The rift between rapper Chris Brown and pop star Rihanna put domestic violence in the spotlight across the nation, including Mingo County, where those who deal with the social issue fear the repercussions of her message.

Brown is accused of brutally attacking Rihanna the night of the Grammys. A rumor circulating of her return to the 19-year-old rapper leaves local officials wondering what message will be sent to young women throughout the area.

“It’s not a good message,” said Williamson Police Chief Roby Pope. “You see cases where women come in over and over and then drop the charges. Most live in abuse the rest of their lives.”

Tug Valley Recovery Shelter Director Kim Ryan said between July 2007 and June of 2008 the shelter served 775 victims and estimated 90 percent went back to the abuser a second time.

“Rihanna returning to Chris Brown sends a very common message,” she said. “It does say it doesn’t matter who you are. Domestic violence isn’t prejudice.”

She explained that many women are not educated and know they would have to find a job to survive.

“You can’t raise a family flipping burgers,” Ryan said. “A lot is fear of being by themselves and raising children alone. Or, he may have threatened her.”

Pope said laws should be changed in West Virginia to coerce the victim to testify in court.

“The law should be rewritten so that they are compelled to testify,” he said. “There should be a record and counseling re-quired.”

He explained the frustration officers’ feel knowing “eventually it is going to get worse.”

“You’re in a very hostile environment,” Pope said. “The law forces us to arrest someone if violence oc-curs.”

Both Pope and Ryan have seen the violence escalate.

“We’ve had a few that we have provided services to and helped along their way that have either taken their own lives or were killed,” Ryan said. “It happened here. He stalked her until he killed her. It makes you want to try even harder.”

In 1998 the West Virginia legislature passed a comprehensive bill that centered predominantly on the prevention of domestic and family violence. The Dom-estic Violence Preven-tion Act of 1998 expanded the definition of domestic violence to include dating violence, lengthened the time of an initial order to a maximum of 180 days, enhanced state law to reflect provisions of the Violence Against Women Act in the areas of full faith and credit and firearms restrictions, required training on the dynamics of and laws regarding domestic violence for various professionals and state employees, directed the Depart-ment of Education to develop age appropriate curricula that specifically addresses domestic and family violence, directed the Bureau of Public Health to develop a statewide public health plan and to publish model standards on health care response to domestic violence for health care facilities.

In 2000, a bill was passed creating a felony offense for the possession of firearms by persons under domestic violence protection orders.

West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence reports in the fiscal year “2003-2004 licensed dom-estic violence programs directly served 18,579 West Virginians.”

WVCADV also lists that an average of “two domestic homicides occurred in West Virginia each month. This average has held steady since the late 1970s.”

The organization advises victims of domestic violence in immediate danger to call 911. Those in need of assistance, who are not in immediate danger, should contact the community-based domestic violence. To contact the statewide central service office of the West Virginia Coalition phone (304) 965-3552.