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October 22, 2003

Host: Michael Grant
Topics:
· Domestic Violence;
· The Latino Vote
In-Studio Guests:
· Dr. Dean Coonrod,ob/gyn and co-founder of the Center for Healthcare Against Family Violence at Maricopa Medical Center;
· Leah Meyers, Director of Domestic Violence Services at the Arizona Coalition Against Domestic Violence;
· Mary Thomson, Director of the Division for Women of the Governor's Office for Children, Youth and Families;
· Alberto Gutier, political analyst;
· Mary Rose Wilcox, Maricopa County supervisor

>>Michael: Tonight on "Horizon", it is National Domestic Violence Awareness month. One woman shares her story of survival. And we'll talk with a panel of experts on the topic. Plus, the search for the Latino voter and the impact of the Hispanic vote in the California recall election. Good evening, I'm Michael Grant. The statistics are sobering. Domestic violence is the major source of injury for women, more than car accidents, rapes and muggings combined. Every 51 seconds a child witnesses a beating. Every 24 seconds an arrest is made for domestic violence. 93% of domestic violence victims are women. In a moment we will talk about the reasons behind those numbers and some of the efforts underway to prevent domestic violence. First, Merry Lucero brings us one woman's courageous story of survival.

>>Reporter: Elena Nistor keeps pictures of her past. Many women would rather forget a past so filled with violence and abuse. But she says she survived through her faith so that she could help other women survive, as well. Her story begins in Romania, after the birth of her first of 14 children.

>>Elena Nistor: After my first child, he beat me up so bad if someone didn't break the door to get in, I could be dead since then.

>>Reporter: Years of physical and emotional abuse went on. Her husband went to California. And in 1982 Elena arrived there two years later with their then 11 children, ranging in age from 4 to 16. The abuse continued. She went to authorities, but found no help.

>>Elena: In California, crime is legal. I am seeing it that way because they were watching and seeing how I am dying. I was speaking with my mouth I am going to eternal hell and was okay.

>>Reporter: Three more children were born.

>>Elena: I was taking more and more and more, but after the 14th children in 1990, I had a car crash and because of the car crash he really hate me from that time on and he start to drink very heavily.

>>Reporter: Then Elena discovered another horror. Her husband was inappropriately touching their young daughter.

>>Elena: In 1993, because of domestic violence and because of inappropriate touching because of his alcohol, the children was removed from me by the state of California.

>>Reporter: It was the lowest point of her life, her body withered, her spirit nearly gone.

>>Elena: In 1994, after my children was removed, I literally my life collapsed because more than physically, emotionally he was abusing me so bad emotionally and I had a numbness in my body three times from the top of my head to my toes and I said now I know I am going.

>>Reporter: Elena said she felt the life drain out of her, but rather than dying she says she was filled with her faith in God. That and her will to live for her children saved her.

>>Elena: I am here to help the womans to know how to live, so that we can end up the domestic violence, the survivors.

>>Michael: Joining me now to talk about domestic violence, Dr. Dean Coonrod, OB/GYN and co-founder of the Center for Healthcare Against Family Violence at Maricopa Medical Center, Leah Meyers, director of domestic violence services at the Arizona Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and Mary Thomson, director of the Division for Women of the Governor's Office for Children, Youth and Families. Leah, how typical is that story we just saw?

>>Leah Meyers: What she was talking about the emotional abuse and not being able to do much about it, it's not a crime to emotionally abuse somebody. It's hard to get law enforcement to respond to that.

>>Michael: The question that is always asked is why doesn't someone just leave.

>>Leah: Yeah, I'm trying to ask people to ask a different question, instead of saying why doesn't she leave, why is he doing this? I think we need to be more responsive about the accountability, why are we as a society allowing this to happen. Then we can look at the barriers and issues of why is the victim not safe.

>>Michael: You would think basic instincts of self-preservation, if nothing else -- I'm certainly not posing the question as an excuse for abuse -- but it seems peculiar, you would think basic instincts would force someone out of that situation and obviously that does not happen.

>>Leah: You have to look socially. I think there's an interesting question when we talk about a robbery, or someone's car who is broken into. The first question isn't, Why did you leave your car on the street, why do they put ATM's on the street. The first question is, did they catch the guy. Because domestic violence happens in the home, that's a private relationship, we as a society don't want to respond to those issues, we hold women many times as the responsible person in the relationship, they should be the person to leave the relationship. I think we need to spend more time and effort in who is perpetrating the abuse.

>>Michael: Doctor, you make the point oftentimes a victim will present for treatment and often times will not say they are victims of abuse.

>>Dean Coonrod: Studies show women who come to health care or injuries related to the abuse will not talk to their health care providers unless they are asked. And that's one of the things that we're trying to do is get health care providers to become first responders, if you will, and ask people who show up in their setting about domestic violence.

