Family advocacy brings awareness to Domestic Violence Awareness Month

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Samantha S. Crane
  • 366th Fighter Wing Public Affairs Office
MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, Idaho --  In the past 18 months, Mountain Home Air Force Base has seen an increase in family maltreatment referrals.

"The Air Force has a high percentage of young married couples who are at higher risk for domestic violence," said Connie Powers, family advocacy outreach manager. "This is compounded by family disruption caused by deployments, high operations tempo, high rates of alcohol use and lack of awareness of community resources."

As October is Domestic Violence Awareness month, and the base family advocacy clinic would like to remind Gunfighters of the following information regarding the dangers of this type of violence and what's available to them to prevent and treat domestic violence.

"Domestic violence affects every community including Mountain Home Air Force Base," said Mrs. Powers. "The Air Force has zero tolerance for family maltreatment. Family violence impacts the common goal of mission readiness and is unacceptable and incompatible with Air Force standards."

According to Idaho Partners Against Domestic Violence, the Idaho State Police reported 6,360 incidents of domestic violence with 4,689 petitions for civil protection filed in 2007.

During this same time period, 22 people died across Idaho in incidents linked to domestic violence.

During fiscal year 2007, FAP received 64 referrals and 44 met criteria for maltreatment, according to Mrs. Powers. For fiscal year 2008, the number of FAP referrals for maltreatment is 128 with 53 meeting criteria for maltreatment.

"If your partner is jealous and possessive towards you, tries to control you, blames everyone else for his or her problems, threatens you, is violent, abuses drugs or alcohol, pressures you for sex, isolates you from friends and family, gets serious about the relationship fast or has history of bad relationships, it could be warning signs for domestic violence," said Mrs. Powers. "A co-worker who is missing work or comes to work with unexplained marks or bruises may also be a victim of domestic violence."

Per Air Force Instruction 40-301, all active duty and civilian employees are required to report suspected child, spouse or intimate partner maltreatment to family advocacy.

FAP works with military command officials, the 366th Security Forces Squadron, 366th Medical Group, Airmen and Family Readiness Center, chapel and various civilian organizations to help treat domestic violence victims in the military. FAP also provides relationship safety trainings with various squadrons and groups on base by request.

Most family advocacy referrals come from law enforcement or command sections and are considered non-restricted reports. Family advocacy then completes a comprehensive psychological assessment of each family member to develop a treatment or intervention plan for the family.

"A victim can, however, have the option of making a restricted report to the military victim advocate," said Pat Alexander, base victim advocate. "This allows the victim to receive services from a victim advocate without notifying law enforcement or their chain of command."

"We would like to encourage people to take advantage of classes designed to prevent family maltreatment before it escalates to violence," said Mrs. Powers.

Examples of classes available to Gunfighters are:

The Family Advocacy Safety Education Seminar: a four-hour class designed to decrease the risk of family violence. Curriculum covers anger management, stress and relaxation, alcohol and family violence, communication, deployment concerns, relationship safety, parenting strategies and community resources.

The New Parent Support Program: Family advocacy registered nurse Paula Cumber educates and prepares new parents to handle pregnancy, birth and care of infants and children up to age three. Other classes offered for new parents include Baby Care Basics, New Dad's Class and a siblings class designed for children 2-and-a-half to 6-years-old who will become a big brother or sister for the first time.

The Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program: Taught by Mrs. Powers and Chaplain (Capt.) Dwayne Jones. This six-week couple's communication class is part of an Air Force wide research study that will start this fall. PREP covers emotional safety, personal safety and commitment safety in relationships.

For more information or for assistance, contact family advocacy at 828-7520, Mrs. Powers at 828-7143, Ms. Alexander at 828-7465 or the Elmore County Domestic Violence Crisis Hotline at 587-3300.