Big jump in women seeking protection

Women across the Twin Cities who are in strained and dangerous relationships are seeking protection orders in rising numbers, a fact that court officials say appears to be another consequence of the bad economy.

Hennepin County is on pace to see a 19 percent surge in request for orders for protection (OFPs) this year over last. In Ramsey County, filings are projected to rise 9 percent. Meanwhile, Dakota County also has logged a sharp rise in criminal violations of such orders -- 191 so far this year, up from 133 in all of 2008.

"In my 10 years on the bench and eight years of watching this data, I've never known of a steady increase month to month like this," said Tanja Manrique, presiding judge of Hennepin County Family Court.

Economic strain was an underlying thread in at least two recent high-profile murder-suicides in Minnesota.

Douglas Ouellette, a homebuilder from Harris who strangled his estranged wife, Candice, before hanging himself in August, had experienced financial problems.

Allen Taschuk, who shot and killed his wife, Pam, on Oct. 1, was a sheet metal worker who had not been employed for some time because of an injury. Both Candice Ouellette and Pam Taschuk had filed for divorce and had orders for protection against their estranged husbands.

Hennepin County says its increase in requests for protection orders from women has been accompanied by a decline in the divorce rate. County officials speculate that rates of violence are increasing among couples who have postponed divorce for economic reasons.

Manrique said there's no question that many families are under strain. "People are frustrated about the employment market. They're frustrated about the real estate market. They're frustrated about the cost of medical care and household necessities,'' she said. "This year has been a historically difficult time for most working Americans."

Calls to hotline rise

Other measures support the idea that prolonged economic difficulties are aggravating domestic violence.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline is averaging about 21,000 calls per month, compared with about 19,000 calls per month in 2008. The economy is a common theme among callers, said spokeswoman Patty Gonzales.

"But to be clear, the economy is not a reason for violence," she said. "It is an added stressor in families where domestic violence already exists. ... Violence is a choice."

Cyndi Cook, executive director of the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women, said advocates statewide have noticed a jump in requests for help since the recession began. She said many men are home more because they've lost their jobs, and she added that some of those men don't allow their partners to work.

Additionally, in a tough economy women are more likely to stay with an abuser, said Carol Arthur, director of the Minneapolis-based Domestic Abuse Project, which has tracked a 16 percent increase over last year in women entering advocacy programs and a 26 percent increase in women seeking therapy.

"Women constantly weigh their safety vs. what they need for their children and themselves to survive," Arthur said. "It's that constant question. ... 'How am I gonna take care of these kids?'"

Risking violence for shelter

Michelle Jacobson oversees the Minneapolis city attorney's team of seven prosecutors, who handle 1,800 domestic violence prosecutions annually. She said that number hasn't shown a significant jump in 2009, but she has noticed that women increasingly are torn between getting their abuser prosecuted and keeping a roof over their heads.

"We've seen more and more victims talking about foreclosure as a concern and needing the defendant for child care or income," Jacobson said.

Despite such pleas, prosecutors decide whether to move forward on a case based on evidence, Jacobson said. Though victims' wishes are considered, the ultimate goal is public safety. Jacobson stops short of saying that victim participation has decreased.

"It's not like everyone was cooperative before," she said. "Percentage-wise it's probably the same, but people are doing it for different reasons."

It's a struggle for judges, Manrique said, when battered women ask them to lift a protective order in order to keep their families afloat financially, despite a record of abuse. She noted that orders for protection are civil and can be dropped at a petitioner's request.

"It's not uncommon," she said, "for us to hear that the petitioner is concerned about making the mortgage payment or feeding the kids or leaving the lights on."

Staff writer Joy Powell contributed to this report. Abby Simons • 612-673-4921