Paper PFA

In response to the front page article in the News of Delaware County’s August 12^th edition entitled “PFAs Remain the Best Option for Abuse Victims,” by Vince Sullivan, here is the “un-edited” version of a letter written from first-hand experience in dealing with the system that doles out Protection From Abuse orders as if they were bullet-proof shields:

“Last week’s front page article entitled “PFAs Remain the Best Option for Abuse Victims,” by Vince Sullivan, was just another example of self-serving propaganda, courtesy of UD Police’s Superintendent Michael Chitwood. Either he is woefully ignorant of the misogynistic police force he is running or he really is nothing more than an opportunistic hypocrite.

“My PFA turned out to be nothing more than a worthless piece of paper. I was treated more like a perpetrator than a victim, subjected to endless phone calls and torturous paperwork that yielded no appreciable results other than the scrutiny of the chauvinistic UD police officers. From the detached and impersonal patrolmen, to the careless and disinterested detectives, right up to the callous and abrasive captain, I was subjected to a repeated gauntlet of bureaucratic abuses that bordered on obstruction of justice. I was insulted and demeaned throughout the process by the very people who are sworn to “serve and protect,” while my abuser harassed and intimidated me with impunity.

“Women, beware and be warned! Contact the Delaware County DA / County Solicitor’s office if you seek enforcement of your PFA.”

Steele Fields

It has been this writer's first-hand observations that have caused him to paint PFAs as little more than targets that abuse victims are given to pin on themselves to give their intended abusers a crisper line of site to fire at. That being said, it’s true that in a system as weak as ours, PFAs are an abuse victim’s only option, if for nothing else than to be able to validate their abuses.

Beware and be warned indeed: do not hide behind the paper shield of the PFA… make sure you have a back-up plan that includes a valid escape route.

© Ray Cattie