It's no surprise that in Dorchester, as in every other community in America, intimate partner and domestic violence take place. What does set Dorchester apart is the existence of the Dorchester Community Roundtable, a partnership of community groups working together to develop an effective, organized response to such incidents. The Roundtable's Enhanced Advocacy Subcommittee Conference was held in Snowden Auditorium on Mar. 18.
Addressing the 100 participants were Prof. Clare Dalton of the
Northeastern University School of Law, Chancellor Sherry Penney,
Ralph D. Martin, Suffolk County District Attorney, The Honorable
Sydney Hanlon, presiding judge of the Dorchester District Court,
Marie Turley of the City of Boston's Women's Commission, representing
Mayor Menino, Lt. Detective Patricia Eager of the Boston Police
Department representing Commmissioner Evans, and Mercedes Tompkins,
the new director of the Dorchester Community Roundtable. Participants
came from hospitals, health centers, women and children's advocacy
groups, shelters, law enforcement agencies, probation departments,
and other community organizations.
"We must continue to think long and hard about how to save the lives
of women," said Dalton, executive director of Northeastern
University's Domestic Violence Institute and principal investigator
of the Center for Disease Control grant which funds the Roundtable.
Chancellor Penney remarked on UMass Boston's efforts to protect
students from batterers, who more and more pursue their victims to
schools or the workplace.
As the Roundtable moves into the final year of its three year grant,
it can point to a number of accomplishments, including the placement
of nine advocates in strategic locations such as the Boston Police
Department, the District Attorney's Office, and area hospitals, to
help women who experience intimate partner violence. "The basic goal
is that no matter which gateway a woman walks through, someone will
help her assess her danger and receive the services she needs for
herself and her family," says Dalton. Detective Kathleen Potter of
the Public Safety Office and member of the Roundtable's Enhanced
Advocacy Subcommittee was responsible for organizing the conference
on campus.