Positive state commitment

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Reducing this state's tragic rate of domestic violence should be a priority for South Carolina's leaders. Recently, Gov. Mark Sanford promised to make it one.

Sanford took a concrete step by signing a new criminal domestic violence bill and, even more encouraging, promised aggressive action in the future. "I also want to make it perfectly clear that this is just a start," Sanford said after signing the Domestic Violence Protection Act, which strengthens penalties for domestic violence. "This administration will be working with advocacy groups and the Legislature this coming session to see what else we can do to reduce the frequency and escalation of criminal domestic violence in our state."

Sanford's words should be welcomed by advocacy groups who have felt largely ignored by state leaders — even as the state consistently ranked among the top five in the nation in domestic violence homicides per capita.

In 2000, the most recent year for which numbers are available, the state ranked No. 3 in the rate of domestic violence deaths. In 1998, the state was No. 1. Three women are killed in domestic violence incidents every month, Sanford said. The total number of domestic violence cases, in which many women are severely beaten, is staggering: 36,000 a year in South Carolina.

The bill that Sanford signed raises domestic violence "of a high and aggravated nature" from a misdemeanor to the status of a felony. It makes attempted criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature a felony as well. Those new classifications could mean prison time for offenders.

In addition, the new law will require third-time offenders to serve a minimum of 90 days in prison. It also gives judges the discretion to mandate counseling for first- and second-time offenders.

Primary credit for the bipartisan bill goes to state Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, and the sponsors in the Senate, Jim Ritchie, R-Spartanburg, and Robert Ford, D-Charleston. But Gov. Sanford deserves equal credit for promising that the fight against domestic violence will not stop with the signing of the bill.

Sanford's pledge comes on top of a promising initiative by state Attorney General Henry McMaster, who is enlisting the help of private attorneys to prosecute domestic violence cases.

Gubernatorial leadership will be crucial on this issue. Sanford and state leaders should embrace the 23 recommendations made in a 110-page report by a domestic violence task force in 2000. Many of the suggestions were taken from policies that have been successful in other states. What's needed from Sanford and state lawmakers is a comprehensive, multi-agency strategy for combating this shameful problem in South Carolina.