Rowe: Domestic violence a community issue

GREENVILLE – State Attorney General Steven Rowe lifted a small plastic brain from a brown box and launched into a story about some little electricians who work inside the brains of children.

Rowe told a group gathered Thursday for a panel discussion on domestic violence that those tiny electricians wire neurons that are not yet connected in children.

The electricians do their job if the children are raised in environments where love and laughter abound. Children exposed to domestic violence and toxins in the home don’t fare as well since some of the little electricians die and others make mistakes, he said.

It is those wiring mistakes that make it costly for Maine taxpayers, especially in education, according to Rowe.

Local and state special education costs amount to about $300 million a year.

“Domestic violence and all the ugly things that go with it is a community issue,” Rowe told the 25 people who attended the National Crime Victims’ Rights Week discussion sponsored by Womancare of Dover-Foxcroft.

Research indicates that fewer than 5 percent of children are born with developmental disabilities, yet the statewide average shows 18 percent of children in kindergarten through 12th grade need special-education help, according to Rowe.

Since 90 percent of all structural brain development occurs before a child starts kindergarten, something is not happening to these children between birth and the start of school, he said. They may not have consistent child care, and nurturing may be lacking because the mother may be dealing with her own abuse problems. Stress may be a factor. That foundation, whether good or bad, drives what occurs in a child’s life, he said.

Proof can be found in prisons where 80 percent of the violent offenders were raised in homes where domestic abuse occurred, Rowe said. In addition, children who witness domestic abuse often become engaged in bullying.

Domestic abuse is deep in the fabric of society, he said, but it need not be.

He said driving while under the influence of intoxicants didn’t have the stigma 20 years ago that it does now. “We ought to put that stigma on domestic violence,” he said.

Women are often the victims of domestic abuse yet often blame is placed at their feet, Rowe said. People look at the problem as a family matter rather than a community concern, and are often judgmental.

“We should ask what we ourselves can do,” Rowe said. His advice: Don’t be judgmental of victims who may make six or seven attempts to leave before they finally sever the ties. Abusers use every tactic they can to keep control over their victims such as isolation, money, threats against children, or mutilation or death of pets, he noted.

Rowe said some communities such as Waterville have heeded the call and are addressing domestic violence. In addition, some employers have adopted policies that help victims of abuse. It might be a parking spot in the open near the victim’s workplace for greater safety or improved protection by making the identity of the victim’s abuser known to security, Rowe said.

“We spend hundreds of million of dollars in remediation,” Rowe said. “We could save much of this if only we invested in prevention.” Children should not be taken from their homes but efforts should be made to strengthen the family by showing parents good parenting and nurturing skills.

In addition, more work is needed at the elementary school level, Rowe said after the meeting.

Some college professors in Maine are paid $60,000 or more; some high school teachers are paid $40,000 or more; and some elementary teachers are paid $20,000 or more.

While he was not criticizing those salaries, Rowe said, his intent was to show what he says is a disproportion in salaries. Communities should try to attract the best and brightest educators into early education and to use innovative strategies in early education, he said.

“Think about those little electrons; we can break this cycle, but it’s going to be with young parents and children,” Rowe said.