Articles

News & Observer, The (Raleigh, NC) November 28, 2007
More than a 'dispute'
Edition: Final
Section: Editorial/Opinion
Page: A12

The Nov. 26 article "Trial to begin in father's death" did not use the term "domestic violence," but it did use the phrase "domestic dispute." It is dismaying to see The N&O describe one person allegedly beating their intimate partner as a domestic dispute.

This is a common term used in police departments. That does not explain why a newspaper, with a daily opportunity to educate the general public about domestic violence, would use a phrase that sounds like two people fighting or arguing over what movie to see. Domestic violence is the more appropriate term, since it describes what is happening when one person uses physical force and words to beat down their intimate partner.

Sadly, Demetric "Frank" Horton lost his life trying to protect a victim of abuse, not by trying to protect someone involved in a "dispute."

Marie Brodie
President/Founder, Walk in My Shoes Domestic Violence Training and Consulting Durham

Copyright 2007 by The News & Observer Pub. Co.
Record Number: js7hov89

Marie Brodie
President/Founder
Walk in My Shoes
Domestic Violence Training and Consulting
PO Box 52628
Durham, NC 27717
919-417-4449

For the complete article, please see
Time to end excuses for domestic violence, speaker says
October 26, 2007 - Salisbury Post

"It's time we raise the curtain. We have to look at it as an epidemic. We need to think of domestic violence everyday," said Marie Brodie, founder and president of Walk in My Shoes, a domestic violence training and consulting firm.

Brodie was the guest speaker at a Thursday domestic violence workshop held at the Hefner VA Medical Center.

Brodie said it's easy to make excuses for an abuser who kills. "The often heard phrase is it was a crime of passion," she said.

But the community, law enforcement, the court system and advocacy groups can address those excuses.