>>Michael: In other words, someone will show up and they have whatever injury it may be, a broken arm, or a badly bruised head and simply say, I fell down the stairs?

>>Dean: Right. Frequently in those situations the health care provider is going to try to find out how many stairs they fell down and how they hit their arm. We are trying to determine as health care providers what test to give and what treatment to give. What we are trying to do is get health care providers to say who did this, what were the real circumstances that went into this so we can provide help for victims of domestic violence that come to health care providers.

>>Michael: Is it a successful technique? If they haven't volunteered it and you ask the question, will they volunteer it then?

>>Dean: They may not disclose on the first occasion, but you may have to ask repetitively. Studies have shown in pregnancy that it may take multiple efforts of asking before domestic violence will be disclosed. Just by asking we may be intervening and providing some sort of commission.

>>Michael: The commission to prevent violence against women.

>>Mary Thomson: The commission is made up of experts, advocates and previous survivors of domestic violence. They come together to discuss ways to form a more systematic response, to advise the governor on.

>>Michael: Walk me through that. What is a more coordinated community response?

>>Mary: We are looking many different aspects, law enforcement, judicial, prosecution response to victim services to the health care responsible, even working with employers to recognize the domestic violence in the workplace.

>>Michael: Health care workers, for example, communicating with police. Is there an obligation for health care workers to report the abuse to police? Similar to, I know in the children's area I know there are obligations. Does that exist in this situation?

>>Dean: Certainly if you are dealing with an incapacitated adult, you need to report to APS. If there is a deadly weapon that's been involved or what's been called a material injury, you're required to report the crime to the police.

>>Michael: What about funding for domestic violence programs? It comes from a multitude of different sources?

>>Leah: There's eight state agencies that provide funding for domestic violence services in Arizona. Governor's office, department of public safety, department of health services, department of economic security and HUD.

>>Michael: Housing and urban development?

>>Leah: Correct.

>>Michael: What are the capabilities locally and statewide in terms of shelters?

>>Leah: Unfortunately, two people for every person requesting services are turned away and Maricopa County, three people for every person requesting services. We have over 300 beds in Maricopa County and over 700 beds in the state.

>>Michael: These are temporary lodging facilities?

>>Leah: This is an emergency service, usually the average stay is 28 days. Beyond that, we don't have a lot of funding available beyond the emergency services.

>>Michael: Would part of the coordination we were talking about be the shelters, we have talked about health care, police services, longer term treatment, those kinds of things.

>>Mary: Correct. Crisis response, I'm looking at how law enforcement agencies are dealing with it, keeping track of the data. Judicial response, how judges are working with victims when they come in courts. And also looking at more long term solutions, the need for work skills and housing and transportation and child care in order for a victim to make it on their own.

>>Michael: The governor's office is going to recognize domestic violence grant recipients tomorrow?

>>Mary: Correct. We awarded approximately $2 million to some of the victim services agencies, law enforcement agencies throughout the state and also some prevention programs throughout the state.

>>Michael: Give me some examples of what the $2 million will go for.

>>Mary: We have a program, a shelter starting up services to address children who are experiencing domestic violence, that's one of the recipients. We have a big obligation to keep services funded in the shelter the, especially in rural areas, so we do support a lot of rural areas as well as the urban areas. And law enforcement, having advocates to help the victims as they go through the systems.

>>Michael: I seem to recall billboards recently on this subject.

>>Leah: There have been some billboards by the men's antiviolence network.

>>Michael: That's correct.

>>Leah: They have a new campaign, talking about pitch a tent, fix a flat, slap your wife, only some things a father can teach your son. There have been a lot of support for the campaign.

>>Michael: I seem to recall one other one, fairly powerful build board.

>>Leah: the piece of meat, pet, very powerful.

>>Michael: Hope it makes an impression. Thanks you to, good to see you again. There are links to websites for each of our panelists on our website. That address is www.kaet.asu.edu, and click on "Horizon". You can also see transcripts of this program and find out what's on future "Horizon" programs.

>>Michael: All around the country you see politicians taking Spanish lessons and researching Hispanic issues. Is it "piñata politics" or genuine outreach? Tonight we have discussion about the Hispanic vote that first aired on channel 8's "Horizonte" program. Host Feliciano Vera spoke with a local Hispanic politician and a political analyst on the topic.

>> Feliciano: Latino voters were almost split down the middle in last week's California recall election, sending a message that the nation's largest minority group is not homogenous but very diverse. About 46% of Hispanic voters supported Governor Gray Davis' recall, while 54% opposed it. Joining us to talk about the implications of that election and the Latino voter is political analyst Alberto Gutier and Maricopa County supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox. Alberto, Mary Rose, Welcome.

>> Mary Rose Wilcox: Thank you.

