Documentary Analysis: Private Violence

The obstacles against protecting abused women and prosecuting their abusers were intensely illustrated in the documentary “Private Violence.” This documentary focuses on one survivor of domestic violence, Deanna Walters, and her advocate, Kit Gruelle, and their fight for justice in the state of North Carolina. Deanna Walters was kidnapped by her estranged husband Robbie and beaten in the back of his tractor-trailer in front of their daughter over a four-day cross-country trip. This film follows Deanna’s journey as she struggles to rebuild her life and fights with Kit Gruelle to place Robbie behind bars.
Watching this documentary, I felt terrible for the extreme pain Deanna and her daughter experienced but I also felt a sense of empowerment as she met Kit and they were able to fight against the law for justice. Being a victim in a long-term abusive relationship allowed me to empathize with Deanna. This too was a very vulnerable point in my life. I felt defeated, wounded, and disappointed. I was scared to tell anyone because I feared judgment and so I felt abandoned. I was in denial for most of the relationship, blaming everything that happened on myself. I constantly kept trying to change things about my personality that wouldn’t make him angry and hurt me. I cared …show more content…
Abuse is the threat to or actually using physical, sexual, verbal or psychological behavior to force the partner to do something one wants to gain a sense of power or control. However, the bigger conflict is trying to place the offender behind bars for his actions. This case was not an easy one being that the incident took place out of state. Unfortunately, domestic abuse is taken lightly within the legal system. One would have to have internal damage, beyond soft tissue, in order to pursue a legal case. This presents as an organizational conflict because it occurs between two groups, the legal system versus Deanna and