Sheriff shares her insights into men as victims of domestic violence

SALT LAKE CITY — Do we believe men if they say they’re being stalked, verbally or physically abused or in fear of their partner? More than a quarter of U.S. men are victims of domestic violence. 

Police say a professional bull rider was killed in September in a domestic-violence-related homicide in Salt Lake City. LaShawn Denise Bagley, 21, was arrested for investigation of murder and felony discharge of a firearm.

Professional bull rider ‘Ouncie Mitchell’ shot, killed at Salt Lake apartment

The facts:

Every year, more than 10 million men and women in the U.S. are subjected to domestic violence. More than 1 in 3 women (35.6%) and more than 1 in 4 men (28.5%) in the U.S. will experience rape, physical violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime, according to National Domestic Violence Hotline.

An average of 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States. That adds to more than 12 million women and men during the course of a single year.

Biases & blinders

Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera — who is the first female sheriff elected in the state of Utah — joins KSL NewsRadio’s Dave & Dujanovic with Dave Noriega and Debbie Dujanovic to discuss men, domestic violence and built-in biases we all have but may not be aware of.

Debbie said it is just as important to talk about men as it is women becoming victims of domestic violence.

Rivera said she recently participated in a forum in Washington, D.C., held by the Department of Justice, to address the topic of men as victims of domestic violence.

“If we believe that men can’t be victims, and now you’re a police officer taking a report, your biases may come into play,” the sheriff said. “How do we train our police officers to recognize that and ensure that our reporting is accurate and our biases don’t come into play?”

Men too embarrassed to report they are victims of domestic violence 

“Sheriff Rivera, do you think men — some men — may be too embarrassed to report domestic violence that they’ve been a victim of?” Debbie asked.

“I do. I’ve ran into men myself during my law enforcement career that felt embarrassed to report their girlfriends at the time.

“We have to encourage them to come forward. Because domestic violence is domestic violence, and it can’t be tolerated,” Rivera said. “We have to protect the victims of domestic violence, either gender.”

Resources for domestic violence victims:

• Utah Domestic Violence Coalition: Utah’s confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic violence hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465)
• YWCA Women in Jeopardy program: 801-537-8600
• Utah’s statewide child abuse and neglect hotline: 1-855-323-DCFS (3237)
• National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233

The Salt Lake City Police Department encourages anyone who has experienced domestic violence to call 799-3000. And ask to speak with a Victim Advocate or call their 24-hour hotline directly at 801-580-7969.

Dave & Dujanovic can be heard weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon. on KSL NewsRadio. Users can find the show on the KSL NewsRadio website and app, as well as Apple Podcasts and Google Play.