Domestic violence is a huge problem in the United States -- a problem that affects far too many families, and takes far too many lives each year. These charts were made from a recent YouGov Poll on Americans attitudes toward domestic violence. It was done between February 14th and 17th of a random national sample of 1,000 adults, with a margin of error of 4 points.
As you can see from the top chart, about three out of four people don't think domestic violence is a problem that can be properly handled by just the people involved. They believe it is a problem best handled by the police and the courts -- and that attitude is shared across gender, age, race, and income demographic lines.
But after the police settle a domestic violence situation, who should decide whether charges are filed and the perpetrator convicted of the abuse? The percentages go down (see chart below), but those who think that should be a decision for the police and prosecutors have a much larger percentage than those who think the victim should decide. I agree. There is just too great a chance of the victim being pressured by the perpetrator (or his family) -- putting them right bad into the situation that got them hurt in the first place.
In my opinion, there is no excuse for assaulting a fellow human (except in self-defense with no alternative) -- and that is especially true in a family or domestic situation. I believe all perpetrators of domestic violence should be arrested, and the victim should have no say in whether they are prosecuted or not. That is a decision for law enforcement professionals.
