June 28, 2016
By Kathleen Doherty
After domestic violence victim Jessica Hampton was stabbed to death on a Red Line train last week, many have asked: why didn’t more people help?
But that inquiry must start much earlier than the Thursday, June 23, 2016 murder and must expand far beyond eyewitnesses to the attack itself. Ending tolerance for domestic violence is a responsibility that belongs to us all. To better understand how a relationship ends in death, we must ask ourselves: what messages did the perpetrator receive throughout his life that reinforced the idea that violence was an acceptable option? What messages did the survivor receive...
June 22, 2016
By Mary MacLaren
Every employer has a reason to be scared.
I thought the definition of workplace violence was a classic disgruntled employee who shows up at an office looking for revenge over a dismissal.
I found out most cases are not like that.
Domestic violence and sexual harassment or assault takes multiple forms. The human costs are often brutal and possibly fatal. The economic consequences are incalculable, difficult to contain, and exposure to liability may be considerable.
The estimates are staggering: American businesses spend $8.5 billion each year in disability payments, lost time and productivity. One CEO described how his company spent $50 million...
June 15, 2016
By Rev. Charles Dahm, O.P.
At first, I did not see the problem of domestic violence in our Chicago parish because it was invisible to me. I don’t think women trusted me enough to share their pain, and I was not sensitive enough to detect their suffering. It wasn’t until I hired a pastoral counselor who showed me how to discover domestic violence. That’s when I started to talk about abuse—and the victims came forward.
Then I realized something that was counter-intuitive to me.
The women did not want to leave or lose their abusers. In spite of their abusive behavior, these men...
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HELPLINE: 877.863.6338
SEXUAL ASSAULT HELPLINE: 888.293.2080
