Access Denied: the Problem of Abused Men in Washington
| Jurisdiction | Washington,United States |
| Citation | Vol. 27 No. 03 |
| Publication year | 2004 |
INTRODUCTION
The scenario would rival any made-for-TV movie. A man is crouched on the floor struggling to make his VCR work when suddenly his wife comes at him with a baseball bat. She literally has to push their daughter out of the way in order to reach him. Although she does not strike him, his wife continues to threaten him with the bat until she finally drops it and runs out of the house. The husband calls the police, who arrive and take the bat as evidence. Eventually, the police arrest the wife.
This behavior is not a one-time occurrence. The wife has hurled fax machines, televisions, and other objects through the air at her husband. She has made threats of physical harm, including a death threat. All these behaviors emanate from the wife while the husband does his best to protect himself and the child. Over time, the situation does not improve. Eventually, they file for dissolution and a fight for custody ensues. The husband seeks to obtain a Domestic Violence Protection Order, but the commissioner refuses. Despite the husband's careful documentation of the continued threatening behavior of his wife, the commissioner orders mutual restraining orders. These orders have neither the protection nor the significance of a Domestic Violence Protection Order.(fn1)
The legal battle continues and the husband wins a victory. Even though he is not the child's natural father, the husband receives custody after a long and expensive legal dispute. However, at the final custody hearing, the judge steadfastly refuses to recognize that there was a history of domestic violence in the family. Although the husband was the only one who offered evidence as to abuse, and despite the fact an arrest was made and contained in the record (though not presented as evidence at trial), the judge denies the fact that an assault ever occurred based on the statutory definition. When the husband's counsel presses the issue, the judge threatens to analyze the husband's credibility. This leaves a huge hole in the case record as to why the mother was unfit to care for the child and could potentially cause problems later on. Because no history of domestic violence against the husband officially appears on the record, the husband is offered no protection.
Unfortunately, the above story is not a fictional portrayal but an actual Washington court case.(fn2) A gross inequality exists between men and women in the treatment of domestic violence situations. Finding justice is nearly impossible for abused men due to the current interpretation of domestic violence by the legal system.(fn3) From the responding officers to the presiding judge, an abused man faces an uphill battle: Who is going to believe a big hulking man could be afraid of his petite wife?
In fact, "domestic violence" is so synonymous with the term "battered women" that male victims of abuse often find their female abusers labeled as the victim.(fn4) While the societal focus on battered women serves to bring the issue of spousal abuse and domestic violence to the forefront, society's definition of a battered spouse must expand to include heterosexual men. Washington's domestic violence laws appear to take this into account with their facially gender-neutral language; nevertheless, in practice and as applied, courts and other state actors often engage in gender profiling, rendering illusory the protections allegedly afforded men as victims of intimate partner violence. Because Washington has failed to expressly include men under domestic violence protection laws, men have few, if any, avenues for legal recourse. It is time for Washington to include men battered by their spouses or domestic partners as a cognizable group deserving protection under the law in the form of both social and legal services.
This Comment explains how the Washington legislature and court system have failed to provide abused men with much needed protection, despite a law that is facially gender neutral. Following this Introduction, Part II explores the wording of Washington's domestic violence statutes and analyzes the current implementing regulations. Part III demonstrates that the problem of abused men is legitimate by examining increasing social awareness and the results of current studies. By examining the prevailing national viewpoint embodied in the Violence Against Women Act, Part IV discusses how such a viewpoint adversely affects the availability of resources for abused men. Part V looks at how the judiciary interprets domestic violence law. In conclusion, Part VI posits ideas on how Washington State can improve its treatment of abused men in order to conform to the gender-neutral language of its statute and remedy this important, though often secret, problem.
II. Washington Domestic Violence Law: The Hidden Bias
The main law in Washington relating to the problems of domestic violence is the Domestic Violence Protection Act, codified in the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) section 26.50, Domestic Violence Protection.(fn5) As the terms of the statute are gender neutral, the assumption is that the law offers equal protection to both male and female victims of domestic violence.(fn6) This part of the Comment examines the Washington domestic violence statute and its implementing regulations, along with other related statutes, detailing ways that their supposed gender neutrality is illusory in practice.
The gender-neutral term "spouse" appears throughout the Domestic Violence Protection Act, and all language is couched with the he/she/his/her pronouns.(fn7) The definition of domestic violence is also gender neutral, defining it in terms of sexual abuse, stalking, and "[pjhysical harm, bodily injury, assault, or the infliction of fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury or assault, between family or household members."(fn8) The statute does not contain any standards or elements to satisfy in order to prove that domestic violence occurred. A petitioner who files a complaint for relief, such as a restraining order, must allege that domestic violence occurred and provide an affidavit that describes what happened.(fn9) No specific requirements as to the evidence required or the credibility of such evidence exists, although the petitioner must swear to the affidavit.(fn10) No weighing mechanism exists for determining if a specific incident equals the violence the statute intends to address.
Specificity as to what constitutes "infliction of fear" is lacking. The only guidance given is found under a separate statute, RCW section 10.99.20, which lists the crimes for which a police officer may make an arrest.(fn11) This is not guidance for judges; the Domestic Violence Protection Act does not require that the domestic violence alleged be an offense that would necessitate arrest, but allows anyone to allege domestic violence has occurred, even if the police are not called. This lack of detail and definition makes it evident that the judge has the discretion to determine whether the alleged act meets the above definition in the required hearing.(fn12) Such unchecked discretion is dangerous, since judges are only human and may share the prevailing societal bias that heterosexual men are not abused at the hands of their wives.(fn13)
While the Domestic Violence Prevention Act is gender neutral in theory, in practice the protections and resources it provides are for women only. Gender profiling is evident in the resources available for victims and the batterer's treatment requirements.
The Domestic Violence Protection Act requires that the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) must provide standards for domestic violence perpetrator programs in accordance with the qualifications set out by the Act.(fn14) These programs must be able to satisfy court orders.(fn15) Washington Administrative Code (WAC) section 388.60 tells the DSHS how it must conduct the batterer's treatment program as required by RCW section 26.50.(fn16) Although the regulation does not explicitly say that batterer treatment services are only for men and victim services are only for women, several references indicate the true intent of the regulation.
First, DSHS is required to provide a victim with a list of available services, including the name of an emergency shelter and specific outreach programs.(fn17) Currently, no official state services exist for battered and abused men, confirming the institutionalized assumption that all victims are women. In practice, the state does not follow the requirements of its own code.
Second, while the code states it cannot discriminate for treatment based on gender, among other factors, it also requires that all treatment groups be of a single gender.(fn18) Because men are viewed as the batterer in most instances, it is unlikely women will ever be referred to or treated as abusers, especially when it is a requirement that all treatment groups be of a single gender.(fn19)
Third, in explaining the requirements of the curriculum of a batterer's treatment program,(fn20) the Code's first requirement is an explanation of "belief systems which legitimize and sustain violence against women."(fn21) No equivalent instruction exists...
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