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You are here: Home / Archives for Colleen Coble

Advocate: law change could put Missouri at forefront of prosecution of rape

July 5, 2013 By Mike Lear

A proponent for victims of sexual and domestic violence says a bill signed by the Governor could put Missouri ahead of other states in how it deals with such crimes.

Colleen Coble is the CEO of the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence. She says House Bill 215 makes significant changes to all of Missouri’s laws regarding sex crimes.

“I think in many regards we could see that this puts Missouri in a very prominent position for really changing the nature of our laws on rape, and making a leadership place for our state in the way our laws can address rape and sexual assault.”

The bill will change the definition of rape to include instances when a victim does not give consent, rather than solely on an offender’s use of force of violence. Coble says the importance of that change can’t be overstated.

“Before this bill was signed into law by the Governor, if you were incapacitated, you were medically sedated, you didn’t have the mental capacity to consent to any sexual activity, the law didn’t call that a crime if someone forced you and raped you. That is changed with this law.”

The change comes too late for many victims who had to endure being told that Missouri law didn’t call what had happened to them a crime. Coble says even for those individuals, however, some healing could come out of this law being passed.

“I think it absolutely will and that has been shown by the courage of those who came forward during the legislative process to tell their stories and to tell how they were failed by our laws not reflecting the reality of rape in our state, and its effect on individuals who then aren’t able to proceed through the prosecution and court system.”

Those changes in  law take effect August 28.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Featured, Legislature, News Tagged With: Colleen Coble, Jay Nixon, Missouri Coalition against Domestic and Sexual Violence

Study finds many survivors of domestic violence not getting mental health care

June 19, 2013 By Mike Lear

A University of Missouri researcher says a significant number of women who are in or have been in abusive relationships are not getting mental health care.

Assistant processor of social work in the University of Missouri's College of Human Environmental Services Mansoo Yu (photo courtesy; MU News Bureau)

Assistant processor of social work in the University of Missouri’s College of Human Environmental Services Mansoo Yu (photo courtesy; MU News Bureau)

The study involved 50 women who had been the victims of violence brought by intimate partners. It found that more than 70 percent of them did not receive mental health care, even though they regularly see a primary care physician. 54 percent of them were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), clinical depression or both.

Assistant Professor Mansoo Yu says that could be due to factors including social stigma, shame, concerns about privacy, healthcare costs or a lack of information. He says many of the women in the study also said they do not utilize housing, legal services or crisis lines.

Yu says screenings for domestic violence by primary care providers could help turn up more cases that go unreported, and get more help to victims.

“Though most of the survivors did not use services they reported using regularly their family doctors. So, based on our study, medical primary care doctors are uniquely positioned to screen for mental health problems and then they can refer these survivors to other services.”

Colleen Coble, CEO of the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, says the study affirms how battered women often respond to the trauma of domestic violence.

“I think it reflects the experiences of women throughout Missouri and certainly coincides with the reports from all of the service providers in the state, primarily those who are running domestic violence shelters … that they are really facing a crisis in being able to get adequate services for women in terms of mental health treatment and substance abuse treatment for those that they’re serving.”

As for reasons why women might not utilize services, Coble says there is a host of reasons that could be responsible.

“Those services not being available, not knowing what it entails, some of the services may be provided on a residential basis and do not make provisions for your children, it may be that the services are distanced from your home community and that will pose problems with maintaining your employment.”

Insurance coverage as a barrier to mental health care

Another reason could involve insurance coverage. Coble says many victims of domestic violence are among the many Missourians who do not have private health care coverage and make just enough income to not qualify for Medicaid coverage, leaving mental health care unaffordable.

“If you’ve gotten employment, which is the goal … you are separating from an abusive partner, you wish to sustain your family without the violence and support yourself and your children, very often with a job that is just a little bit over minimum wage you’re no longer eligible for the types of public assistance services that would perhaps get you quicker access to mental health treatment.

Yu says the women in the study were also skeptical of law enforcement. Coble says that is often for good reason.

“You can’t deny someone’s experience. If they’ve called for assistance and were told there was nothing that could be done by law enforcement or they went to court and found that it was not a responsive system to their needs in terms of ongoing protection, or things worked at one point but yet nobody enforces, say, an order of protection … it’s a very reasonable opinion to be skeptical that the system is not going to work for you.”

