Point of View: CAUSE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VARIES

REGARDING "Treatment needed for inmates" ("Point of View," Dec. 11): Ben
Brown stated, "Substance abuse is the primary cause of most of Oklahoma's
societal ills, including domestic violence." The inaccurate perception that
domestic violence is caused by substance abuse can lull battered women and
society into a false sense of safety. I write to correct any misperceptions
that may have resulted from this statement. Domestic violence is the
intentional use of verbal, psychological and/or physical violence by one
family member, including an intimate partner, to control another. This
includes abuse by former partners. Professionals who work under the
assumption of a causal relationship between substance use/ abuse will leave
untreated the actual causal factors.

While professionals working with domestic violence agree that the use of
alcohol and other drugs is a risk factor for domestic violence, research
supports that there is no cause and effect link between substance abuse and
domestic violence. In terms of domestic violence, substance abuse can be
viewed as an excuse, providing a time from responsibility during which the
user can engage in behaviors that are later disavowed because of the
substance rather than the self.

To label substance abuse as the primary cause of domestic violence belies
the experience of hundreds of thousands of victims and survivors of domestic
violence. What is the primary cause of domestic violence? A child's exposure
to the father abusing the mother is the strongest risk factor for
transmitting violent behavior from one generation to the next, according to
the American Psychological Association. Other factors that contribute to and
perpetuate violence are believing that the violence is acceptable, believing
that the violence is effective, knowledge that consequences for the violent
behavior are minimal or nonexistent, the desire for personal power, and
social norms that indirectly excuse violence against women.

Those of us who work with families struggling with domestic violence
unequivocally support intervention and treatment for individuals who suffer
from substance abuse. We believe that substance abuse treatment is
lifesaving for addicts.

But substance abuse treatment does not stop violence. Abstinent and
recovering substance abusers are well-represented in domestic violence
courts and batterer treatment programs. Domestic violence programs provide a
safety for victims of the crime of domestic violence and their children, and
without a doubt save lives. Both substance abuse and domestic violence
should be considered primary problems, and reduction of one problem to the
familiar language and interventions of the other is ill- advised.

If you or someone you know suffers from domestic violence, or if you are a
perpetuator of domestic violence, there is help. You can call the Oklahoma
Safeline at (800) 522-SAFE (7233) or the National Domestic Violence Hotline,
(800) 799-SAFE. They will refer you to the nearest domestic violence
program.

Smith is executive director of the Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic
Violence and Sexual Assault.