State failing women by not following policies

I was infuriated April 29 by two stories that discussed the failures of state

agencies. In “Agencies failed slain woman,” the agencies failed to follow protocols regarding domestic violence policies and added insult to injury when they gave the victim a hard time about collecting the evidence, in the state’s possession, of the violence. The outcome was two deaths, a murder/suicide perpetrated by the abuser.

In “Former official gets job back,” the state’s failure to follow proper procedures in firing a serial sexual harasser resulted in his reinstatement; it could reasonably be expected that more women will be subject to the harassment.

It is one thing to have domestic violence and harassment policies in place; it is apparently quite another to follow them. At the very least, there should be some accountability from the people responsible for the failures at all levels of the process.

Susan Pattenaude

Averill Park The writer is a retired attorney who represented victims of domestic violence.