Domestic violence is no joke.  4.8 million women across the United States are victims of abuse by their partners each year.  The abusers create an environment of fear in their homes, and the women who are caught in the web of violence frequently find they have no means of escape- or at least are led to believe that they have no means of escape.

…which is why it is all the more horrific that a judge in Florida would essentially aid and abet a husband in terrorizing and assaulting his wife.

When Sonja Bray called the police to her home, her husband had been holding her down on the couch, strangling her.

The judge who saw the case called it a “minor incident” and ordered the husband to buy her flowers and take her to Red Lobster.

That is precisely what most abusers just beginning a cycle of violence do.  They apologize, they present the victim with gifts and with nights out, and then they begin the process of convincing their victim that the abuse was her fault.  That she was to blame.

This abusive husband has the weight of the law now behind his assertions that she shouldn’t complain, and that whatever he did just wasn’t really that bad.

Now, when Sonja Bray is finally frightened and injured enough that she might once again call for help, who will she call?  The police, who will escort her through the process of getting a date with her abusive husband?

Happy Valentine’s Day, Mrs. Bray.  Get out.  Get out now.