ABSTRACT
Every day, in the United States and around the world, countless perpetrators are getting away with horrific abuse against people they are supposed to love and care for. Think about it for a moment: every time perpetrators speak an abusive word or commit an act of violence and face no negative consequences for that abuse, they are free from taking any responsibility for the harm they are doing to their victims, children, and others. It is true that there are laws against many forms of abuse, and therefore perpetrators may face consequences if their abuse is brought to the attention of the criminal justice system. However, even when cases of abuse actually make it to the criminal justice system, there are many loopholes in the system that can have the end effect of perpetrators escaping accountability for their abusive actions. To this day, far too many perpetrators of abuse fail to receive any meaningful consequences for their abuse.