>> Feliciano: Over the summer, national council -- in a major speech before the conference described the current state of political outreach to the Latino electorate as "piñata politics" he felt that it was mainly a song and dance show. Is there any truth to that? What are the parties doing in terms of outreach?

>> Mary Rose: Well, we have an immense outreach in the Democratic party but we don't have to outreach that much because we belong to the party. The majority of Hispanics in the United States are Democrats. It hasn't changed. A lot of people say that the Republican party is attracting Hispanics, and they may think they are by talking about values that they think are only Hispanic, but the fact of the matter is, when you have a sitting president who is Republican and 475,000 Hispanics are unemployed since that president took office, that is not attracting Hispanics to your party. Democrats are reaching out. We're reaching out by people like myself, Hispanic elected officials who are bringing home people to the party, who are bringing new voters in. Latinos who are new citizens, Latinos who are foreign born, are registering, and they are registering Democrat. There is a growing number changing, but that growing number is changing Independent. It's not changing Republican. So, I think in a sense, the Republicans are the piñata politics. They are appealing to us. It's nice to say "como esta usted," but it's not very nice to not vote for the Save a Child, to have congress vote it in, a Republican congress, and have a Republican president say, no, we're not going to fund it. I just look at my background. I look at my experience. I look at what's going on in my community, and we're still heavily Democrat.

>> Feliciano: Alberto, 30% of the electorate in last week's election votes for Arnold Schwarzenegger over Cruz Bustamante. What does that mean for Arizona and for the nation in terms of the Latino electorate, particularly given that Arizona is shaping up to be a battleground state in the presidential election 2004?

>> Alberto Gutier: We know that the Latino population looks at candidates in different ways, and looks at what they can offer for the future. In California, tax, tax and more taxes. We also know that there is a lot of Hispanic businesses in California, like there are in Arizona. There is over 2 million Hispanic businesses in this country and they create 70% of the jobs that are created by the small business. That's how the progression has to go. The Republican party has offered over the years, a lot of programs for outreach, but I think this president, when he was Governor of Texas, only extended a hand by doing things that got him over 50% of the vote when he ran for Governor last time. When he ran for president he attracted a huge amount of Hispanics because of a message that he put out among our people.

>> Feliciano: Does the California recall election have a positive effect on the Bush campaign or a negative effect?

>> Mary Rose: I think it has a negative in a sense, that people are saying we don't want incumbent, we want change. In that sense, in the 2004, they want change. They want a Democrat back in, they want the economy back. They want the deficit taken away. They want more than just 40% of working Hispanics to have insurance. So I think it's a negative, but who knows what happens in California. Who knows what's happening? I can't, you know, nobody could make heads nor tails. I'm the chairwoman and I called -- Vargas, who is head of -- very educated, very up, and he says, we couldn't make heads or tails of it. So it's very hard to call. Hopefully, the rest of the country settles down, but I really feel that there was probably just that sweeping need for change and Latinos got caught up in it. He's an action figure, you know, Arnold Schwarzenegger, everybody looks at him and the name identification, but I don't think anybody really knows. They'll probably do studies for years on it.

>> Alberto: You have to look at what Governor Davis did. He tripled the registration for vehicles. The taxes got increased tremendously in California, and it got to point in which, Hispanics also pay lots of taxes and one of the things that the Democrats can offer is more taxes and more taxes. While the Republican party and President Bush through the congress basically came out with a tax cut. I'd like to know how many of those Hispanics would like to give back their $400 per child that they received as part of the tax cuts that the president gave. I don't think none of the Hispanic families wants to give those $400 back once they were given the tax cut.

>> Feliciano: Arizona is shaping up to be a target for federal funding on the Democrat side, and on I imagine on the Republican side. What share of that funding is going to go towards -- specifically towards Latino outreach in Arizona?

>> Mary Rose: Well, the Democratic primary elections, it's going to be very exciting, because we are the first state after the first two primaries, you know, the traditional primaries. We're the first state that will really show who is going to make that primary ticket. So we have many, many candidates coming in courting us and the Latino population, we are in Arizona, 1.5 million strong. We're now 25% of the population, and because we're so heavily registered Democrat, they are courting us, and we're not just saying come in and talk to us, we're saying what are you going to give us, and they are having concrete policies. Joe Lieberman, a senator for years, has come up with an immigration policy that is wonderful. Many of it is things that he's been trying to put into law, but if he becomes president, first thing he'll do, open with the doors, talk withVicente Fox, get some kind of order on the border and move this country where it should go with an ebb and flow of the border flow and recognizing an economic gain for Arizona. I think it's wonderful that so many Democrats came in. They are listening. They will be fighting for votes not only here but in New Mexico, who has elections the same day, and they are keying in on Hispanic issues. They are not just talking about it. They are coming up with policies that will be incorporated into presidential policies.

