There’s evidence that many domestic violence cases are not being reported to authorities and as a result there’s continuous spousal abuse without any intervention.
The director of the American Samoa Alliance Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, Jennifer Tofaeono said at yesterday’s Faafaletui a Tamaita’i that when women attending their workshops are asked, only 1 out of 10 women would report when they are abused to police,
When the 9 who don’t report incidents when they happen, one of the common answers is that they are familiar with responding police officers who make them change their minds.
And when they have the courage to report, the officers are very cold or indifferent to their situation.
Tofaeono said this mindset needs to be changed.
She also said the community needs to support and encourage victims of domestic violence to report when they are abused.
