Young Writers Society

I need some information. I'm doing some research, but I also need some info.

Ok, let's say a woman is leaving an abusive home situation with her husband. Right? And she's...Idk...28 or something, and together they have a son--age 4 or 5 or 6 or 7 or 8. Her son is autistic and/or deaf and/or ADD. One night, she is beaten up and has had it with the abuse and wants out. When the husband leaves for an hour or two, she's got a chance to leave. So she does. But she has no money and no car. Where does she go? How can she leave with a son like this? And what if the son has a service dog? She needs to bring the dog, too, right? In addition, if she moves to another state, how does that work legally if she doesn't inform authorities? Technically, the son is her husband's son too and technically they are still married. So could she be in trouble? Or...if she did go to authorities, what would happen? I need to figure out a timeline. I need to figure out laws and procedures and stuff--otherwise my story is screwed.

Before I start the beginning of my novel I need to make it sound credible, so I'm trying to do research, but I don't know where to start. I do have a background in common law, but nothing of this sort. Can anyone point me to any resources? Or does anyone have answers for me?

I don't know where to start with this.

If I were the woman and I would look up the nearest shelter for abuse and hightail it there on foot. I don't know a whole lot about the rest of us, but if she had proof, the man would go to jail and she should be safe after that.

From what I know, not everyone goes to shelters. In addition, shelters get full. Also, if she were to move in with a sibling states and states away, how would that fit into this situation? I know that domestic violence is a crime. Sometimes assault and battery can be added to the offences. There can be a obligatory jail sentence. But there are problems prosecuting these crimes. People are hesitant to report, also scared. And I know many cases go unreported. So I don't know if my main character will report ASAP, because then...well, where is the story, you know? In addition, it is hard to prosecute domestic violence because even when the victims report the attack to authorities, sometimes victims recant later. And refuse to testify. The reason for this is that "defendants have the legal right to confront and cross-examine their accusers and prosecutors can't give victims' statements to the police into evidence in lieu of the victims' actual testimony in court." So basically, the prosecutors have to sometimes dismiss domestic violence charges. And if you don't report and you don't cooperate with prosecutors, then domestic violence becomes the "hardest crime to successfully prosecute."

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/ ... 33813.html

Service dogs are only really for autism, and I have never actually seen them in use (I will refrain from making a debate about service dogs and autism...). Therefore, you probably won't have to deal with the dog.

The area she's in determines a lot. I have heard of women helping others get out, women upping and leaving, ect. It also determines the number of resources available period. Some are online only, like Aspire News, an abuse resources app disguised as a news one.

I know deaf people who use service dogs to alert them to things that they cannot hear. Service dogs are used for many purposes, including autism and blindness and other things. Some Veterans even use service dogs.

But anyways...

I'm thinking that she'll be in North Carolina or somewhere on the East Coast. And then eventually move all the way to the West Coast to get away. Or vice versa.

The main thing about service dogs is, dogs in general are expensive (Vet, food, toys, misc things, basic training, and the time involved; this doesn't include specialized training and equipment). As a result, you have to determine this woman's class to determine if she can even afford to have a service dog for her son. You'd also have to research the starting age for children getting a dog; I've heard there are some age restrictions, if only for how the child can behave around the dog.

The woman's class also determines what searching resources she'd have access to (internet and health services being two big things). I'm not saying she has to be in a certain class, but I am saying it makes a huge difference what class she's in. Other factors include her job history/experience, level of education, social network, exact neighbourhood, and how much the husband keeps to himself (if she knows the bank PIN and has a card, then she can make a withdrawal).

Honestly, I still don't have enough character information to know where to begin. You haven't established neighbourhood (or even city), or what resources outside of "no money and car" she has (including things like a phone, how much clothing, suitcases, worldly possessions, ect). What about the husband? Any of her friends? (Although her not having any, or at the very least her relations being strained, isn't out of the question if her husband is particularly controlling) Any of his friends? They could be willing to help him find her.

You need to actually put the couple in a much wider context to know where to start. You can't simply set up a few basic traits (abusive relationship, child, no money or car) without the area, class, general social life, and a history on the character and expect to know where to start when it comes to researching something that changes from person to person, area to area, and class to class.