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Commissioner Morris urges attention to 'reactive abuse' and systemic revictimization
Summary
Commissioner Morris used his time during commissioner reports to describe 'reactive abuse'—where long‑term victims react and are then treated as perpetrators—and urged the Board to consider reforms to avoid revictimizing survivors in criminal and social‑service systems.
During the commissioner‑reports portion of the Jan. 21 meeting, Commissioner Morris delivered an extended statement describing what he called 'reactive abuse'—a pattern in which victims of sustained abuse react and then are treated as the aggressor by law enforcement and the courts.
Morris walked through an example scenario in which a victim endures persistent emotional and physical abuse, then reacts once, and is subsequently arrested while the primary abuser is not fully accounted for in initial reports. He warned that the system’s procedures (arrest protocols, shelter intake rules, and plea advice) can compound trauma, leave victims without shelter or legal support and, in effect, re‑victimize them.
Morris did not propose specific county ordinances during his remarks but asked colleagues to study the concept and consider whether the county can improve responses (for example, through training, alternative response teams, or better coordination with shelters and legal resources).
The Board acknowledged his statement; a member of the public later urged adding social‑work models to sheriff’s response teams during second public comment. Morris said the goal of his remarks was awareness and to catalyze collaborative solutions rather than to assign blame.
