Measuring progress in the fight against domestic violence is challenging.
Although data indicates a decrease in domestic violence calls to the Durango Police Department and cases handled by the 6th Judicial District Attorney’s Office so far this year, those figures tell only part of the story.
In 2023, the Durango Police Department responded to 137 domestic violence calls, while the DA’s office managed 257 felony domestic violence cases. As of Tuesday, with about two months remaining in 2024, DPD has responded to 81 domestic violence calls, and the DA’s office has prosecuted 206 felony cases involving domestic violence.
The Denver Post reported on Tuesday that domestic violence-related deaths decreased statewide in 2023.
But saying fewer people are impacted by domestic violence based solely on those numbers can be an oversimplification.
“Sometimes we have people ask us, ‘How are you all doing on ending domestic violence?’ Well, it’s not our job to end domestic violence. It’s the perpetrators’,” said Val Ross, executive director of Alternative Horizons, a domestic violence victim advocacy group in La Plata County.
In 2023, the group provided services to 329 clients
For those working with the survivors of domestic abuse, progress isn’t measured by a statistic. It’s measured when a survivor feels empowered and safe.
There are still many victims who don’t report domestic violence, said DPD Cmdr. Jacob Dunlop.
With so many harmed by domestic abuse, the fight is never over, advocates say.
Advocates and law enforcement recognize that relationships can be complex. Many people seek romantic relationships in hopes of finding fulfillment, but this longing can be exploited by abusers who prioritize control and dominance over genuine connection.
Anyone can be a perpetrator or a victim of domestic abuse, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation or ethnicity. However, statistics show that women are still the most impacted by this type of violence.
According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 29% of women and 10% of men have experienced rape, physical violence and/or stalking by a partner.
Sometimes it can begin with a tactic known as “love bombing,” where a perpetrator overwhelms a partner with gifts and excessive affection early in the relationship.
Although affection is often sought in relationships, perpetrators frequently use it as a manipulative tool, leveraging it to gain control over their victims.
“A perpetrator is a master at that – harming and then overloading with love to repair,” said Holly, a legal advocate with Alternative Horizons, who requested to use only her first name as a safety precaution given her line of work.
From there, it can escalate to other forms of control like requesting control over their finances, stalking a victim on social media or through their phone, or even using spyware.
In some cases, if the couple has children, the abuser may use them to spy on the victim, said Lisa, an advocate at Alternative Horizons.
Often, the abuser will say things like “tell me what your mom was up to today,” she said.
Such tactics are forms of coercive control – any pattern of obsessed, oppressive, dominating behavior that is used to control thoughts, feelings or behaviors of a survivor.
Often, the goal of an abuser is to isolate their victim, Ross said.
Isolation can come in the form of creating dependence, especially financially. Coercive control is a way for an abuser to cause the victim to feel a sense of guilt.
“Part of the dynamics of domestic violence is that the perpetrator blames the victim for everything that's happening, and so that survivor believes that about themselves,” Ross said.
Often, advocates are pressed with questions as to why victims wouldn’t just leave their abuser.
Holly said survivors will often measure how bad the abuse is on a day-to-day basis. On good days, survivors will justify staying with an abuser because they see it as progress or they are dependent on their abuser in some form.
“It attributes to why a survivor stays a lot of the time,” she said. “They love this person, and they see it as perhaps them trying to repair the harm they’ve done, when it’s not quite as straightforward as that.”
Often, the psychological elements of abuse ramp up and create violent interactions in the relationship.
Ross said she and the advocates have noticed an increase in domestic strangulation, sexual assault and even sex trafficking cases.
Still, it’s a struggle for survivors to pursue charges in the criminal justice system, the advocates said.
Not only do their abusers try to blame them but often victims fear being blamed in a courtroom setting for being abused.
Holly said recent changes in Colorado law aim to help survivors.
Beginning in 2025, a revision to Colorado law will remove the imminent danger requirements from civil protection orders.
Currently, a petitioner must prove the defendant has harmed or threatened to harm them and that they are at risk of further abuse or threats if the order is not granted.
“That pretty much means a threat to their life,” Holly said.
Also beginning in 2025, a judge may convert a temporary protection order into a permanent one if the restrained party engages in behavior that poses a risk of physical, psychological or emotional harm.
“Many survivors are denied a protection order, often because a judge cannot find that harm,” Holly said.
House Bill 24-1350 will also allow courts to consider elements of coercive control in custody and divorce cases. This means judges will factor in whether a domestic abuser is using such tactics when issuing their rulings.
“In a divorce or custody case, they can have an investigator trained and asked to look for those types of tactics,” Holly said.
Alternative Horizons does outreach efforts, including setting up tables at Fort Lewis College to raise awareness about domestic violence red flags and making sure students and others are being safe in their relationships.
In domestic violence cases, the district attorney’s office uses a screening process valuate the risk of a perpetrator reoffending.
“We want to make sure that victims feel like it’s safe to come forward and report cases to law enforcement and to the district attorney’s office,” said District Attorney Sean Murray. “So if we get witness retaliation or victim retaliation, we take those cases extremely seriously.”
Law enforcement can gauge the severity of a domestic violence case using a lethality assessment – a questionnaire given to victims that asks about the abuse victims endured.
The sheet asks questions like “Have they ever threatened you with a weapon?” or “Have they ever tried to choke you?”
“The lethality assessment program was created and vetted by scholarly and empirical research,” Dunlop said. “We go off national averages and see if these factors are present, and if this has ever been done before.”
Based on the responses, officers can gauge the level of harm or even the potential for death in a domestic violence situation.
For perpetrators, part of their sentence usually requires domestic violence treatment and counseling, Murray said.
Treatment seeks to address the issue of domestic violence at its core.
“Domestic violence is about power and control,” Ross said. “A lot of folks think, if the perpetrator would just learn how to manage their anger or not consume alcohol this would all go away. That is not what domestic violence is. It’s the desire to control another human being.”
In the state of Colorado, there’s a mandatory arrest law for domestic violence cases, which means officers must make an arrest when there is reasonable cause that domestic violence has occurred.
“When we arrive on the scene, we typically separate the parties and conduct individual interviews to understand what happened and what led to the behavior that prompted the call,” Dunlop said. “Whether it’s neighbors reporting shouting, screaming or things breaking, we gather independent accounts. If we determine that a crime has been committed, we are required by state law to make an arrest.”
Dunlop said most domestic violence cases have unique circumstances. t is frustrating to see it happen over and over, he said.
“It’s so individual and unique to every relationship. We do see people being victimized by their partners time and time again,” he said. “They go through the court process and they’ll mind their P’s and Q’s and then get back together.”
tbrown@durangoherald.com
