 |
Commonwealth of
Kentucky Definitions
Kentucky defines domestic violence and abuse (KS §403.715
to 403.785) as:
Physical injury, serious physical injury, sexual abuse,
assault, or the infliction of fear of imminent physical injury,
serious physical injury, sexual abuse, or assault between
family members or members of an unmarried couple.
Family member means a spouse, previous spouse, a parent,
a child, a stepchild, or any other person related by consanguinity
in the second degree. Member of an unmarried couple
means each member of an unmarried couple who allegedly have
a child in common, any children of that couple, or member
of an unmarried couple who are living together or have previously
lived together.
The state definition of domestic violence only includes persons
who are currently living together or who lived together in
the past unless they share a common child, regardless of sex.
Kentucky is certified to collect and report incident-based
data, and law enforcement agencies submit data electronically
to the Kentucky State Police.
Definition of adult (KRS 209.020(4) and KRS 209A.020):
A person eighteen (18) years or older, who because of
mental or physical dysfunctioning, is unable to manage his
own resources or carry out the activity of daily living or
protect himself from neglect, or a hazardous or abusive situation
without assistance from others, and who may be in need of
protective services; or
A person without regard to age who is the victim of abuse
or neglect inflicted by a spouse.
Abuse means the infliction of physical injury, sexual
abuse, unreasonable confinement, intimidation, or punishment
that results in physical pain or injury, including mental
injury. These acts, may include, but are not limited to:
- Forced sexual relations, including forced sex with others,
animals or foreign objects;
- Unwanted fondling or touching;
- Physical assault, including pushing, kicking, hitting,
slapping, punching, choking, strangling, pinching, burning,
hair pulling, shoving, stabbing, shooting, beating, battering
during pregnancy, striking with an object and complaints
of pain as a result of the assault;
- Marks that are or have been observed on an adult that
were allegedly inflicted by another individual;
- Rough handling, i.e. forced feeding, roughness when transferring
individual from bed to chair, or during bathing, etc; and
- Inappropriate use of physical or chemical restraints.
Mental injury is the infliction of mental anguish
caused by actions or verbal assaults against an adult's well
being that may result in an adverse change in behavior in
the adult. The abuse can be spontaneous, protracted or systematic
efforts to debase the adult while instilling fear and may
include, but are not limited to:
- Threats of violence against the adult, or others;
- Threats with a weapon(s), including objects used as a
weapon;
- Forced isolation or imprisonment, unreasonable confinement;
- Destruction or threats to destroy property and/or pets;
- Forcing to perform degrading acts;
- Controlling activities such as sleep, eating habits,
access to money or social relationships;
- Verbal assaults and attacks on the adult's self esteem,
including name-calling, insulting, degrading remarks, custody
threats or threats to abduct/abscond with the child(ren);
- Stalking; and
- Intimidation.
Neglect is defined as a situation in which an adult
is unable to perform or obtain for himself the goods or services
that are necessary to maintain his health or welfare, or the
deprivation of services by a caretaker that are necessary
to maintain the health and welfare of an adult.
Spouse/Partner neglect is the deprivation of services
needed for health and welfare and may include, but is not
limited to:
- Actively prohibiting the spouse/partner from obtaining
needed medical care;
- Controlling the environment to the extent that it prohibits
the spouse/partner from carrying out activities of daily
living.
Self-neglect is a situation in which the adult is
unable to perform or obtain goods or services that are necessary
to maintain health or welfare. These may include, but are
not limited to situations alleging that the adult's health
or welfare has suffered or declined as a result of:
- Unmet personal or medical needs, such as bedsores, malnourishment,
dehydration, inappropriate clothing, poor hygiene, incorrect
use of medication, lack of food or inadequate food;
- Refusing or being unable to access medical or mental
health care/treatment;
- Living in an unsafe environment, such as fire/safety hazard,
roach/rat/insect infested dwelling, condemned building;
- Living alone and in life-threatening conditions;
- Being unable to manage own resources;
- New onset of confusion and/or disorientation; or
- Attempts to commit suicide.
Caretaker neglect is the deprivation by a caretaker
of services, which are needed to maintain health and welfare.
The caretaker arrangement can be formal (i.e. contractual,
institution) or informal (i.e. voluntary agreement with family
member, friend). Caretaker neglect can be either "passive"
(unintentional) or "active" (intentional) in nature as related
to the provision of services (i.e. food, clothing, shelter,
social contact, personal needs, medical care) and may include,
but is not limited to:
- Lack of adequate food or health related services due
to the caretaker's inadequate skills or knowledge;
- Abandonment or lack of supervision;
- Unmet personal or medical needs, such as bedsores, malnourishment,
dehydration, inappropriate clothing, poor hygiene, incorrect
use of medication, lack of food or inadequate food;
- Withholding or deprivation of food, water or health services;
- Over medication or under medication;
- Forced isolation, unreasonable confinement;
- Not obtaining needed mental health or medical services
or permitting unnecessary pain.
A caretaker is an individual or institution who has
been entrusted with or who has the responsibility for the
care of the adult as a result of family relationship, or who
has assumed the responsibility for the care of the adult voluntarily
or by contract, employment, legal duty, or agreement.
Exploitation means obtaining or using another person's
resources, including but not limited to funds, assets, or
property, by deception, intimidation, or similar means, with
the intent to deprive the person of those resources. Indicators
of financial, material and sexual exploitation may include:
- Use of force or manipulation through misrepresentation,
threats, or coercion;
- Deception, and may include but is not limited to:
- Creating or reinforcing a false impression, including
a false impression as to law, value, intention, or other
state of mind;
- Preventing another from acquiring information that
would affect his or her judgment of a transaction; or
- Failing to correct a false impression that the deceiver
previously created or reinforced, or that the deceiver
knows to be influencing another to whom the person stands
in a fiduciary or confidential relationship;
- Isolation from friends, relatives or important information,
such as screening phone calls, denying visitors, or intercepting
mail;
- Compelling physical or emotional dependency; and
- Acquiescence of the alleged victim.
|
Case Study
2. Rita
|
Rita is a 29 year old woman, who works as an administrative
assistant at her county's office building. She has
an 8 year old son Toby, the product of a 10 year relationship
with her ex-boyfriend, Cliff. Cliff has problems with
cocaine and this is why Rita and Cliff are no longer
together; she had finally had enough of his abuse.
When they lived together Cliff would be little Rita
for the slightest "infraction"; he did this in the
presence of her family, the few friends they had left
and out in public. Cliff would criticize whatever
she did; he would call her "stupid" and "fat". Rita
had learned to keep her head down and not do anything
to further irritate Cliff. But when they were alone,
that was the worst time. Cliff wouldn't just embarrass
her; he degraded her, calling her filthy, terrible
names in front of their son, Toby. Cliff would beat
Rita so badly that she could not go to work, out of
shame and pain. Toby would often try to intervene
when his father would beat his mother, but Cliff would
always scream at him to stay out of it. Rita had felt
like she was barely alive. She just wanted Cliff to
go away, but she had always been too scared of him
to take any action. She had hoped he would find another
girlfriend and leave. But she couldn't wait; three
days ago she took Toby and went to live with her sister.
|
Continue on to
|
|
