Domestic Violence and the Media

As a victim of Domestic Violence I am very sensitive to how the media reports domestic violence incidents. I feel that the real issuse of abuse and control is never covered in news reports. They will report that a man killed his ex-wife/ ex-girlfriend but they will not have a specialist speak on what could have lead to her death. They do not speak on what could have prevented her death. Sometimes they report it as a crime of passion, which it is exactly is not. When domestic violence victims are murdered by their abusers it is a very calculated thing. I have heard domestic violence crimes reported as a Love Triangle gone wrong. The term I hear most often is murder-suicide. This is when the abuser kills himself after killing his victim and many times her new partner.

It is frustrating that the media does not inform its audience about domestic violence. How hard would it be for them to say after reporting a DV story to add "If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the __ hotline for help." I feel that is the least they can do. It would be great if they gave statistics about domestic violence to make audiences aware that this is an epidemic in our country. Instead the media likes to report crimes as isolated incidents. Why the disconnect?