Recent Incidents Reveal Need to Address Long-Neglected Problem of Violent and Abusive Women

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Rebecca Stewart

Telephone: 513-479-3335

Recent Incidents Reveal Need to Address Long-Neglected Problem of Violent and Abusive Women

WASHINGTON / August 12, 2021 – Three recent incidents involving females’ use of violence against family members reveals a pressing need to address the problem of violent and abusive women.

People Magazine reported last week on the grisly murder of Randy Allen of LaPorte, Indiana by his wife, Thessalonica. After shooting him with a hand gun, she used an axe to dismember his body and stuffed it in a tote bag. Then she solicited the help of her children to dispose of the body (1).

In Jackson, New Jersey, Antonia Ashford has been charged with the murder and unlawful possession of a weapon after police found her husband Roderick in their home with a gunshot wound to the face. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. Roderick had worked at the federal Bureau of Prisons as a drug treatment specialist (2).

Third, the Baltimore Sun reported on the horrifying discovery of the bodies of Joshlyn and Larry Johnson, ages 7 and 5, decomposing in the trunk of a car driven by Nicole Johnson, aunt of the two children. The woman admitted to striking the girl several times, causing her to hit her head on the floor. The cause of the boy’s death was less clear. The woman has been charged with child abuse resulting in death, neglect, and other crimes (3).

These incidents reveal how female-perpetrated family violence has become a serious problem in our country. Government reports confirm that domestic violence and psychological abuse is now more widespread among women than men:

— Each year there are 4.2 million male victims of physical domestic violence, compared to 3.5 million female victims, according to the Centers for Disease Control (4).

— Each year, 17.3 million men and 12.7 million women are victims of coercive control behaviors. Stated as percentages, annually 15.2% of men and 10.7% of women experience coercive control by their partners (5).

At the state level, the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence conducted a survey on male victims of domestic violence. The survey concluded, “The alarming number of men in New Hampshire who have experienced sexual and physical assault underscores the need for effective violence prevention, for information, and support for victims.” (6)

Unfortunately, the Violence Against Women Act served to create a narrative that ascribes all domestic violence incidents to men’s need for “patriarchal power and control” (7). This narrative precludes the possibility that women also could be abusive.

The Coalition to End Domestic Violence urges lawmakers, policy-makers, and domestic violence organizations to address the problem of violent and abusive women.

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