prevention demands – A Cook County landscape scan finds domestic violence systems too tied to criminal justice, with limited coordination and few voluntary options—while many survivors want help without incarceration. The effort also points to a broader gap in understanding health
After domestic violence tragedies, it’s easy to reach for a single, comforting explanation—mental illness, alcoholism, or a criminal justice system that didn’t intervene in time. But when violence is looked at closely, the picture is far messier, and the consequences for survivors are immediate.
Over the past year. Michael Reese Health Trust conducted a landscape scan in Cook County. speaking with survivors. providers. and people seeking to change their behavior. The urgency. the organization says. is unmistakable: domestic violence-related deaths in Illinois have risen sharply in recent years. and tens of thousands of people contact the domestic violence hotline seeking help.
What it found was a system strained by gaps—“inadequate resources and limited coordination. ” with “room for innovation.” Much of the intervention. the scan found. remains tethered to the criminal justice system. That structure leaves few voluntary options for people who want help before being mandated into treatment.
Providers, the report notes, don’t have enough resources. And systems that interact with families operate in silos, making it harder to respond to danger early—when it may still be possible to change the trajectory.
One finding cut especially close to the lived reality of violence: many people lack a shared understanding of what healthy relationships look like. In that vacuum, societal norms—patriarchy among them—can normalize control, minimize accountability, and reinforce unequal power.
That lack of shared understanding doesn’t just shape behavior. It shapes what survivors feel they’re able to ask for. Many survivors want violence to stop, but they do not want their partners incarcerated. Some are co-parenting. Others fear their partner may harm someone else.
The scan also includes the perspective of those who cause harm. Every year, “hundreds of people” call into the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline seeking help to change their behavior. If prevention is the goal. the organization argues. systems have to be built to handle this complexity—not only the moment after harm. but the period before it.
The prescription is specific: invest in early intervention; create voluntary programs for people seeking help; demand accountability when harm occurs; and teach young people—especially young men—what healthy relationships look like.
For Michael Reese Health Trust, the central point is that a prevention strategy has to match the nuance of reality. The scan’s message lands hardest on those who are too often at the center of these tragedies—especially Black women—whose experiences. the organization argues. can’t be reduced to simplistic explanations without losing sight of what actually needs to change.
domestic violence prevention Cook County Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline Michael Reese Health Trust survivors early intervention accountability healthy relationships Black women