Outreach assists plural wives and children State promoting use of toll-free domestic violence help line

By Nancy Perkins Deseret Morning News

Mark Shurtleff and hotline coordinator A.J. Hunt discuss Domestic Violence Line.         Gabriella Archuleta answers phones Thursday. She is one of several resource specialists at the Community Services Council office in Salt Lake. The Domestic Violence Information Line is expanding to serve abuse victims in polygamous communities. ST. GEORGE — It's confidential and it's free. "This is the beginning, not the end, of our efforts to provide assistance to women and children in polygamous communities," Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said of the state's effort to promote the use of a toll-free Domestic Violence help line. "We want to help. We are not the enemy. We just want to get the information out." The hotline, 1-800-897-LINK (5465), has been around for a long time, but Shurtleff and others who work with domestic violence victims believe thousands of plural wives are unaware of the resource. "Without intervention we can't end the abuse," Shurtleff told a small gathering of reporters, attorneys and plural wives Thursday during an afternoon press conference held on the steps of Fifth District Court in St. George. A similar press conference was held in Salt Lake City earlier in the day. Current and former polygamous wives provided sensitivity training for help line staff so that callers would be treated with dignity, said A.J. Hunt, Domestic Violence Line coordinator. Top do's and don'ts for staffers to remember when a plural wife calls the domestic violence hotline: validate the caller's concerns and courage; don't be shocked when they talk about polygamy; understand they may have deep loyalties; and don't pressure them to talk about religion or other family members. "Last year we helped 5,000 individuals and 36 percent of them were Utah children," said Hunt. "One thing I noticed during our sensitivity training is that both sides said they want to stop abuse from happening." The only way to know if domestic violence is occurring in polygamous communities is if the victims speak up, she said. Most residents of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., belong to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and practice polygamy. Not far to the south of Colorado City is Centennial Park, Ariz., another polygamous community of mostly former FLDS members who also believe in living a plural lifestyle. "We believe there are women and children living in these closed societies who need help," said Lynda Whitlock, executive director of the DOVE Center, a St. George shelter for domestic violence victims. Elizabeth, Anne, Hazel and several other plural wives who did not want their last names made public, attended the press conference. "We are here to watch and hear what's being said," said Elizabeth, who complained that most of the publicity surrounding polygamy is negative and promotes an abuse unique to their culture. "People down here are very prejudiced against us, very prejudiced," said Hazel, who moved to southern Utah from the Salt Lake City area several years ago. "Down here it feels like everyone is against us." Just as she spoke, as if it were happening on cue, a man driving a black pickup truck sped past the courthouse, leaned out the window and shouted "Pligs!" at the women. "Maybe I should have thrown him a kiss," one of the women said, setting off giggles in the group. "See. That's what we get. We normally don't speak up because the media only wants sensational stories, and our lives just aren't that sensational, "said Hazel. "There's so much out there that just isn't true." The women said that children in plural families are well-adjusted and know they are loved. If there is domestic violence, it is more rare than is the general population, they said. Regardless, said Shurtleff, "We do know that what we hear about right now is disproportionately low . . ..But for those who don't feel love or who believe they are being abused, there is help available." Domestic violence victims in the Utah/Arizona border towns are often afraid to call 911 for help, added Shurtleff, since local police officers also are polygamists. Colorado City Marshal Sam Roundy said Shurtleff's comments were disparaging and out of touch with reality. "We do our jobs here," said Roundy, adding his officers, most of whom are not polygamists, responded to more than 3,495 calls by area residents in 2003. The calls involved a wide range of problems.

Deseret Morning News Originally published February 15, 2004

Back

For more information email: