DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESOURCES … Williams County Victim Assistance Director Susan Tennant (left) and Williams County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Emil Gravelle, III (right) discuss Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which is in October.
By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
October has been designated as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and Williams County local officials and agencies have combined forces to give protection for those individuals who have encountered this unfortunate situation.
“I believe it’s very important that we bring awareness to domestic violence,” said Susan Tennant, who is the Director of Williams County Victim Assistance.
The importance of bringing domestic violence into the forefront in Williams County includes a task force consisting of various offices and individuals, including the county prosecutor’s office, law enforcement officials, Children’s Services, Sarah’s Friends, local doctors, the Williams County Probation Department, and the Williams County Juvenile Court.
“Unfortunately, we see a lot of cases here that are reported,” pointed out Tennant. “We also know there’s many, many more incidents that are not reported due to many different reasons, including fear, women unable to find a place to live apart from their abuser, and financial reasons.”
For those people who have encountered abuse for various reasons, Williams County Victim Assistance offers programs providing services to help victims of crime recover and navigate the legal system.
“I want people to know there is help whether you want to report the crime or not,” said Tennant. “We do have organizations that can help. We have counseling, and to deter those who are thinking about it.”
Among the services provided are crisis intervention, counseling and emotional support, as well as legal advocacy to assist victims in understanding their rights and navigating the judicial process.
The assistance program helps with safety planning and provides referrals to essential services such as shelters, medical care, financial assistance, and counseling.
It also provides aid in applying for victim compensation to cover expenses like medical bills and lost wages.
The purpose of the program is to raise awareness about crime prevention and victims’ rights, ensuring victims receive the necessary support to heal and seek justice.
Tennant said there are tougher penalties for those who commit domestic violence, and the county’s judicial system has two judges who take it very seriously: Common Pleas Court Judge Rhonda Fisher and Bryan Municipal Court Judge Kent North.
There are other programs to help those individuals with anger management and making better decisions, even though domestic violence has lifelong consequences.
“Even if the victim heals from their physical injuries, the emotional and mental toll can last for a very long time, most of their life,” said Tennant.
Williams County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Emil Gravelle, III, commented that while many consider domestic violence to be physical or financial, he believes the worst form is mental abuse, which serves as the controlling factor.
“Because in the legal system, that’s harder to go about and proving rather than if I see an injury on the face,” noted Gravelle III.
“But the mental abuse and that usually lasts long, and that scar is going to last a lot longer than the scar that happens on someone’s face.”
Having been involved in domestic violence cases throughout most of his legal career as an attorney before even becoming a prosecutor, helping victims of domestic violence get CPOs (civil protection orders), and he has done similar work in sexual assault cases.
“It’s something that is near and dear to me that I wanted to continue to help with,” said Gravelle. “Even though it’s October, I think it should be every month, but at least you can take one month and take your time with resources and concentrate to get that out to the public to acknowledge what is going on, what’s happening, and here are those resources for that.
“I think that’s the best thing you can do is to get that effective going forward.” He pointed out that there is help out there for those affected by domestic violence.
“First off, because you might have the abuser keeping the person in the home, maybe financially or emotionally,” said Gravelle III.
“Keeping them in the home and not having them report, is the hardest thing. That’s why if you can ever get out, it’s to make a safety plan to get out so you can work on getting out.”
A majority of domestic violence cases in which the assistant prosecutor has handled over the years come down to the control factor involving other family members besides the husband and wife.
“I’ve already handled cases with a grandmother and granddaughter situation where the granddaughter will attack the grandmother,” he said.
“And it goes both ways, even though the spouses are pushing the female partner to do it over the male partner and causing an interaction where the female becomes the aggressor.
“It happens both ways. We try to work those out, and there are penalties for it because it’s taken seriously.”
He then added, “I’m very happy that within the last few years, they came up with a strangulation law because it wasn’t serious enough, not felonious assault, it’s just domestic violence for an assault.
“Having that in there is really helpful because people that I‘ve known and the former clients, they were strangled, but they all got charged with was domestic violence even though they almost died.”
There are tougher penalties involved in committing domestic violence acts.
“If you are arrested for domestic violence, the first charge is a misdemeanor of the first degree,” said Tennant, who also covers cases in municipal, common pleas, and juvenile courts.
She then added, “If you are arrested again, the second time, it most likely is a felony, and the penalties are much different there.
“The hope is that if you are arrested for domestic violence in municipal court and you get put on probation, you go through their program, you learn, and you become a better person. Does it happen all the time? No.”
Tennant noted there are programs and opportunities available for offenders, especially those who have anger issues or are in difficult relationships.
“We do have counseling in our area,” she pointed out. “We work a lot with Shalom Counseling Center, where we do referrals there.
“The Center for Child and Family Advocacy, and recently, Sarah’s Friends, has a licensed professional counselor. We do have different options available.”
The Williams County Domestic Violence Task Force will be collecting donations on Friday, October 3, from 10:00 a.m. until noon at the Williams County Prosecutors’ office located on 422 East High Street, Suite 114 in Bryan.
Items needed are bottled water, snacks, toiletries, ladies’ underwear (L-3X), stuffed animals, and socks.
All of the items collected will help the Northwest Ohio SART (Sexual Assault Response Team), which is a collaborative effort between Northwest Ohio hospitals, victim advocates, law enforcement agencies, and prosecutors’ offices.