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Woman points camera at domestic violenceDocumentary to show how DV, courts impact children

An Eagle River documentary maker is examining the impacts of domestic violence on children and the shortfalls of the Alaskan judicial system that she said often grants joint custody to parents with a history of domestic violence.

Elisa Fleener is writing, directing and producing the documentary with the working title "Who Will Hear Our Voices."

Rhonda Street, a domestic violence investigator with the Anchorage Police Department, said Alaska has the highest rate of domestic violence in the country and the department responds to about 300 domestic violence calls a month.

"It's very prevalent in our community here and across the nation," Fleener said, adding that a majority of the victims she spoke with are women.

Fleener, 50, said she began working on the project in November 2005 with funds supplied through a chancellor's grant received by the University of Alaska Anchorage's sociology and justice departments, which coordinated the production of the documentary with her.
Since then, Fleener has been on a journey of discovery that has taken her to the doorsteps of battered wives and into the judicial system that determines the fate of children throughout the state.

Fleener, who lived in a volatile home as a child, said she has seen the impacts of domestic violence throughout her life.
"I grew up in a house where my parents fought a lot, and it had really affected me. It has affected my life," she said.

In compiling the information for the documentary, Fleener said she talked with a gamut of personalities, to include Tanya Brown, who is Nicole Simpson's sister. Local women also shared their stories of domestic violence and the impacts of being forced by courts to share custody or allow visitation with their children with their former abusive partners.

"The children are used as pawns in these situations," Fleener said. "I'm really concerned about the children. It just breaks my heart to hear some of the stories I've heard."

Melanie Horner, 31, of Eagle River went in front of the camera as a means of dealing with the domestic violence she experienced and to help educate the public on how imperative responsible court rulings are to the well being of children, despite the difficulty she has discussing her experiences.

"It's not something that you want to go out and talk about to a documentary, and it's not something you want to go to a columnist about," she said. "A lot of people didn't know. It's a secret thing a lot of the time, and the effects of having your name being printed or your picture on the TV, that in itself is really hard."

Horner said she was in a destructive relationship with her ex-husband for 10 years before she realized how seriously it was impacting her. She said she left him in 2002, after being married for about six years, when her daughter began to emulate his abusive behavior.
She said she is currently in appeal over the court's decision to allow her ex-husband to share joint custody of her daughter despite documented domestic violence evidence she presented in court.

"They believe it happened in the past. It didn't directly happen to her, so the connection of it affecting her isn't quite made," Horner said.

Fleener said the documentary examines how parents such as Horner often seek to protect children by removing them from homes filled with domestic violence only to be seen as impeding with the perpetrator's rights as a parent.

Family lawyer Allen Bailey of Anchorage has worked for 32 years representing abuse victims and prosecuting domestic violence perpetrators. He says Fleener's examination of the state's Friendly Parent Rule could shed some light on why many judges grant abusive parents custodial and visitation rights.

According to Bailey, the Friendly Parent Rule concept was adopted by the Alaska Legislature in the early '80s and stressed the importance of each parent's willingness to foster a loving and frequent relationship with the other, which often worked against parents who removed children from abusive homes.

"A good parent that has been victimized by her partner is going to want to protect her children from the risk of spending too much time with their dad or being in his custody. That's normal. It's good parenting," Bailey said, adding that visitation or joint custody is often granted because separating children from abusive parents is sometimes viewed as interfering with their rights by the courts.

Bailey also participated in the documentary as a family court authority and as someone who has had personal experiences with domestic violence.

"I represent abuse victims, both men and women. I have been a witness in a domestic homicide before I went to law school. My best friend was murdered by an ex-girlfriend. I've had clients shot, stabbed, raped, every degree of assault that there is. The children have been sexually abused, and this is something that needs to change," he said.

Fleener said she hopes the documentary will educate lawyers, judges and mental health professionals on the long-term effects of domestic violence.

"It seems to me that it is kind of disregarded. The issues that happen in a domestic violence relationship continue on," she said. "There's still control and there's still issues that are presented and when there's a child involved, it's really easy for them to continue to control you."
Horner agreed saying she continues to struggle with her ex-husband's controlling behavior.
"You cannot co-parent with someone who is trying to control you," she said. "There's no communication."

Fleener said the documentary is scheduled to be released in November, and she has tentative commitments for it to air on local television. She said UAA would incorporate it into its curriculum as well to help educate the next generation of judicial officials.

"I think that on a grander scale I can effect the society as a whole," Fleener said. "I mean, we live in a very violent society and this situation just makes it even more violent. We're breeding and cloning these kinds of kids in these situations. I hope it helps in making our society a more peaceful place."

Reach the reporter at mary.rall@alaskastar.com. Click here to return to story:http://www.alaskastar.com/stories/081006/new_20060810001.shtml