Anti-violence efforts get little funding

The state Division of Child and Family Services has the past two years asked for 10 new domestic violence caseworkers. But division director Duane Betournay said the Department of Human Services hasn't deemed it a high enough priority to get on the governor's funding list.

"We're stretched too thin on those positions," he said.

Worried about funding or political fallout, many state officials and victim advocates are reluctant to speak publicly about the level of leadership, funding and state support.

"Governor Huntsman would be a powerful voice in Utah and even the country for this issue," one high-profile Utahn close to the domestic violence issue said. "He has enormous credibility and buckets of political capital — the real kind and the symbolic kind — to spend.

"But will it be as attractive to him as helping the soccer team stay? You know the answer to that."

Huntsman has been supportive of the issue, said Searle, who was appointed in 2003 by then-Gov. Mike Leavitt.

There hasn't been much public fanfare on domestic violence, he said, but behind the scenes, the governor's office has been laying a foundation for a substantive plan of action from the governor's Violence Against Women and Families Cabinet Council. It can be expected in June, he said.

"It's really in its genesis," Searle said. But it will combine strategies for sexual violence, domestic violence, early intervention and substance abuse prevention. "It will be something really valuable for the state."

An issue ignored

But in recent memory, politicians have shown little interest in domestic violence.

Rep. Scott Wyatt, R-Logan, aggressively prosecuted violent crimes against women, including domestic abuse, while working as the Cache County attorney. But constituents don't recognize those efforts. People, he said, only call about taxes, education and roads.

"I have not had one person in my district say one word about abuse, violence or rape. Nothing," Wyatt said.

"When was the last time you heard rape as a campaign issue? When was the last time you heard child abuse as a campaign issue? When was the last time you heard domestic violence as a campaign issue?"

Not often.

New Salt Lake County Attorney Lohra Miller has committed to major changes in the way her office addresses crimes related to domestic violence.

"The issue itself has been ignored for far too long," Miller said recently from her downtown office. Which is why she says she will be devoting staff and money immediately to the cause.

In 15 years as a prosecutor in suburban justice courts, Miller handled hundreds of domestic violence cases.