South Carolina has the highest domestic violence death rate of any U.S. state largely because rural communities don't have the resources to enforce domestic violence laws. That could change thanks to a couple of newly announced programs.
One is a $900,000 federal grant that will enable state Attorney General Henry McMaster, who has only one full-time prosecutor on his staff now, to hire three more to cover seven rural counties. They will focus on domestic violence charges, which often are dropped because there's no one available to prosecute. Obviously, that also discourages victims from filing charges.
This is a bipartisan issue. McMaster, a Republican, gives credit for the grant to Democratic U.S. Rep. James Clyburn. Even so, the extra prosecutors still won't be enough to handle all the domestic violence cases that might come up, but the attorney general expects they will be able to recruit enough volunteer lawyers to serve as prosecutors, to greatly improve the conviction rate.
Although the General Assembly recently stiffened penalties for domestic violence, McMaster rightly points out tougher laws are no deterrent if cases aren't prosecuted. The federal grant, however, should finally put some teeth into the Palmetto State's anti-domestic violence law.
Another boost to victims of domestic violence comes from a one-year, $3 million state grant that provides vouchers to help battered women living in shelters to pay for child care while they work or go back to school. Specifically, it is for battered mothers who work full-time and make too much money to qualify for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, but still can't afford expensive day care. The vouchers should help them get back on their feet and become independent, so they won't feel they have to return to their batterers for economic reasons. This is another incentive that should encourage victims to file charges against abusive mates.