PeaceVoice: There is no vaccine for domestic violence

The Unheard Witness: A Report on Domestic Violence and Mass Shootings in the U.S.

Introduction

For many, the history of mass shootings in the U.S. began with Columbine in 1999. In the quarter century since, there have been hundreds of such shootings, from concerts to houses of worship, from workplaces to big box stores. But the first mass shooting of the modern era actually occurred in Austin, Texas on Aug. 1, 1966.

The Texas Tower Massacre

It was lunchtime on a Monday when a 25-year-old ex-Marine, enrolled in an architectural engineering program, made his way to the observation deck of the tower on the campus at the University of Texas. Armed with a footlocker filled with guns, Charles Whitman started gunning people down, both on campus and in nearby streets.

Before police killed him, Whitman would be responsible for the murder of 17 and the wounding of 31. But the tower murders weren’t the beginning of the carnage.

The night before, while his mother and wife were sleeping, he had already stabbed them to death.

The Unheard Witness

Coverage of the campus massacre virtually eclipsed the women’s stories. But “Unheard Witness: The Life and Death of Kathy Leissner Whitman,” by Jo Scott-Coe, aims to change that.

This sensitive portrait of the killer’s wife pieces together the shards of her life as an accomplished young woman growing up with big dreams in rural Texas.

It also stands in for the hundreds of thousands of abused women whose lives have been cut short, and whose stories are rarely told. Ultimately, “Unheard Witness” is the story of a then-unnamed epidemic: domestic violence.

The Link Between Domestic Violence and Mass Shootings

In the nearly six decades since Kathy Leissner Whitman’s murder, despite the many accounts of the Texas tower mass shooting, has rarely been seen for what it was: an early warning about the seemingly endless wave of mass shootings that plague us, and that have taken up permanent residency in the American psyche.

In the 1960s, domestic violence was an invisible crime.

The abuse being committed, primarily against women, was hidden behind closed doors in city apartments, rural farmhouses, and suburban homes. Neither police nor clergy intervened.

As a student and wife at UT-Austin, Kathy Leissner teetered between her burgeoning awareness as a strong, independent woman, and the crushing constraints as a weak, dependent wife. She was trapped, not wanting to be a product of the times, even though most men and women then agreed that husbands were kings of their castles.

Although she recognized she was in an unhealthy relationship, she had few supports, certainly none of the services abused women have today.

Her younger brother, Nelson, preserved Kathy’s diaries and journals. He was always there for her.

So were her parents. They saw the warning signs of her husband, Charles Whitman’s controlling behavior, but failed to intervene.

When Kathy told her father, “I love Charlie, but I wish I’d never met him,” her father asked whether Charlie had ever hurt her.

Kathy recoiled. “No, but he can be violent,” she said.

“Then get rid of him before he kills you,” Nelson heard their father say.

“Oh, Daddy. Good God,” Kathy replied. “Why would you say something like that?”

Such were the times.

The Power of Kathy’s Voice

Because Nelson granted Scott-Coe, a professor of literature, full access to his sister’s voluminous writings — she wrote her husband hundreds of letters — readers see up close and stripped bare the empowerment struggle in which Kathy was engaged.

Writer and activist Rebecca Solnit estimates more than 65,000 women are killed by men every year. This ultimate erasure, femicide, often comes, Solnit says, “after years or decades of being silenced or erased in the home, in daily life, by threat and violence.”

While some women are erased a bit at a time, and some all at once, fortunately, some do reappear. Kathy “reappeared” because her brother, Nelson, fiercely protected the primary documents that preserved his sister’s voice.

The Ongoing Issue of Domestic Violence

More than bringing Kathy Leissner back to life, Unheard Witness reminds us that despite all the progress that’s been made since her murder in 1966 — from shelters for abuse survivors and self-defense classes, to police training and batterer intervention groups holding men accountable — domestic violence remains a potentially lethal poison for which women have no vaccine.

Rob Okun, editor emeritus of Voice Male, is syndicated through PeaceVoice. He can be reached at rob@voicemalemagazine.org.

“

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. 
   

   SDG 5: Gender Equality

   • Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres
   • Indicator 5.2.1: Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls subjected to physical, sexual, or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months

2. 
   

   SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

   • Target 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere
   • Indicator 16.1.1: Number of victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population, by sex and age

Analysis

The issues highlighted in the article are connected to SDG 5: Gender Equality and SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions.

SDG 5: Gender Equality

The article discusses domestic violence as an epidemic that disproportionately affects women. It highlights the story of Kathy Leissner Whitman, who was a victim of domestic violence and ultimately murdered by her husband. This aligns with SDG 5’s target to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

The article also addresses the issue of mass shootings and the impact they have on society. It mentions the first mass shooting of the modern era in Austin, Texas in 1966, which serves as an early warning about the wave of mass shootings that continue to occur. This relates to SDG 16’s target to significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.

The article mentions specific indicators that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets:

• Indicator 5.2.1: Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls subjected to physical, sexual, or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months
• Indicator 16.1.1: Number of victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population, by sex and age

These indicators can be used to track the prevalence of domestic violence and mass shootings, respectively, and assess the effectiveness of interventions and policies aimed at addressing these issues.

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Behold! This splendid article springs forth from the wellspring of knowledge, shaped by a wondrous proprietary AI technology that delved into a vast ocean of data, illuminating the path towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Remember that all rights are reserved by SDG Investors LLC, empowering us to champion progress together.

Source: newsregister.com

Join us, as fellow seekers of change, on a transformative journey at https://sdgtalks.ai/welcome, where you can become a member and actively contribute to shaping a brighter future.