“I felt I had God-given authority to rule over my family,” says one former abuser in Secrets, Lies & Apologies: Domestic Violence, which explores how domestic abuse is a closely guarded, shameful "secret" about which the abused continues to "lie" and the abuser always "apologizes." Due to the cyclical nature of abuse, Oregon and a few other states have passed a “Mandatory Arrest Law” for first-time domestic violence offenses, coupled with a comprehensive, year-long rehabilitation program called Domestic Abuse Prevention (DAP), aimed at getting perpetrators to take responsibility for their actions. Profiling one genial-looking couple, the program explores how the husband (and abuser), a model citizen with no previous arrests, turned his frustrations and failures in his outside life onto his wife of many years; after a near-fatal choking incident, she finally called the police. While most abusers excel at threatening their partners into not pressing charges, under Oregon law, the wife could not rescind her charges; the husband was arrested and put into the strict, no-contact DAP (unfortunately, the rehabilitation program is often referred to here as “re-education,” which has communist brainwashing overtones). An excellent profile of a progressive social program that boasts a higher success rate than simple incarceration, this thought-provoking video is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (R. Reagan)
Secrets, Lies & Apologies: Domestic Violence
(2004) 45 min. VHS: $89.95. Crime Prevention Resources. PPR. Color cover. Volume 20, Issue 2
Secrets, Lies & Apologies: Domestic Violence
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: