Steve Wintermute: America's most unreported crime — battered women

Too many who do not live there believe big-city America is a violent, crime-ridden and murderous metro. Too many who do not live there believe small-town rural America is a crime-free, peaceful and bucolic paradise. Neither belief is correct. I lived in small-town, rural Colorado twice — once as a youth and once as an adult when I worked for a newspaper for several years. I do not recall a single article about violence against women in any area newspaper, including mine. All the area newspapers reported their local police "blotter." It was the usual stuff: public intoxication, burglary, assault, and the extremely rare murder. There were never reports of battered women. Another ad sales person at our newspaper told me over a couple of beers one evening after work about her verbally, mentally and physically abusive first husband when she lived in a rural area of an Eastern state. It was a harrowing tale. She left him after suffering "too long." In Colorado she married a "wonderful man" with whom she felt safe enough to tell him about her past relationship. I knew him. He was a well-respected school teacher. I asked why she remained so long with her abusive husband. She said she was terrified that if she ever left, he would track her down and possibly kill her. She did not know who to turn to for help. She said after one physical beating, it was one too many. She could not explain why she finally found the courage to leave. She fled to a relative in Colorado he did not know about. I recalled this conversation from 40 years ago after reading an article in the online edition of the Daily Yonder, which is devoted to rural areas nationwide. The headline is: "Rural Women Are at a Higher Risk of Violence — And Less Likely to Get Help." "Research shows that rural women in the U.S. are more likely to be killed by their current or former male partners compared to their urban and suburban counterparts." The article's author is a University of West Virginia teacher/researcher. He writes: "Data conclusively shows that rural women across the U.S. report physical and sexual violence at higher rates than those in more densely populated areas." He continues: "Due to the lack of media attention to rural areas, my students come to class with the impression that all countrysides and small towns are safer than urban and suburban locales. In reality, rates of violent crime are often higher in many rural communities. Nearly 50 years of research shows that male violence against women knows no geographical or demographic boundaries. Yet, this crime in rural and remote places is reported to the police at lower rates, than in urban areas." The author says research also shows that "rural women are more likely to be killed by their current or former male partners compared to their urban and suburban counterparts. Another study looking at data from 2005-2017 across 16 states found that female homicide rates are higher in rural places." "Research conducted since 1988 has identified several reasons for rural women being at higher risk of violence compared to those living in urban and suburban places. These include geographic and social isolation, widespread acceptance of violence against women, and community norms prohibiting women from seeking social support. "What makes it worse is rural abusers 'feed off' their female partners' isolation and the relative-absence of effective social support services in rural areas versus urban areas." I remember my friend telling me that she did not know who to turn to for help. Now rural/small-town women are setting up safe houses and are making sure their battered counterparts know of them and often help these too-often-hopeless women get there. If only Safe House had been around when my friend needed one. Steve Wintermute is a journalist and history student. Contact him at stevewintermute1@gmail.com.