European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 24, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 4 the stars and stripes tuesday May 24,1994 i violence from Page 1 who now Heads the military family inst tide at Marywood College in Scranton a. A you can to talk to anyone without getting the sense they re tense and feel that the system is letting them Congress also has expressed concern. At a closed meeting last week to address the Equality of women in the military and Steps to prevent sexual harassment female senators and the senior leaders of the armed forces traded concerns about Domestic violence in military families. A part of the problem is that there a a let sweep it under the Rug attitude about All this a said sen. Barbara Boxer a California Democrat who attended the meeting. A the military needs to be realistic and admit there is a rates of child abuse in the military Are less than half the rate in the general population largely because drug and alcohol abuse is less prevalent in the military and because military families Are shielded from the kind of abject poverty that is also associated with child abuse. Trends in reported spouse abuse Are More difficult to compare because there Are no reliable National statistics on the problem. But an army Survey of 55,000 soldiers at 47 bases indicates that one out of every three families has suffered some kind of Domestic violence ranging from slapping and shoving to murder. That was twice the rate found in groups of civilians the army surveyed Tor comparison. The results of the Survey a continuing study started in 1989, were first reported last week by time Magazine. Delores f. Johnson head of the army a family advocacy program said the army was startled by the figures but she cautioned against drawing definitive conclusions from them. A the one in three figures certainly Are alarming a she said. A but before we go off the deep end we want to do further analysis of the data.�?�. The military services have had programs in place to Deal with Domestic violence since the Early 1980s, for the very practical reason that stresses at Home tend to spill Over to the Battlefield hurting military readiness recruiting and retention. But just As in civilian life spouses Are often reluctant to report abuse fearing even More violent attacks or that revealing abuse could imperil the service Mem or s career and the family a finances. Congress has ordered the armed services to investigate disincentives to reporting Domestic violence. Sandra a Rosswork manager of the Navy a advocacy program for families acknowledged a a it a a Tough marketing Job to get the word out to families that help is available and there Are no negative consequences to military and civilian social workers say child abuse in military families As in the civilian population ranges from neglect to Battery while spouse abuse often involves Yelling and pushing assaults and a threats. 1 5 a a the majority of the reported cases involve mid level enlisted personnel such As sergeants in the army Marine corps and air Force and Petty officers in the Navy. But social workers say abuse also reaches into the officer corps. \ a we see people of All ranks because Domestic violence crosses All lines a said Wil Ham Duke director of the family violence care Center for Cumberland county n.c., which includes fort Bragg. Quot its an equal Opportunity plague on our / today a military has More married couples and More children than at any other time in its history. The percentage of married service members has increased to 58 special panel set with family violence cases continuing to Rise despite an increase in budgets for treatment to $79 million this year from $15 million in 1989, the military is now trying to improve its prevention programs with these efforts a in june the army will begin assigning trained civilian Counselor to hundreds of units Down to the battalion and company level. A the Pentagon has established a special panel that is reviewing child deaths at three major military hospitals in Colorado California and Washington state. It eventually will investigate child deaths in All military families for signs of abuse. A the defense department has commissioned a yearlong study of 7,000 adolescent children of service members at 25 bases to identify stress creating family problems. A new York times percent this year from 47 percent in 1980. ,. A the combination of High work demands separation from an extended family Many times in a foreign country and financial stress is a formula for family stress and sets up a formula for family violence a said Gary Bowen a professor of social work at the University of North Carolina and an expert on military families. It was such concerns that led the Marine corps to try last year to phase out enlistment by married men and women a policy that was rescinded almost As soon As it was announced to widespread criticism. The policy directive said that an inordinate number of Marine corps marriages were failing under the pressures of military life in a an All too familiar pattern that could a result in decreased performance and require command attention.�?