Expert: Victims often don’t testify
After serving a one-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, Josh Brown likely will be allowed to resume his career as a kicker for the Giants. His ex-wife, Molly Brown, alleged domestic violence, but when the league attempted to question her about these allegations, she did not cooperate. This is not uncommon, says Karen Cheeks-Lomax, an expert in the field of domestic violence.
“We don’t know about factually what happened,’’ Cheeks-Lomax told The Post on Wednesday night. “Whether it was settled in some way, we don’t know that. I can see why people would say, ‘Well, he’s gone back to his life,’ and we’re not caring for the person who was victimized.
“But often people who’ve been victimized have a very hard time speaking publicly because they get blamed. Again, I can’t attest to what happened here. We see very often people are traumatized after they reveal something that happened. Many people go forward, many people say, ‘I’m not.’ If there was some settlement in this divorce, I don’t know. I don’t have enough facts.’’
The NFL decided t he one- game suspension would be Josh Brown’ s punishment, though the league’ s new“baseline ’’ calls for a six-game ban for first-time domestic abuse offenders, unless there are mitigating factors. In this case, the fact the charges against Josh Brown in the state of Washington were dropped five days after his arrest in May 2015, plus the lack of cooperation by Molly Brown and the local police, led to the one-game suspension.
Cheeks-Lo mas is the CEO of My Sister’s Place, an agency in White Plains that provides services to empower survivors of domestic violence. The Giants have worked with My Sister’s Place for the past 19 years in a variety of ways, from player training to public service campaigns.
“We have tried to raise awareness through them,’’ Cheeks-Lomax said. “One of the things we try to do, certainly with the Giants, is to provide insight into the root causes of partner abuse and how it happens.
“And, on the flip side, what healthy relationships look like. The world is what it is, it’s a journey, it’s very difficult work. There’s so much more work to be done, by all of us, in these communities we serve in. Whenever there’s an incident or allegations or prior abuses it’s a sad day, because people’s lives are impacted by this.’’
Cheeks-Lomax does not know the specifics of the Josh Brown case, but she does know the telltale warning signs of domestic abuse.
“I spent the last 20-some-odd years working on these cases,’’ she said .“We’ ve seen some things that are very difficult to hear and to learn about. We’ve spent much of our time supporting those who have been victimized by violence. We look at that as power and control. When one party has undue influence and control over another, there are a myriad of ways that can happen. It is complicated. Children are involved and families are involved. It can be very complicated and challenging.’’