Screenings as a first step toward help

Coble thinks the recommendation that questions related to domestic violence be included in medical screenings is a good one, and adds, that is a requirement included in the federal healthcare reform law. She says the best way to do such a screening is to talk about an individual’s experiences.

She says that includes questions like, “Who makes the financial decisions in your home, what level of interference to you experience in how you are a parent, are you allowed to work, are there constraints on who you can spend time with … your family or friends, are you ever afraid?” Coble adds, “You can’t run down a list of checkboxes and expect someone who is a stranger to you to pour out very personal and traumatic information.”

Yu says his study did not explore any connection between mental health issues resulting from domestic violence in relation to gun violence, but says that is an area that deserves study.

“Some existing studies already found that there are significant relationships between mental health problems including PTSD and depression, and gun violence. In this study we didn’t see that correlation but I think that’s really some important topic that we have to study further.”

Coble says there is no one or easy answer to these issues.

“It’s layers upon layers of complexity.” She adds, “One of the simple solutions is having access to mental health care around the state that is offered clearly as, ‘This is a normal response to trauma of being victimized by your intimate partner repeatedly through violence.'”

The study was co-authored by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Louisville.

Filed Under: Featured, Health & Medicine, News Tagged With: Colleen Coble, Domestic Violence, Mansoo Yu, mental health, University of Missouri, Washington University

Budget plan would give biggest boost to domestic violence services in a decade

March 29, 2013 By Mike Lear

The budget proposal passed yesterday by the House includes an increase of $1.9 million dollars in state support for the fight against domestic violence. That would raise the amount that goes to help victims to more than $8.4 million dollars.

CEO Colleen Coble with the Missouri Coalition against Domestic and Sexual Violence says that would be spread between about 90 programs across the state including 70 shelters.

“This increase, $1.9 million more dollars for domestic violence services is the biggest increase we’ve had for more than, gosh, 10 years.”

Coble says that money will go a long way.

“These dollars will directly help battered women and their children … give them a place to stay. It will help operate crisis lines in communities throughout Missouri, it will help women get orders of protection by having service advocates who can help them navigate through the court system, a whole host of services directly for women and their children.”

Programs also provide job training for victims, counseling programs, transportation and medical care.

Coble says the increase helps, but the amount of money it would take to help all victims would be frightening.

“We currently turn away more than 18,000 women and children who are in need of services at the moment they call their local program, so we’re not keeping pace.”

She says local support is needed to help keep shelters open, and it would be key if shelters are to expand to provide room to help more victims.

“We really area at a point where capital needs … building extra bedrooms, building more space … is really an issue, and that is an area where local community involvement and generosity has made all the difference.”

The budget goes now to the Senate which is likely to propose changes that would have to be negotiated in a House-Senate committee.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Featured, News Tagged With: budget, Colleen Coble, Domestic Violence, Missouri Coalition against Domestic and Sexual Violence, Missouri House of Representatives

Advocate: Belcher murder-suicide draws attention to Missouri issues

December 5, 2012 By Mike Lear

An activist against domestic and sexual violence in Missouri says the murder-suicide involving a Kansas City Chiefs player over the weekend has drawn attention to those issues in Missouri.

Colleen Coble, Director of the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, says when Jovan Belcher killed his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins on Saturday morning then killed himself, that was the 14th murder-suicide in the Jackson County area this year.

“On average 40 women are killed (annually) in Missouri by a spouse, an ex spouse, an intimate partner. Missouri remains in the top 10 around the country in the number of women killed annually by their intimate partner.”

Coble told the committee in Missouri each year more than 25,000 women and children in the state seek help dealing with domestic or sexual abuse and are turned away. She thanked the Committee for the funding the state has provided to her program in recent years, but urged its members to find more.

“When it’s 2-to-1 in terms of your odds to have a safe place to stay for you and your kids on any given day in the state of Missouri, we have a really serious need that’s not being addressed. In this case, people die sometimes. People die every day if they don’t have a safe place to go, and I know that you agree with me that that’s wrong and that together we can do more about it.”

More than a dozen agencies were represented at the hearing, all asking the legislators to continue, restore or increase funding to their programs.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, Legislature, News Tagged With: Colleen Coble, Domestic Violence, Jovan Belcher, Kansas City Chiefs, Kasandra Perkins, sexual abuse



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