�. A /. A Ita both the marines and some other experts Point in particular to the youth of oth partners in military marriages. When a 19-year-old Marine marries a 17-year-old and then they get moved around the country trouble is More Likely. A a lot of spousal abuse is the result of people getting married Young and not knowing their partners Well a said Rita Campbell the director of a shelter for battered women near fort Stewart a. Ginny Powell a clinical social worker at the Navy a family advocacy Center in san Diego said Quot in Many cases the parents themselves were abused or neglected. Many of them Are now immature although some family specialists both civilian and military say that troops trained for combat often bring combative behaviour Home with them military officials deny any link. A while we Tram soldiers to be aggressive they re not trained to be abusers a said col. Jim Schlie an assistant Deputy Secretary of the army for morale welfare recreation acid family programs. This summer the Navy will train family Counselor in a new program to help children who have witnessed spouse abuse in their Homes. A a it a becoming Clear that if we want to prevent Domestic violence then we need to Start doing something proactive with children currently in Homes where there a Domestic violence a said Rosswork of the Navy a advocacy from Page 1 also near the nations capital. Meyer and Hickey told the stars and stripes that some news accounts of the Survey conclusions were exaggerated. They said that the military a problems reflect society a problems and that the army programs far exceed those of private employers. The army research cited in stories by time Magazine and the new York times was used to target High risk populations and direct resources Meyer said. Quot if we be got these programs and we re not giving them to the right people that Are involved in the abuse then we re wasting our time and Effort and the taxpayer Crsp dollars a he said. In the May 23 time report the confidential army Survey Quot suggests that spousal abuse is occurring in one of every three . Army families each year a double the civilian a each week someone Dies at the hands relative in uniform and nearly 100 formal complaints of injury Are lodged against family members in the service a the Magazine stated. Meyer however said that the army s empirical evidence differs from that conclusion. A Domestic violence spouse and child abuse a there Are All types and degrees or frequency a he said and the time report included the Quot most gruesome and horrifying a we Are not denying we have a problem. Society has a problem a Meyer added. The military services have programs that teach peo pie to Deal with stress to manage change and to control anger. A it Quot. A according to Hickey comparing those services to ones available in the civilian world is a like comparing apples to a Quot when you have stressor you re going to have in creased abuse a Hickey said. A i done to care if its Westinghouse downsizing or general motors downsizing or the army air Force Navy and marines but few private employers she said have economic plans for the families of their convicted wife abusers. In the military however Federal legislation provides that a family of a retirement eligible service member who is convicted of spouse or child abuse can continue to receive an income eligibility for military health care and other benefits. Also the family of a service member convicted in a military court of family member abuse is entitled to income and eligibility benefits. Legislation to include convictions in a civilian court is pending. Without provisions such As these the family members were reluctant to come Forward to report for fear of losing the Quot the Goose that lays the Golden egg a the paycheck a Hickey said. Sen. Edward m. Kennedy d-mass., arrives at is. Ignatius Loyola Church for the funeral monday of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. From Page 1 Eros a love of words Bonds of Home and family and her spirit of then he read from the Book of Isaiah. Onassis 64, widow of both president Kennedy and millionaire Aristotle Onassis died at her fifth Avenue Home thursday night of cancer. In his Eulogy sen. Edward Mkennedy d-mass., said his sister in Law a was always there a for All our family a in her special a she was a Blessing to us and to the nation a and a lesson to the world on How to do things right How to be a Mother How to appreciate history How to be courageous. A i often think of what she said about Jack in december after he died they made him a legend when he would have preferred to be a Man a a the senator said. A Jackie would have preferred to be just herself but the world insisted that she be a legend too. She never wanted Public notice a in part i think because it brought Back painful memories of an unbearable sorrow endured in the Glare of a million lights a she graced our history a he said. Quot and for those of us who knew and loved her she graced our a private Wake was held inside Onassis 14th-floor apartment sunday evening. Guests were ushered into a simply furnished room where Onassis Lay in a cloth draped closed casket. Visitors included Onassis sister Lee Radziwill Ross actress Daryl Hannah rolling Stone publisher Jinn Wenner new woman Diane Sawyer and her husband director Mike Nichols Nephew William Kennedy Smith and Singer Carly Simon. A at exactly 10 . Monday a Hearse carrying a dark mahogany casket covered with ferns and a Cross of White Flowers arrived at St. Ignatius Loyola Church. Anion those attending the new York service were first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and lady Bird Johnson widow of president Johnson. Also speaking monday were Onassis companion of Many years a Maurice tempelman and daughter Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg 36, who read a poem. Later family and friends headed Down to Washington on a private plane to the burial site., a a the burial service at Arlington brought together about 100 members of the Kennedy Auchincloss and Radziwill families. In a Brief Eulogy president Clinton said Quot god gave her very great gifts and imposed upon her great burdens. She bore them All with dignity and Grace and uncommon common Clinton said the nation was paying a Farewell to this remarkable woman whose life will forever glow in the lives of her fellow at the end of the service John Kennedy jr., and Schlossberg Knelt in silent prayer before the mahogany casket. They crossed themselves and then each kissed the casket. Onassis final resting place is Between president Kennedy and the couples first child an unnamed daughter stillborn in 1956. Buried on the other Side of president Kennedy is another of their four children Patrick who died three Days after his birth in August 1963
