Fall 1996, Volume XII, Number 1 Family Law Domestic Violence and Abuse: Creating and Learning from University/Community Partnerships by Cecil A. Rhodes Colleges and universities have worked together with their local communities in various administrative and academic capacities for many years on a variety of educational and humanitarian projects. Colleges and universities that develop partnerships with their surrounding communities provide for reciprocal learning at all participatory levels, through internships, service learning, and practical application. Through grants and volunteer service, university/community partnerships can decrease costs for both parties and enhance the breadth of learning for students. The combined expertise of research faculty, the technical, practical and administrative expertise of the community agencies, and the utilization of students as research assistants and interns form the basis for a win-win partnership. Families and Law Partnership The consensus among politicians, health and welfare providers, criminal justice professionals, and the general public is that a significant factor in the increase in crime and violence, if not the most significant factor, is familial dysfunction and disintegration. Theories on the causation of crime and violence relative to families and domestic relations run the gamut from economics and divorce to drugs, violence and abuse. The criminal justice systems in the vast majority of jurisdictions have become inundated, excessively costly and overburdened. We have built more jails and prisons, added more police, arrested more people, prosecuted and incarcerated more offenders. Notwithstanding such efforts, more children are dropping out of schools, violent crimes among youthful offenders are increasing, and family violence and abuse has become labeled as "epidemic" by the Center for Disease Control. Although offender punishment has been the primary if not always successful panacea, communities have begun to seek and demand more assistance in prevention and education to combat crime and violence. The relationship between the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at California State University, Stanislaus and the County of Stanislaus is an example of how partnerships in Families and Law can work toward education and prevention in domestic violence and intimate abuse. Stanislaus County is a moderately conservative agricultural county of 415,000 residents, located in the central part of California's vast San Joaquin valley. The county seat is the city of Modesto, and the second largest city is Turlock, the site of California State University, Stanislaus, which has a diverse student population of 6,000. The Stanislaus County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council (hereafter, Council) was founded in 1994. Chaired by a superior court judge, the Council also includes representatives of the County Board of Supervisors, municipal and juvenile courts, public defender, district attorney, battered women's shelter, law enforcement, probation, health and social services, county schools, mental health, hospitals/medical groups, and the university. The mission of the Council is to "reduce incidents of domestic violence and abuse in Stanislaus County through: (1) coordination among agencies, departments, existing services, and the courts for individuals affected by domestic violence and abuse; and (2) prevention, intervention and treatment techniques accomplished through education, research and data collection." University Contributions to the Domestic Violence Council On May 17, 1995, members of the Council served as speakers and panelists on "Domestic Violence and Intimate Abuse: Painful Relationships" at the University's Town Hall Community Forum on Crime, Law and Policy. The Community Forum provided a setting for the panelists to present and discuss issues and points of interests surrounding the forum theme, and for the public to engage the panelists in questions, answers and discussion. The forum was attended by a large cross-section of the community, and it was videotaped for future airing on television, in the community, and in the classroom. At the request of the Council in April 1996, Dr. Phyllis Gerstenfeld, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at CSU Stanislaus, with the assistance of seven female and four male criminal justice students, conducted a telephone survey among Stanislaus County residents to determine their attitudes toward, and knowledge about, domestic violence. Undertaken as a community service project, the survey has become an extremely important and useful instrument for the Council. Impact of Community Partnerships in the Classroom My involvement as a member of the Council, in conjunction with my research interests, led me to create a course on domestic violence and intimate abuse. Although the Domestic Violence course bore the traditional trappings of texts, lecture, discussion, videos, and position/research paper, the knowledge and experience obtained from serving on the Council greatly enhanced the quality of the course. Information received from the Council's Legislative Committee enabled me to keep the class up-to-date on state legislation affecting domestic violence. Council discussions and the numerous documents referencing training materials, projects, and policies brought an added "real world how-to" dimension to the class. Students learned that not only was it possible for various organizations to work together cooperatively in dealing with domestic violence and abuse, but that it was, in fact, happening in their community. The students also received information directly from various members of the Council, including prosecutors, women's shelter administrators, and probation officers who volunteered to participate as guest lecturers in my class. Students were required to participate in a service learning project, by working in a community agency involved with domestic violence. Students committed to a "Service Learning Agreement" and engaged in volunteer service at criminal justice agencies and social service agencies in Stanislaus and surrounding counties. They were required to take field notes, which often became the basis for their assigned research projects. Another aspect of university/community partnerships which enhances teaching and learning is the use of community professionals as adjunct faculty. As Criminal Justice Program Coordinator and Department Chair, I structure the course schedule, to the extent possible, in a way in which practitioners and criminal justice professionals are able to teach in our program. Several of our courses have been taught by judges, prosecutors, police administrators and officers, criminal lawyers, and parole and probation officers. Reflections of a Male Professor Teaching Domestic Violence and Rape The domestic violence and intimate abuse course is extremely popular; in fact, I have had to turn students away in order to control the size of the class. The course dealt predominantly with the male batterer/abuser and female victim. The class gender make-up was approximately 55% female and 45% male. About 70% of the female students had been victims of physical and/or psychological abuse in a dating, cohabital or marital relationship, or observed or experienced such domestic abuse as a child. None of my male students acknowledged being an abuser of any type in a relationship, nor did they acknowledge being abused as a child or observing any domestic abuse. As a male instructor, I was aware of how male students have generally reacted over the years when I lectured on domestic violence, the use of deadly force by the female victim, and rape in my Criminal Law course. I approach the issues in a straightforward, honest, sincere, but sensitive manner. Most of my male students initially react with silence, rigidity, folded arms, and straight-ahead staring, daring not to look around and risk making eye contact with other students in the class. I stress that not all males act or react in such violent ways, but I do lecture using the collective "we" in referencing male aggression. Being a male and including myself in the collective "we," I find that male, and female, students sense the honesty, sincerity, objectivity and gravity of the issues and began to relax and become more participatory. About 80% of the male students stated that they would not have taken the course if it had been taught by a female professor, and/or by a female professor whom they did not know by reputation. Some felt that a female teaching such issues would be "biased against males," the course would be "dominated" by females, and that they would be the targets of "male bashing." Although most of the female students also expressed some reservations about taking such a course from a female instructor, they were less reserved and were not as adamant as the males. Overall, the class was a resounding success with male and female students equally engaging in insightful, intellectual, and emotional discussions. We have decided that the course will be expanded to an offering of additional sections, wherein I will be able to invite a practitioner or criminal justice professional from the community to teach the course. In doing so, we will continue to expand and strengthen our cooperative and reciprocal learning partnerships with our community. Cecil A. Rhodes is Chair of the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, and Coordinator of the Criminal Justice Program, at California State University, Stanislaus, Turlock, CA 95382. Fall 1996 Issue Home | At Century's End | Philosophy & Family Law | Family Law & Policy Transracial Adoption | Transracial Adoption: Conversation | Book Review | Family Violence Teaching Gender Issues | Domestic Violence | Mini-Grant Awards Focus on Law Studies Home | Subscribe to Focus | Questions/Ordering Back Issues