This Radio Program is available at http://media.csosa.gov/podcast/audio/2007/01/domestic-violence-3/
[Audio Begins]
Leonard Sipes: Hi, and welcome to the radio version of D.C. Public Safety. I’m your host, Len Sipes. At our microphones today is Yanira Sanabriad, she is with the Domestic Violence Unit of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency. And Yanira, welcome to D.C. Public Safety.
Yanira Sanabriad: Thank you, Mr. Sipes.
Leonard Sipes: Now you deal with domestic violence, correct?
Yanira Sanabriad: Correct.
Leonard Sipes: And how long have you been with Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency?
Yanira Sanabriad: For three years.
Leonard Sipes: For three years. And you got involved in domestic violence because you were placed there, because you wanted to go there?
Yanira Sanabriad: Actually when I came to the agency, I was placed general supervision.
Leonard Sipes: Right.
Yanira Sanabriad: And later on someone wanted to transfer form the domestic violence intervention program into the general supervision, so we swapped. And that’s how I ended up in the unit.
Leonard Sipes: So this is something you wanted to do, right?
Yanira Sanabriad: Yes. Actually my major is psychology and I wanted to put my training to good use.
Leonard Sipes: I did a show a little while ago on the Domestic Violence Unit and I said that as a police officer I was shocked because I never saw my parents hit each other. They would go behind closed doors and argue, but I never saw them hit each other. And when I was a young police officer, actually I was a cadet with the Maryland State Police, and we were doing a ride-along and we went to this home where a man was beating up his wife with a frying pan. And I was just appalled, it’s something that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. So domestic violence really struck me as being an everyday part of the criminal justice system more prevalent than you would think-then the average person would think, correct?
Yanira Sanabriad: Correct, and I think it happens as we are speaking or there is a domestic violence happening now. The only that the issue-it’s not known until it’s brought to the court system.
Leonard Sipes: Right.
Yanira Sanabriad: And it’s unfortunately for the victims that they live this type of life-suffering at hands of batterers.
Leonard Sipes: Right.
Yanira Sanabriad: When they come to the system it is hard for them to recognize that they have a problem with their behavior.
Leonard Sipes: Because a lot of males think that they have a perfect right to hit females. Now I’m not discounting the fact that there are women who do battering, but the vast majority of the batterers are male.
Yanira Sanabriad: That is correct. Statistics show that there are more females hurt than males.
Leonard Sipes: Right.
Yanira Sanabriad: And not to diminish that females do batter.
Leonard Sipes: Because they do.
Yanira Sanabriad: They do. But as men, they keep their pride and they will not call the police and report the abuse. But I think it statistically shows that females are the ones that suffer more in regards of this issue. It’s very unfortunately because we are seeing that the family-the kids and the females suffer a lot.
Leonard Sipes: And that’s a very important point because the overwhelming majority of the offenders that we have are parents and their kids are in that background or there and they see the battering take place, and psychologically that’s difficult.
Yanira Sanabriad: That is correct. And unfortunately, some men will use that power and control as we call it, to utilize the children as a means to stay and beat the woman in the house. It is unfortunately once they come to the system, the family gets separated and they try to manipulate to return to the relationship.
Leonard Sipes: Right.
Yanira Sanabriad: But again to manifest the same behavior. And they’re doing a lot of harm to the child. I can relate a story that I have.
Leonard Sipes: Please.
Yanira Sanabriad: I was 15 at that age when I saw someone doing domestic violence.
Leonard Sipes: Right.
Yanira Sanabriad: And it’s been probably 16 years and at that time I told the parents not to fight in front of the children and they kept fighting and that’s what they did.
Leonard Sipes: Now was this part of you job as community supervision-this is before-this is when you were younger?
Yanira Sanabriad: No, this is a younger age.
Leonard Sipes: Okay, fine.
Yanira Sanabriad: It’s to relate the impact of domestic violence in children and in the family.
Leonard Sipes: Right.
Yanira Sanabriad: The latest notice that I have on this family is that the children basically-they’re still together, they say, ‘we are going to save the marriage for the sake of the children.’
Leonard Sipes: Right.
Yanira Sanabriad: It ended up that the children have not finished high school.
Leonard Sipes: Right.
Yanira Sanabriad: So to say-it’s a great impact that domestic violence has in the family. And sometimes the culture, especially there’s some cultures that will blame the children if they commit the same mistake as the parents.
Leonard Sipes: Right.
Yanira Sanabriad: So I think domestic violence is an issue that people have to be conscientious about it and be educated. Right now we provide treatment to the offender population here in the District. We have a Spanish program for the Latino community in the District.
Leonard Sipes: Right.
Yanira Sanabriad: So that is another realm of people that we serve.
Leonard Sipes: And I think you’re correct in terms of the impact on the kids because one of the things that always amazes me is the long-lasting impact, not just on the female or male victim-and again, the overwhelming majority of the times they are female victims, but it’s the kids. Often times what we call domestic violence, we’re not just talking about being slapped once, and we’re also talking about emotional intimidation, I guess almost being imprisoned within your own home.
Yanira Sanabriad: Right.
Leonard Sipes: But the kids see this on a day in day out basis and it has a profoundly negative impact on them and their potential to grow up as healthy complete human beings.
Yanira Sanabriad: It certainly does. We can see that the child will start to develop the same pattern as the parents once they-they date probably the same type of men that the mother was in the relationship, so it has a great impact in the life of that child. So I think there is more work to educate the community about the domestic violence and what it is.
Leonard Sipes: And hopefully we’re doing that just now talking about the complete picture when we say domestic violence, it is far more comprehensive and far more difficult than most people think.
Yanira Sanabriad: Right, it’s the physical abuse, but also there is the psychological abuse, the verbal abuse that it entails, so it is a very complex issue and some people diminish the impact on the child but this is a family affair, as we can say.
Leonard Sipes: Yanira, thank you for being with us today.
Yanira Sanabriad: Thank you, Mr. Sipes.
[Audio Ends]
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