Rhonda Morgan, victims’ services coordinator for the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office, winces at the thought of the one who didn’t get out in time.

Morgan had seen many of the variables before. Abuse. Remorse. Reconciliation. Repeat.

The Westminster woman in her 50s was in a relationship with a violent man. Morgan had spent three years of her life trying to convince the victim of repeated domestic violence to get out while she could.

The cycle of violence ended in 2003. The woman’s final act in life was trying to walk out the door.

“He shot her in the back as she was trying to walk out. Multiple times, across the backside of her body,” Morgan said, looking down contemplatively. “She had every means to leave.”

That day, the murdered woman became a statistic. According to the Violence Policy Center, South Carolina is second in the nation in number of female deaths at the hands of men. Horror stories from home are nothing new to Morgan and Vicky Bottoms of the Sheriff’s Office or for Lisa Williams, victims’ advocate for the Seneca Police.

Williams recently dealt with a victim who had her jaw broken. Morgan remembers speaking with a victim who was disfigured after being beaten with an axe-handle. Bottoms recalls a case of a woman’s death and her boyfriend’s imprisonment for manslaughter.

“There are so many different dynamics and factors to domestic violence,” Williams said, noting that today's poor economy is likely playing an additional part.

“Pressure from job loss could contribute to it. Financial problems could contribute. But you have to remember domestic violence is unique,” she said.

Whether financial pressures, substance abuse or psychological problems are the direct cause, most domestic violence situations share a common thread — there are almost always opportunities to get out.

“You have to remember that victims of domestic violence develop an attachment and investment with their abuser,” Williams said. “That makes it very difficult for them to leave.”

A BAD START

It’s been a rough start to the year for victims’ advocates in Oconee County. Arrest reports have been bloated with criminal domestic violence cases.

From Jan. 1 to April 3, 2008, there were 44 reported cases of criminal domestic violence in Oconee County. In the same period of 2009, that number jumped to 57.

Last year more than 200 cases of criminal domestic violence were reported in Oconee. But, unfortunately, that number barely scratches the surface of the abuse actually going on in local homes. Williams and Morgan explain that for every one case reported, four instances of abuse go unreported.

Attorney General Henry McMaster has listed domestic violence as the number one crime problem in the state as 36,000 cases are reported every year.

In Oconee County, domestic violence is so prevalent that an entire branch of justice system has been developed to handle it. Judge Blake Norton presides over a criminal domestic violence court, while Kevin Cain deals specifically with criminal domestic violence for the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office.

THE CYCLE

Making an exit out of an abusive relationship is never easy, Williams said. Much of that is attributed to a Stockholm Syndrome, a psychological mechanism developed in a victim’s mind that fosters a dependency on the abuser.

“A woman leaves an abusive relationship an average of seven times before she makes the final break,” Williams said. “If she survives.”

Victims are often deceived, Morgan explained, because of the stages the cycle of abuse goes through. After an initial violent incident, a “honeymoon period” usually occurs in which the abuser is apologetic, seemingly remorseful and non-violent.

“Honeymoons usually happens when they’ve got the CDV charges hanging over their head,” Morgan said.

The honeymoon is usually short-lived, ending in another round of violence, often more brutal than the first.

Williams said the reasons for and methods of domestic violence are numerous. Some abusers use emotional abuse, such as name-calling and humiliation. Others try to isolate their partner by controlling what she sees, does and to whom she talks. Other abusive partners resort to intimidation, threats or displaying a weapon. These methods usually coincide with physical abuse or serve as precursors to physical confrontation. The most common reason for domestic violence can often be traced to the primary aggressor’s desire for power and control, Williams said.

THE LAW

Law enforcement in Oconee County is limited in how it can fight domestic violence.

“What we really need is more mandatory jail time early on in the process,” Williams said.

Currently in South Carolina a first time criminal domestic violence conviction results in a maximum of 30 days in jail or a fine of $2,125. A second offense would result in a maximum of one year in prison, and only a third domestic violence offense is considered a felony. A criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature charge is a felony punishable by 1 to 10 years in prison.

Oconee County ratchets up its stance against domestic violence by implementing a policy that demands that domestic violence charges are never dropped. A pre-trial counseling program is available on first offense for convicted abusers.

By law, domestic violence occurs between individuals who are married, live in the same household, used to live in the same household or have children together.

GETTING OUT

Jaime Galbreath of Seneca knows all too well the dangers of a violent relationship. Six years ago, her ex-boyfriend came to her home after draining a bottle of liquor.

“He abstained drinking liquor as much as he could. He was very violent when he drank,” Galbreath said. “He almost killed me.”

She was beaten in the face and the head. Her nose was broken in two places. She had to have plastic surgery on her left eye. But unlike many women, Galbreath was able to get out.

The man was convicted of criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature and sentenced to 15 years.

“He’ll walk free in 2011, no matter how much I fight,” Galbreath said.

Stories like Galbreath’s are not common, Morgan said.

“Unfortunately, success stories are few and far between,” she said.

Which is why victims’ advocates and victims themselves echo the same point over and over.

“Get out. Immediately. Don’t look back,” Galbreath said. “Don’t ever look back.”