Funds Cut Domestic Violence Cost

The study indicates that the $1.6 billion dispensed by the federal government between 1995 and 2000 under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 has reduced costs associated with domestic violence by about $14.8 billion.

The act is designed to fund domestic violence prevention programs, which are then able to reduce the cost of medical, police and court expenditures.

Kathryn Clark, the study's author, said she used information from the National Institute of Justice to determine the economic feasibility of the federal program.

"The data examined two things: the prevalent estimates of the rate of victimization and the cost analysis of the victimization," she said. "What I think is particularly interesting is that it says we know that violence against women is an important issue from a human rights standpoint but also from a cost side."

But Clark said there is not always an exact correlation between federal funding and reduced domestic violence costs.

"One main problem is that we don't really know what proportion of the reduction is due to the Violence Against Women Act," she said. "But even with 10 percent assumed, it's still substantial."

Leslie Starsoneck, executive director of the N.C. Council for Women and Domestic Violence Commission, said the study is valuable because it provides yet another method for measuring the success of prevention programs.

"I think it's wonderful that someone did this because domestic violence takes a toll on lots of different parts of society," she said.

Starsoneck said the commission advises the governor, state agencies, the N.C. General Assembly and the general population on the special needs of women.

It also allots state funding to community programs.

She added that last year 40,000 women in North Carolina were served by programs funded through the group.

"We have grant programs to provide things like emergency shelter, hotlines, counseling, court advocacy and community education," Starsoneck said. "We are training professionals to accurately identify and help victims."

Matt Sullivan, a police crisis counselor with the Chapel Hill Police Department, said 376 cases of domestic violence were reported in Chapel Hill in 2001.

He said the number of cases per month ranged from 21 to 54.

"By definition it's a serious problem, whether it's a single case or multiple cases," Sullivan said. "We treat domestic violence as we would treat any other incident."

But Sullivan said federal funding allows the department to attack the problem with increased vigor.

"It has allowed us to spend a lot of time focusing on this issue," Sullivan said.

Clark said the study proves that the federal funding has a twofold effect: keeping women from being victimized and keeping costs from domestic violence low.

"It's cost-effective," she said. "It's sort of like a bonus."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.