Sara Lewkowicz (Ohio University)
A Portrait of Domestic Violence
Domestic violence is a largely invisible crime. We usually only hear it muffled through walls, and we usually only see it manifested in the faded yellow and purple bruises of a woman who “walked into a wall†or “fell down the stairs.†It is rarely limited to one event, and it rarely stops. This project seeks to take a deeper, unflinching look at domestic abuse as a process, as opposed to a single incident, examining how a pattern of abuse develops and eventually crests, as well as its effects on victims, their families, and their abusers.
Story: A Portrait of Domestic Violence
Untitled
Shane, an ex-convict and a recovering drug addict, had been trying to make a career as a singer in a Christian rock band while providing for Maggie and her children. He said finding steady work that paid a living wage was tremendously difficult, as he was required by law to report his status as a convicted felon.
Story: A Portrait of Domestic Violence
Untitled
Maggie had two children, Memphis, age 2, and Kayden, age 4. Maggie had separated from their father several months prior to beginning her relationship with Shane. From the beginning of the relationship, Shane became very involved with the children, asking Kayden to call him "dad."
Story: A Portrait of Domestic Violence
Untitled
One month into their courtship, Shane had Maggie's name tattooed on his neck in large black letters.
Story: A Portrait of Domestic Violence
Untitled
Maggie would often say that she could sense the competition between Kayden and Shane, and often felt that she was caught between their separate demands for her affection and attention.
Story: A Portrait of Domestic Violence
Untitled
Shane had found temporary work in Lancaster, and rather than commute between his job and his home with Maggie in Somerset, the family had stayed with a longtime friend of Shane's in Lancaster. The couple's precarious financial situation combined with the challenge of caring for two small children wore on the couple, and they had begun to fight more frequently. One night, after an early birthday celebration for Memphis at a local fast food restaurant, the two began to argue. Shane said his main source of frustration stemmed from the fact that Maggie paid more attention to the children than she did to him.
Story: A Portrait of Domestic Violence
Untitled
After a night out at a local bar in Lancaster, Maggie left after becoming jealous of another woman flirting with Shane. Upon arriving home, Shane flew into a rage, angry that Maggie had "abandoned him" at the bar, and he screamed that Maggie had betrayed him, at one point accusing his friend (not pictured) of trying to pursue her sexually.
Story: A Portrait of Domestic Violence
Untitled
As Shane and Maggie continued to fight, Memphis ran into the room and refused to leave Maggie's side. Shane continued to scream in Maggie's face as Memphis wedged herself between them. At some point, the toddler had stopped crying and began trying to soothe her weeping mother.
Story: A Portrait of Domestic Violence
Untitled
Shane flung Maggie back into the kitchen when she tried to escape. He told her, at one point, that she could either get beaten up in the kitchen, or come into the basement with him so that they could talk alone. Maggie refused to be alone with him, saying she was fearful of what he might do without witnesses around.
Story: A Portrait of Domestic Violence
Untitled
A resident of the house called the police, who arrived and arrested Shane. As he was being led away in handcuffs, Shane pled with Maggie not to let the police take him into custody, crying out, "Please, Maggie, I love you, don't let them take me, tell them I didn't do this!"
Story: A Portrait of Domestic Violence
Untitled
Maggie sat in front of her best friend Amy's house and smoked the morning after the assault, while Kayden and Amy's daughter Olivia, three, played in the window. A few days later, she decided to move to Alaska to be closer with her estranged husband and father of her children. Shane pled guilty to a count of domestic battery, and was given a nine month sentence. He was released in August 2013, five months later, on good behavior.
Story: A Portrait of Domestic Violence
Untitled
Overwhelmed by frustration at a long flight delay, as well as by the prospect of transporting two small children all the way to Anchorage, Maggie closed her eyes and tried to calm herself down. Her grandfather had been given special permission by the airport to come to the gate with her to help her care for Memphis and Kayden. After a flight delay that lasted several hours, they were told the flight had been cancelled and were sent home. They flew to Anchorage the following day.
Story: A Portrait of Domestic Violence
Untitled
Memphis stood in front of an illuminated advertisement at the Port Columbus International Airport, waiting to fly to Alaska with her mother and brother to be with her father. Memphis' father is a soldier who is currently stationed in Anchorage. Maggie decided that trying to reconcile with her estranged husband would be best for her and her children. "I want us to be a family again," Maggie said. "Zane has been so understanding about everything, he wants to take care of us. I'm really lucky."