Holiday stress hits home

By Michael Glover

Herald-Tribune

As the holidays supposedly evoke peace, happiness and love, it's also a time of isolation and despair for women suffering from domestic violence.

Wilma Leach, an advocate against domestic violence in of Fort Scott, said domestic violence during holidays increases because of triggers caused by several stressors.

"Sadly, domestic violence, in any form, is more prevalent during this time of year," Leach said. "It can all be traced back to stress."

There's a slight increase in domestic violence in Fort Scott during the holiday season, according to Fort Scott Police Department records. From Nov. 25 to Dec. 16, police responded to 17 reports of alleged domestics, leading to 6 arrests, according to statistic sheets provided by the department. Last year, the department recorded 13 domestic incidents in all of November and midway through December. That's an increase of 31 percent in a shorter amount of time than this year's time period. Police don't release specific information on domestic cases, citing privacy policies to protect the individuals involved.

Leach, who helped coordinate a domestic violence awareness breakfast on Oct. 26, said the domestic violence can be attributed to economic struggles some families encounter during the increasingly materialistic Christmastime season.

The city of Fort Scott and the Bourbon County Domestic Violence Task Force hosted the hour-long breakfast event. The event is part of the task force's "silence hides violence" program aimed at confronting domestic violence by further educating key members of the community about the warning signs and dangers of domestic violence.

"There are people out there struggling to get by and that could increase the stress level and then possibly start a domestic situation," Leach said.

Alcohol might be to blame for a spike in domestic incidents --not only locally, but also nationwide, where statistics from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence claim that every 9 seconds a woman is battered by her intimate partner.

An increase in domestic violence during the holidays could be a regional problem.

Assistant Chief Gary Herstein of the Nevada Police Department said sometimes the department sees an increase in domestic calls around the holidays, often because people who aren't used to being together come together for extended periods of time.

According to an article on the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza Web site, representatives from Tahoe Woman's Services, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting victims of domestic violence, said their clinic hasn't experienced an increase in the number of clients seeking help from domestic violence since Thanksgiving.

Lynn Shull, client services manager for Tahoe Women's Services, said the number of TWS clients actually decreases during the holidays, according to the article.

Shana McClery, a case worker for the crisis resource center in Fort Scott, said the problem of domestic violence also can be caused by family members being together in one place during the holidays.

She's also a member of the Domestic Violence Task Force, which was started in 1998.

Women who've been victims of domestic violence or think they're in danger of being abused can contact Shelley Corley, member of Domestic Violence Task Force, at (620) 231-8692 or at the toll free number at (800) 794-9148.