What should a person do when they are confronted with an apparent case of a battered woman?

whcwarrior_10

fact 1. She saw a bruise, but has no idea how the bruise was sustained.
fact2. the woman willingly left the store with her husband and child.
fact3. the woman didnt ask for help, enough said.
there is no eveidence that any type of abuse has taken place. The woman never admitted to being abused, was in public with her husband. Coincidentally, a bruised chin would not indicate abuse as much as a black eye, or broken nose.
finally, store security has no powers of arrest, no authority to detain anyone, and no training in domestic abuse recognition.
Obviously, if this woman truly needed help, it is a mere phone call away. a false report of domestic abuse does more harm than good to ones reputation.

jc.shortie

Nothing. It seems kind of suspicious to me that a random women would ask your mother a question like that out of nowhere. Im not saying it is not good to help people out, but for these reasons i wouldn't have helped her out that particular day
(1). It was random
(2). Let you discover the problems that people have yourself. you shouldn't be confronted by them.
(3). You can't help anyone, if they don't help themselves.

zebj25

Maybe she was referring to the fact that she bruises easily from lukemia? Maybe she was in a car accident recently? Maybe she went skiing and had a bad fall? So, unless your wifes psychic abilities are better than the rest of ours, without further information, she should have done nothing, but perhaps question about how the bruise came about.

Jessica S

Well first i would have gotton the licence plate number and reported it to CPS (Child protective services ) that would start an investigation... although you come to the question of are you helping the woman and her child or is interfering just going to make the abuse worse.. but that is a choice that rests with you.

Just me.

There is only so much you can do, unless the person comes out to help themself.

That woman should have asked for the help, if she was in the store and not so much of a stranger's reaction .

clever girl

Tough call. The woman did not ask for help?? she may need it and not know where to begin. I like your wife would have felt terrible, also at a loss would have done nothing, since there was no real evidence there was harm to her or her child.

James Watkin

nothing You cannot force someone to get help

Princess Me

If she called the authorities, but the woman didn't wsnt to press charges, hands would be tied. The woman has to choose to break free for herself and for the child. Maybe call the non emergency number of the local police department and see what they say should this happen again. You both should be commended for caring so much.

maggiemae363

She should call DHS, ONLY if she knows the woman's name & where she lives. Otherwise there's noway to get her the help that she needs. There is always the chance teh woman would refuse help, you just never know.

Alfred E Newman

Mind your own business....

The woman is where she wants to be...
If every donut eater on the planet went to her house to arrest the "Man" WHILE he was beating her....She would say..."Don't arrest him...I LOVE him!!!"""

Don't ya watch cops?

If she wanted to stop it all she needs is short sheets and a cast iron skillet....Then leave!

Trinity

It's always a good idea to report, even if nothing comes of it, at least you tried. If she doesn't know the woman I would think that there is very little she can really do, except report. Does the store have security cameras watching the tills? Sometimes even tiny small town grocery stores will have cameras installed to make sure the employees aren't nabbing cash. If there is one, maybe it could have her on the security tape and the police could I.D. her with that, although, if it is indeed domestic abuse, they risk putting her at risk for more harm if they go public with it. In the end though it comes down to what the woman is willing to do about the situation , these cases, from what i hear are very touch and go, and extremely frustrating! not to mention scarier than heck because a lot of the time the woman being abused has become so brainwashed into thinking that she can't escape, isn't worth anything, or that he actually loves her that she may not press charges. haha, Sorry, now i'm starting to go off on a tangent :p, but, in short....try going to the police w/ the information, they will hopefully be able to tell her what to do.

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