Battered: Examining domestic violence.

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-domestic-violence-package,0,1849273.special

 

Many women who are abused by husbands and boyfriends find that the justice system does frighteningly little to keep them from harm. Despite satellite tracking, legal changes and domestic violence programs in Illinois, offenders often avoid serious prison time only to attack again.

BATTERED: Examining domestic violence

Tenant reported abuse -- then suffered eviction

Kathy Cleaves-Milan called police to report that she was the victim of domestic violence. She got help -- but she also got evicted. Read more >>

BATTERED: Examining domestic violence

Many teens blame Rihanna, say dating violence normal

Ed Loos, a junior at Lake Forest High School, said a common reaction among students to Chris Brown's alleged attack on Rihanna goes something like this: "Ha! She probably did something to provoke it." Read more >>

BATTERED: Examining domestic violence

How can domestic abuse be stopped?

Peter Diessel fidgeted as he sat at a table with other men who had physically abused women. It was his latest attempt to change behavior that stretches back 18 years. His problem, he told the group, had surfaced shortly after his honeymoon. Read more >>

One woman's struggle to escape abuse

Regan Martin fixed her gaze on the video camera and took a deep breath. Read more >>

Her hope, and then her curse

I always dreamed that when I grew up I would marry . . . the man of my dream, tall, dark & handsome, educated with a great job." Read more >>

Courts are failing battered women

For every man convicted in a Cook County court of beating his wife or girlfriend, five men brought in on similar charges walk away legally unscathed. And despite official promises to help women pursue abuse complaints, that conviction rate is only getting worse. Read more >>

State cuts program assisting victims of domestic violence

A program that provides tuition assistance and career counseling to hundreds of victims of domestic violence is being shut down after Gov. Rod Blagojevich's line-item veto eliminated its funding, officials said Friday. Read more >>

Global eye to be kept on abusers

When Cindy Bischof died at the hands of an ex-boyfriend who had twice violated her orders of protection against him, her family channeled their grief into an immediate and compelling plea to change state law. Read more >>

Slain woman's family sues

The family of a Waukegan woman fatally stabbed last week in Lincolnshire filed a lawsuit Thursday against the City of Waukegan for allegedly not protecting her from her estranged husband despite her pleas to local police. Read more >>

GPS seen as way to aid abuse victims

The young mother's long nightmare began to subside soon after her abusive ex-husband was outfitted with a satellite monitoring device that would electronically warn authorities if he ever got too close to her. Read more >>

Abusive parolees targeted

Less than a week after Mersaides McCauley was killed by a parolee who had been charged with domestic battery and released, the Illinois Department of Corrections made sweeping changes to its internal policies that now would keep certain parolees, like her accused killer, in custody. Read more >>

Murder exposes flaws in parole system

Glenford Martinez was on parole for murder when he allegedly choked his former girlfriend, Mersaides McCauley, in November until she passed out. She filed charges, cut off ties with him and got an order of protection. Read more >>

GPS may help enforce restraining orders

Anyone who violates an order of protection could be forced to wear a satellite tracking device that would issue an electronic warning if the offender gets too close to the victim, under legislation introduced Tuesday in Springfield. Read more >>

Domestic violence services see cuts

Nakia Adams said she was gripped by fear and confusion when her ex-boyfriend continued to violate an order of protection she had obtained from a Cook County judge. Read more >>

Domestic violence aid offered in victim's name

The family of a slain Elmhurst real estate broker is setting up an advocacy group to press for changes in domestic violence laws, including wider use of global positioning devices to track those who violate protection orders, the woman's brother said Monday. Read more >>

The law didn't save her

Cindy Bischof thought her breakup with a longtime boyfriend would go smoothly after he agreed to move out of her house. But Michael Giroux quickly turned hostile, writing up a plan to destroy her home and following through with it. Read more >>

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