>> Feliciano: Alberto, we've got a couple of key congressional district races coming up, obviously District 1, Congressman Rick Remzi is going to be one of the targets. Democrats have a registration advantage and feel that that district is competitive and should be a Democratic district. Republicans last week unveiled -- the Bush-Cheney team unveiled their campaign staff for next year. Are there hard dollars coming into the state for Latino outreach?

>> Alberto: There is going to be dollars coming out of the Bush-Cheney campaign, more than anything else to make sure the outreach goes and isn't only to reach the Latino vote, it will reach the black vote because Republican parties, when it comes to certain values, when it comes to taxes, which is a big deal, and it comes to education. We know exactly what Latino families want in a presidential campaign. We saw in the debate last week that all of these nine candidates attack each other. Very little was discussed on immigration which is critical to the Hispanic community. Republicans like John McCain and Jim Kolbe and Jake Flake introduced guest worker legislation. I haven't seen from the other side a bill that will address guest worker programs or something similar to solve the immigration problem.

>> Feliciano: You bring up an interesting point. You know, here in Arizona, our Republican members are leading the charge for the guest worker program, leading some to think that Republicans in Arizona are, in fact, engaging in some more aggressive outreach to the Latino population. Yet in last week's election, Arnold Schwarzenegger wins the election based in part on a pledge to repeal recently enacted legislation in California that grants undocumented workers in California a driver's license. I mean, is this a mixed message that's getting sent out to Latinos? What's the story?

>> Alberto: Well, we know that last year, the same Governor, Gray Davis, would not sign the legislation, and all of a sudden for political purposes, he signs it. Latinos are pretty smart people. We can see between the lines and what's political purposes for him to maintain power in California. So the driver's license resonates. If you look in Arizona, we don't know where it's going to go, but I can assure you it's a major issue. More important is immigration reform. We have to have immigration reform at least those Republican members of congress will put something on the table that will be discussed late this year and probably marked up for next year.

>> Mary Rose: Feliciano, you talk about the Republicans here in our own state, in the senate and in the legislature, you have Republicans who will not vote in driver's license. Uninsured motorists are just abounding out there. People get hit by a car that's driven by an undocumented worker who is working and adding to our society, paying taxes, sending their kids to school, and Republicans won't let them have a driver's license, so everybody's insurance goes up. I just really think that that is an issue and Arnold Schwarzenegger on the backs of Hispanics and particularly undocumenteds made that point, we will be punitive and a lot of people supported that.

>> Feliciano: One of the big questions that seems to come up perennially among partisans, both on the Democratic side and the Republican side of the aisle is a question of values. Are Latinos more inclined to be Democratic and espouse Democratic values or are they more inclined to espouse Republican values?

>> Alberto: One of the reasons that Latinos in Arizona have become Democrats is because their parents and grandparents were Democrats. But we -- we're seeing a new era, and a new group of people, very well educated, a lot of families and things who are looking at the Republican side because of what I mentioned before. We want less government, less taxes, less intrusion into our lives, and we want to grow so the Latino community can grow in this state and become successful as they have been. Businesses will prosper on the Republican registration.

>> Mary Rose: I just don't buy that. We still have the majority of Hispanics, more than two-thirds are Democrats and they are Democrats because they are working people, and they value the work ethic. You know, we are the party of the working people. You know, we're not raising the deficit so large that taxes will have to be raised to pay off a deficit. Our president, President Clinton, basically got rid of that deficit. We were deficit free. Our economy was great. You put a Republican in, and the thing that Gephardt said, if you want to live like a Republican, vote for a Democrat. So I just don't buy it. I know in my district, it's predominantly Democrat, it's predominantly Hispanic, and those are two things that are synonymous. The Republican party tries to tell you, we're family values, you are family values, but you won't pay for no child left behind. What does that tell you? Children, are the most valued thing in the Hispanic society and the Bush Administration won't pay for a program. Even his colleagues in the senate, the house and congress voted it in, and he won't fund it. What does that tell you?

>>Feliciano: Mary Rose, Alberto, thank you for joining us tonight.

>>Mary Rose: Thank you, Feliciano.

>>Michael: "Horizonte" airs each Thursday at 7:30 here on Channel 8.

>>Michael: Here's a look at what's coming up tomorrow on "Horizon".

>>Reporter: Josh has a prescription to use medical marijuana, something that he says protects him from prosecution. The United States Supreme Court recently refused to take a case involving medical marijuana. Doctors can give their patients a recommendation to use that drug. We'll talk about that Thursday at 7 on "Horizon".

>>Michael: And on Friday, join us for the Journalists Roundtable edition of "Horizon". Thanks very much for joining us this evening. I'm Michael Grant. Have a great one. Good Night.

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