Berkshire Women Face Isolation, Violence, Teen Pregnancy

By Nichole Dupont
iBerkshires Staff
04:44PM / Friday, December 03, 2010

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Domestic violence in Berkshire County is reaching "crisis" proportions, with incidents doubling over the past year alone. Danielle Shumway, an advocate and councilor at the Elizabeth Freeman Center, described it as an epidemic.

“We have a 40 percent higher rate of restraining orders this year,” Shumway told the Berkshire County Commission on the Status of Women on Thursday night. “So far we’ve had 1,700 calls on our hotline, which is 50 percent more than we had in 2009. There have been five deaths related to domestic violence in Berkshire County.

"We had 3,000 survivors last year. As you can see, this is not a problem contained within a small section of our community. As a community we have to make this stop. How can we tolerate a world and a community with this level of violence?”

Domestic violence was a major issue on the table Thursday night at a public hearing held by the Berkshire County Commission on the Status of Women at the Gladys Allen Brigham Community Center. Eight women of all ages representing different agencies presented their reports to the commission in hopes that their voices will be heard at the State House.

“This evening is about all of you,” said co-Chairwoman Pam Malumphy. “We are going to take this information to the broader caucus of women legislators, the governor’s office, the Senate and the State Commission on the Status Women. What you say here matters.”

While the issues presented ranged from lack of funding to isolation, domestic violence and a lack of voice were at the core of the specific challenges that many women in the Berkshires face.

Kelly Kemp, chief prosecutor for the district attorney's office, said current laws do not protect victims of domestic violence.

Kelly Mulcahey Kemp, chief prosecutor for the district attorney’s office, said the increase in domestic violence incidents in Berkshire County is in part because of lackadaisical laws that do not protect victims of domestic violence.

"The great strides we've made in domestic violence are coming undone," she said. "This is a crisis that impacts all of us."

Kemp made a plea to abolish two Massachusetts laws (General Law 233, Sec. 20 and General Law 276, Sec. 55), which allow for marital privilege in cases of domestic abuse and allow for the defendant and the victim to settle a case on their own without any involvement from a prosecutor.

"We need to correct this sham that leaves victims vulnerable and abusers emboldened," she said. "I'm in the courts four days a week. I’ve seen this happen. We can't turn our backs on them because of loopholes in the law."

In addition to concerns over the increase in domestic violence, Christa Collier, executive director of Girls Inc., said that teen pregnancy rates are a countywide cause for concern.

"We know that it's very important that prevention programs are in place for girls and women," she said. "The rate of teen pregnancy is now at 20.5 percent, yet, between 1998 and 2007 it has decreased by 21.7 percent in the rest of the state. We can't just expect girls to walk in our doors; we have 17 outreach programs in 23 cities and towns."

Other issues on the table were concerns over the lack of women representatives in the Legislature; pre-natal, delivery and post-partum doula support; immigration reform, the isolation of immigrant women and body image.

"A growing number of women are not being counted," said Claudine Chavanne of the Adult Learning Center. "I've been a community planner for 10 years and I've seen significant changes. There is an increased sense of isolation for many women in Berkshire County. There are more and more women with fewer choices. The dollars have dwindled. I ask that the state be brave and give us the funding we need so we can focus our energy on these issues."