A Cry for Help: The Tracey Thurman Story

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A Cry for Help: The Tracey Thurman Story. An NBC made-for-TV movie, broadcast on Oct. 2, 1989. Starring Nancy McKeon, Dale Midkiff, Yvette Heyden, Terri Hanauer, and Bruce Weitz.

While a crowd gathers and a policeman looks on, the man grasps his small son under one arm. In a manic dance-like step, he stomps on the neck of the woman lying helplessly on the ground. A few moments earlier, he had stabbed her in the face, neck, and back.

Another blood-and-gore scene dreamed up by a Hollywood script writer to hook a viewing audience? Unfortunately, not. The script writers were actually somewhat restrained compared to all descriptions of the actual events. "A Cry for Help: The Tracey Thurman Story" is based on Thurman's very real experience with a violent husband.

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence estimates that over 3 million women are victimized each year by domestic violence. Like many of these women, Tracey Thurman did everything the legal and socialwork system told her to do to avoid another beating by her soon-to-be ex-husband, Buck.

But the restraining orders and numerous calls to the Torrington, Conn., police department failed to prevent the June 10, 1983, assault which left Tracey Thurman partially paralyzed and near death.

The "'Thurman Law"

The all-too-familiar tragedy enacted in Torrington was deemed newsworthy for its aftermath. Tracey Thurman's determined struggle for some modicum of justice led her to file suit against her city's police department for violating her constitutional right to equal protection.

The eventual success of her suit (a jury awarded her almost $2 million in damages) is credited with helping to effect some changes in the way police in several municipalities handle domestic-violence complaints.

Connecticut's police now operate under what is known as the Thurman law. This statute requires the arrest of offenders in cases Nancy McKeon as Tracey Thurman of probable domestic violence. Eight other states and more than half of the major cities around the country have enacted similar legislation in the past few years.

But the traditional attitude of police, courts, and society as a whole was clearly expressed by an officer who explained to Thurman prior to the June 1983 attack that it would be easier to arrest Buck if she weren't married to him. The town's police chief backed up his officer's stance stating, "We were trained that way, to avoid arrest with a husband and wife."

Limitations of the movie The movie ends after the verdict is given. The postscript brings home the magnitude of the problem when it informs viewers that one woman is beaten by her spouse every 15 seconds. A number to call for aid and information is displayed on the screen.

The directors and cast generally avoid any temptation toward melodramatics or trivialization of the problem. McKeon, in the title role, gives an especially sensitive portrayal of a young woman's pain and confusion in coping with a permanent physical disability.

The movie alludes to some of the possible factors causing Buck's violent behavior; it points to his gambling, drinking, periodic unemployment, and troubled childhood.

The real Tracey Thurman Buck's objections to his wife's desire to hold a job despite the needed income (as well as his general macho attitude toward women) also come through.

But the movie doesn't probe very deeply into the causes of wife battering--sometimes referred to as one of the nation's most popular sports.

One other shortcoming is noteworthy. Partially because the movie deals with one woman's courageous personal fight, and partially because of television's often bemoaned tendency to package happy endings, viewers could be led to believe that the limited reforms made by police and courts will keep another "cry for help" from going unanswered.

The "rule of thumb"

It will take more than a few reforms in the police and judicial system to stop all of the forms of violence against women prevalent in our society.

Totally changing sexist attitudes toward women will require a different kind of society, one in which there is no profit to be made by keeping some parts of the population as second-class citizens. It will have to be a society in which individuals stay together out of real choice and not economic or social compulsion.

Ignoring and/or legitimizing domestic violence has a long history. In English common law, upon which much of our current legal system is based, men were considered to have a legal right to "physically chastise an errant wife." The only restraint on this male right was the "rule of thumb." The stick a man beat his wife with could not legally exceed the width of his thumb! Women and children were generally regarded as a man's property.

It was only a century ago that domestic assaults were made illegal in the United States. Ever since, however, the system has continued to treat a man's beating and raping "his" wife and children differently than other crimes.

Marital rape is still not a crime in several states. A few states now extend the "marital rape exemption" to unmarried couples living together. In these circumstances, a woman may be able to press charges for assault if her husband or companion beats her, but she can't legally press charges for the more serious crime of rape.

In the meanwhile, enacting reform bills does not guarantee that these new laws will be vigorously enforced.

Women still dying

In 1984, the U.S. surgeon general identified wife battering as the single largest cause of injury to women. According to the Los Angeles Times, killings by enraged husbands or lovers account for almost one-third of women murdered each year. There are similar figures for Canada.

Once the women's movement began addressing the problem of domestic violence in both countries, some efforts were made to help women in this situation find a way out of their often worsening situation. Many shelters have been opened.

At these safe places women and children can recuperate, get counseling, and take any legal steps necessary to maintain their safety. Trained staff help them make plans for any needed schooling and job training. Most of these shelters are financed by donations and suffer chronic underfunding. Some have had to turn away women because they don't have the resources to help all who need it.

Government officials have done little to alleviate this situation. While they can't stop abuse from occurring, the shelter system offers women some help. Tax money would be better spent on expanding this and other supportive services rather than on building more tanks and bombers.

about the pamphlet itself, "Toward a Socialist America."

Los Angeles, Calif. Well done.

Dear editor, Well done, people! What would be the price of your newspaper? I am a retired engineer.

Helsinki, Finland