Domestic Violence

Severely wounded, their mother kept crying out, Please don't kill me! Please don't kill me!" What effects do the sights and sounds of domestic violence have on the malleable minds of children? In this program, ABC News anchor Hugh Downs seeks to answer that question through interviews with Betsy McAlister-Groves, director of the Child Witness to Violence Project at Boston Medical Center, and some of the deeply scarred children who have seen and heard far too much. (14 minutes)"

Every 12 seconds, a woman is beaten in the U.S.-beaten by her lover, her husband, her partner in life. Year after year, the cycle of violence spins faster, spiraling down through the generations, father to son and mother to daughter. Only when communities and families say Enough!" can the cycle be broken. This program shows how people can and have said "Enough!": women, men, and children who offer proof that domestic violence can be stopped, that healing is possible if there is someone to help. The program also shows the social and legal services that make the difference. (28 minutes)"

This program looks at the effects of family violence on the abused and the abuser: at the danger that abused children will grow up to repeat the pattern of violence in their own relationships; at the problems of date violence; at the physical and emotional abuse women suffer at the hands of their husbands and lovers. While showing the benefits of therapy, it stresses the need of the abused for safety-through shelters, hot-lines, and community assistance-from those who abuse them. (28 minutes)

While intimate partner abuse can occur in same-sex couples, the abuser in the vast majority of cases is a man, his target a woman. This program from The Doctor Is In profiles Buffalo, New York, where the medical community, social and psychiatric services, police, and courts have formed a coalition to reduce the incidence of partner abuse and help the victims. Among those who comment are Dr. Susan McLeer, the head of Erie County Medical Center's psychiatry department; Katey Joyce, director of a shelter for battered women; and Jessica Benigni, chair of the Erie County Coalition Against Family Violence. A Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center Production. (29 minutes)

Domestic violence is one of the least reported crimes in America. In Nashville, TN, we see how intense police investigation and follow-up of domestic abuse have led to the imprisonment of repeat offenders. Teens on Target shows the success of a program where a Los Angeles doctor (weary of treating young gunshot victims) and former teenage patients (half of whom have spinal injuries from gunshot wounds) speak to younger kids around their city about weapons and violence. This program illustrates what ordinary citizens, survivors, and parents can do about gun control. Violence in the media is movingly portrayed, and solutions to its impact on children are discussed. (56 minutes)

This program documents how domestic abuse within the family affects children, and looks at programs such as The Kid's Club at the University of Michigan where troubled children and families are getting help; Sobriety High , a special school in Edina, Minnesota, that works to reduce alcohol and drug abuse and lower the incidence of violent crimes; and Landmark High School in New York, a successful experimental effort that promotes small classes, strict enforcement of rules, and parental involvement. (56 minutes)

The secrecy surrounding domestic violence is the focus of this program. Hosted by a policewoman and a television news anchor, it contains stories of hope for women who are currently in violent relationships, and provides valuable information on how to leave an abusive partner. Specific information is included on speaking out, having a plan, when to leave, where to go, the legal aspects, getting help for abusers, and how to protect and counsel children who live in violent homes. (46 minutes)