Dec. 4, 2019 – Between 2013 and 2017, more than 30,000 domestic abuse incidents were reported each year in Wisconsin, according to data collected by the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ). In more than 70 percent of reported incidents, women were victims.

Not all reported domestic incidents led to charges or convictions against a suspect, for various reasons. In 2017, for instance, more than 12,500 cases were not prosecuted. But more than 11,500 were prosecuted, resulting in about 7,600 criminal convictions.

Statistics don’t include unreported incidents. “Many domestic abuse victims are hesitant to report the crime due to obstacles such as shame, stigma, fear of the abuser, and community and family pressure,” wrote Amanda Rabe and Megan Sprecher in a 2018 Wisconsin Lawyer article, “Representing Domestic Abuse Survivors.”

But there are services, in addition to legal measures, that can help victims of domestic violence, including a relatively new program called Safe at Home, a statewide address confidentiality program. More than 35 states administer similar programs.

Hundreds Participating

Created by legislation in 2016 and administered by the Wisconsin DOJ, Safe at Home offers a “free mail-forwarding service that provides victims of actual or threatened abuse, stalking, trafficking, and/or those who fear for their physical safety with a legal substitute address to be used for public and private purposes.”

Since being implemented in 2017, more than 850 Wisconsin residents now use the program, which serves about 400 households. Half of participants are children.

“The program is still growing,” said Erin Welsh, director of Safe at Home. “But it’s still in its infancy. We are spreading the word, finding different ways to make the program available and known, and working with many different partner agencies.”

Organizations like Legal Action of Wisconsin provide direct legal services to survivors of domestic violence, helping individuals obtain restraining orders, divorces, and child custody orders. Other victim advocacy groups help develop specific safety plans for victimized individuals, and Safe at Home is now part of the broader plan.

Organizations in every county have designated Safe at Home application assistants on staff to help individuals through the application process, and provide information.

Wisconsin lawyers, in addition to the many who provide direct legal services to survivors of domestic abuse, can assist through program awareness. Lawyers who practice in other areas can help guide victims to programs and services like Safe at Home.

Millions Victimized Each Year

Stalking and domestic abuse is dramatized on the big screen, in films such as Sleeping with the Enemy (1991) and Enough (2002). But each year in the U.S., domestic violence is a reality for millions of people, and leaving the situation is difficult.

“The risk of experiencing violence increases significantly both during and after separation,” according to a report from the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. “Because a victim’s move to separate signals an impending loss of control, a perpetrator often escalates tactics to exert abusive power and control and may punish the victim through threats, other acts of violence, or child abduction.”

The report notes that the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which created the National Domestic Violence Hotline and supports federal grants to states, requires protection orders issued in one jurisdiction to be enforced in all others. In this way, a protection order protects victims who are able to escape abuse by leaving the state.

But even protection orders may not stop an abuser from attempting to locate their victims. In materials submitted to the Wisconsin Legislature, in support of the Safe at Home Program, Legal Action of Wisconsin noted a recent client experience.

The client had fled to Washington State to escape her abusive husband. During the divorce proceedings, the husband attempted to gain access to her new address. However, at the time, Washington had an address confidentiality program.

Any court documents related to the divorce proceedings were filtered through the safe address, as was other mail that allowed the victim to keep her address confidential.

Confidentiality programs like this, now available in Wisconsin, are increasingly important as the internet and data collection make it difficult to keep addresses confidential.

Safe at Home is One Tool

Wisconsin’s program, governed by Wis. Stat. section 165.68, is relatively broad and inclusive, compared with some other states, Welsh noted. Police reports or verifiable restraining orders are not required – an applicant who attests to the need is eligible.

The program is open to all Wisconsin residents who are victims of an act or threat of abuse, or the parent or guardian of a person who is a victim. “Abuse” means domestic abuse, child abuse, sexual abuse, stalking, or trafficking.

The applicant’s residence address cannot be known by the abuser, and the applicant cannot disclose his or her actual residential, work, or school address to the person who committed or threatened to commit the abuse.

Importantly, the confidentiality program requires participants to develop a broader safety plan with a program assistant. “Safe at Home is one component that fits within the overall safety plan,” Welsh said. “But there are many more considerations when developing a safety plan, which is why the safety plan requirement is so important.”

For instance, the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence has developed a safety plan that identifies variety of specific strategies, including safety during a violent incident, safety when preparing to leave, safety at home, safety with an order of protection, and safety on the job and in public.

“Safety planning involves very practical things that victims can do to increase their chances of survival, such as changing the route they take to work and identifying trustworthy neighbors who know to call the police if the abusive person appears,” End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin Associate Director Tony Gibart told lawmakers in 2016.

Conclusion

Domestic violence remains a large societal problem in the U.S. From 2013 to 2017, in Wisconsin alone, nearly 48,000 cases resulted in misdemeanor or felony convictions in domestic abuse-related cases. The Safe at Home program is one more tool to help survivors of abuse remain safe.