Society has made progress dealing with assault cases
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Posted: Wednesday, August 28, 2013 12:00 pm
Note: This is the final story in a three-part series detailing the experiences of Owosso native Lana Lawrence in her quest for answers related to charges brought against her father for abusing her as a child.
As Lana Lawrence continues to try to heal from her abuse, society itself marches down a path to better understanding how victims are affected by such a traumatic experience as sexual or physical abuse.
“Overall our society has been gaining knowledge and awareness of trauma and abuse. That is certainly, I think, a very important increase in holding people accountable. I think the reaction this whole country had to, say Penn State, is actually a very good sign,” said Dr. Jennifer Freyd, professor of psychology at the University of Oregon. “People don’t like it and want to stop it.”
There was a time when abuse within a family went either unnoticed or swept under the rug, said Shiawassee County Prosecutor Deana Finnegan, who considers child abuse to be the No. 1 priority of her prosecutor’s office.
“Thirty-seven years ago this was a dirty secret nobody wanted to talk about or admit what was going on,” she said. “We’ve become more aware that this is going on.”
And not only aware of the issue, but intolerant to it.
“I think awareness is directly related to tolerance. In many respects, we just don’t tolerate it in our society like we used to,” said Tom Dignan, Probate/Family Court Judge in Shiawassee County.
As a result of that shift in mindset, additional resources such as the Child Advocacy Center, SafeCenter, Crime Victim’s Right Act of Michigan (established in 1985), the Sex Offender’s Registration Act (established in 1995) have come about to not only help those already victimized, but to prevent future abuse.
“It’s made it easier for victims to come forward and it’s de-stigmatized it,” Dignan said. “It’s created a marketplace for the help, and treatment for this is not one-size-fits-all. It’s given the opportunity to find the best form of treatment that works for them.”
Lawrence, who has dealt for decades with the trauma caused by the abuse by her father, said these resources were not available to her in 1977, but would have made a huge difference in her life. They are support services she now uses, and finds great comfort in, she said.
“I am quite impressed with SafeCenter and wish that this resource had been available to me in 1977,” she said, adding she utilizes the center’s counselors to help her through her search for answers in the criminal case against her father.
The potential of recharging Walter Lawrence Sr. in the alleged abuse of his daughter, Lana Lawrence, is not possible, according to Prosecutor Deana Finnegan.
Double jeopardy, which prohibits being charged twice for the same crime, and statute of limitations prevent the recharging, Finnegan wrote in her letter to Lana Lawrence.
“They are helping me as I go through this difficult public disclosure, and I am impressed with the quality of services that they provide.”
Not only have things changed in the public eye, but court systems are becoming more cognizant of trauma caused by abuse, and especially locally, are taking steps to better ease victims through the process.
“It’s very important there is justice for everybody. You want justice by your defendant, but you also want justice for your victim,” Finnegan said. “They are apprised of every phase of the hearings. They’re also allowed input. We have final say in the prosecution, but we do get victim’s input.”
Finnegan in April gained approval from the county board of commissioners to participate in the Canine Advocacy Program, through which the county has acquired a “therapy dog” to work to accompany children during forensic interviews in cases of abuse and neglect.
Children now are interviewed once by a trained forensic interviewer at the Child Advocacy Center. Finnegan said it used to be common for child victims to have to describe their abuse to a law enforcement officer, child services, a prosecutor and then potentially a court while on the stand.
“The most glaring difference is the forensic interview process, which we do at the Child Advocacy Center,” Dignan said. “There is now a process for interviewing, to determine not only the accuracy, but to get the completion of what went on.”
From August of 2011 to August of 2012, the prosecutor’s office has pursued 46 counts of criminal sexual conduct, most of which earned convictions of third-degree CSC or higher, partially due to improved interviewing techniques.
“Clearly, the prosecutor’s office is making a tremendous effort to deal with sexual and domestic violence crimes in ways that are most healing for the victims. The changes that Deana has instituted since being elected are remarkable, and I am happy to hear that we now have a SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) program, as well as the leader dog program for children who are being interviewed and/or testifying in court,” Lawrence wrote in an email. “I also feel that Shiawassee County is now ahead of the national curve when it comes to prosecuting these difficult cases.”
“We’ve done a lot of really positive things to make this experience less traumatic,” Finnegan added.
But as society continues to move forward in talking about abuse and make aware its affects — there are still one in four females and one in six males who face abuse — officials said there is still a long road ahead.
“The more people who talk about it and come forward, the more things continue to change,” said Rhoda Hacker, director of SafeCenter of Shiawassee County. “But things need to continue to change. People are still victimized and not believed.”
She said advocacy and awareness is the key to continuing to make things better.
“It’s happening at an astonishing rate and we need to know about it and we need to talk about it and let perpetrators know we’re watching them,” she said.
The most important thing, Lawrence said, is that victims feel comfortable coming forward and talking about their abuse.
“I believe that I would have been able to come forward and would have been believed if my case were to come before the system today. I believe that services would be in place to assist me that would have minimized the amount of trauma that I endured,” Lawrence said. “My greatest wish is that this series of articles allows others to come forward and report abuse. Whether a victim, or someone who suspects abuse, coming forward and continuing to tell of the experiences until someone acts is the best way to reduce the trauma to the child or adult survivor. I could have been spared many rapes had I been believed the first time I disclosed to a person in a position of authority, and I must impress upon readers the importance of believing children and acting in order to get them to safety.”
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