Cindy, a suburban housewife speaks to the heart of why women stay. Now that she's out she bears the burden of helping her three children (two sons, ages 15 and 13, and a daughter, age 10) begin the healing process that is needed to break the cycle of violence they have witnessed their entire lives. 

Jennifer Barker, a child psychologist and family court mediator in Middlebury, VT piloted The "Children Who Witness Violence" project there. This program is the first of its kind in the country. Jennifer, herself a survivor of an abusive husband with whom she shared a professional relationship, graces the project with an honest, sincere interview that explores both the psychological implications and personal trauma of living with a violent mate. Her sixteen year old daughter, Claire, also gives a compelling interview that goes to the heart of the issue as she brilliantly articulates the terror of "father as monster." 

In December,1999 we filmed an interview with Anne O'Dell, a retired police officer, now a law enforcement training consultant on domestic violence, who left a violent marriage with her six kids in the 1970's, a time when domestic violence was still considered a "private family matter." Even after years on the police force Anne didn't perceive herself as a domestic violence survivor until her twenty-seven year old son confronted her about what had happened almost twenty years before. We also interviewed Anne's son, Chuck, who gives compelling testimonial to the terror he felt at age nine, as the eldest child, witnessing his father's violence and the powerlessness he felt because he couldn't protect his mother. Now married and a father of two young children, Chuck consciously commits everyday of his life to breaking the cycle of violence in his home. 

Click on the Preview Section and hear from Tracy, Cindy, Jennifer, Claire, Anne and Chuck. We will continue to add to this page so check back often. 

We are trying to get funding to go to Germany to film a young woman who fled the country with her three young boys when the system failed to protect them from her abuser. She is now a "woman without a country" because, sadly, the children's father was awarded custody when she failed to appear for the custody hearing after she fled. I will be going to Germany to film an interview with this young woman and will do audio only interviews with her young sons. 

VIOLENCE BEGINS AT HOME is a WORK-IN-PROGRESS. Click here to find out how you can get involved.