
officers, law enforcement personnel,
healthcare personnel, and chaplains.
· Hold
offenders accountable
in keeping with the Deputy
Secretary of Defense November 19, 2001
memorandum that highlighted the
non-tolerance of domestic violence and
challenged the Military Departments and
commanding officers to intensify their
efforts to prevent domestic violence.
· Strengthen
local military and civilian community
collaboration in
preventing and responding to domestic
violence.
·
Evaluate
results of domestic violence prevention and
intervention efforts.
CORE PRINCIPLES
These
recommendations are grounded in the
following core principles of domestic
violence intervention. The core principles
are founded on the precept that we must
make every possible effort to establish
effective programs to prevent domestic
violence in the military. This is
tantamount to enhancing mission and family
readiness. However, if domestic violence
does occur, the DoD has a duty to protect
the victims and take appropriate action to
hold offenders accountable. To ensure the
maximum effectiveness of the Department's
response to domestic violence, all
intervention programs should adhere to the
following core principles:
· Respond
to the needs of victims and provide for
their safety.
Ensure that the stated needs of victims are
fully considered. Safe housing, safety
planning, and free, confidential advocacy
services are essential, but not all
inclusive. Recognize potential victim
safety consequences when confronting the
offender, validate victim input, encourage
victim autonomy, and support the victim's
relationship with her/his children.
· Hold
offenders accountable.
Ensure that the institution, not the victim,
is responsible for holding the offender
accountable. Where possible and
appropriate, the focus should be on changing
the behavior of the offender to prevent
future acts of domestic violence. However,
offenders must be held accountable for all
criminal conduct through punishment,
deterrence, and when possible,
rehabilitation. Monitor and supervise
offenders to ensure compliance and progress
during any intervention program.
·
Consider
multi-cultural and cross-cultural factors.
Ensure development
of policies and practices that are sensitive
and attuned to the backgrounds and needs of
both victims and offenders in terms of
economic, cultural, ethnic, religious,
immigrant status, and other related
circumstances. Policies and practices
should be reviewed and monitored by
community members from the diverse cultures
being served.
· Consider
the context of the violence and provide a
measured response.
Ensure that the victim's need for protection
from further harm and the need to hold the
offender accountable determine the intensity
and direction of the command response to
domestic violence.
· Coordinate
military and civilian response.
Ensure a cooperative relationship between
military and civilian organizations.
Synchronize procedures to ensure a
coordinated community response between the
military and civilian communities.
· Involve
victims in monitoring domestic violence
services. Ensure
the establishment of mechanisms for
monitoring intervention policies and
procedures that include input from victims,
advocates, and community members in order to
evaluate program effectiveness. Monitoring
should include development of specific,
focused measures of accountability and
effectiveness as well as leveraging existing
inspection programs.
· Provide
early intervention.
Ensure early intervention and utilize all
available resources.
IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATIONS
