Domestic Violence: A Quest For Change — A Call For Freedom

— Domestic violence is not a new issue in the military, nor is it a small issue. According to a December 2019 report to Congress titled, "Military Families and Intimate Partner Violence: Background and Issues for Congress," there were 16,912 reported incidents in Fiscal Year 2018, and "there has been little change in the rate or number of reported incidents … since FY2009." In fact, there has been little change in more than twenty years, as there were more than 18,000 reports annually as far back as 2001. And these are just the reported incidents. The Bureau of Justice Statistics found that law enforcement is notified in only half of domestic violence incidents. Lara's experience reveals the human side of these statistics, which affect not just those on military bases, but in households all over the world. Lara M. Sabanosh reveals her emotional decades-long story of fear, deceit, and abuse that ends with the disappearance and death of her husband.  Lara provides a unique perspective of being trapped in the same failed domestic abuse system that she worked for, and is sharing her experience in hopes to bring about change in the system and mindset of the abused—they are not alone. Valeria Teles interviews Lara M. Sabanosh — the author of "Caged: The True Story of Abuse, Betrayal, and GTMO" Lara Sabanosh grew up in various parts of the country and for a time, lived overseas in Guantanamo Bay (GTMO), where she was an education service facilitator at the Fleet and Family Support Center and became acting director in December 2013. She spent much of her adult life as a wife, mother and student, eventually completing two doctoral degrees. Six years in the making, her new book, Caged, is an honest and introspective memoir detailing the never-before-told other side of an international, headline story, taking readers through the first twenty years of her tumultuous marriage to Christopher Tur, to events as she lived them on the night he went missing and the aftermath. Sabanosh is currently retired from government service, residing quietly in Pensacola, Florida, surrounded by her loving family, dogs, and grand puppies. To learn more about Lara M. Sabanosh and her work, please visit: larasabanosh.com       — This podcast is a quest for well-being, a quest for a meaningful life through the exploration of fundamental truths, enlightening ideas, insights on physical, mental, and spiritual health. The inspiration is Love. The aspiration is to awaken new ways of thinking that can lead us to a new way of being, being well.