Reporter's notebook: Addiction and domestic violence | Forensic Files

this is the home where Carla Mendes brada lived and died it serves as sort of a ground zero for all the very
important issues that this week's show addresses with the case that we focus in on women who drink women who are bravely
coming out of the Shadows looking for help with that problem domestic violence the shame and the blame behind it and
the fact that many of our courts in this country use support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous as a sentencing
tool in instead of holding violent criminal offenders accountable for their actions even and regardless if they were
drunk when they committed the offense one of the groups as I mentioned that we often see trying to help in all these
situations is alcoholic synonymous it was founded in the 1930s and millions and millions of people across the entire
planet have been helped to get sober by AA but AA is not a reabilitation group it is a support group in fact it says
right here on their website that it is a Fellowship that it is a nonprofessional
self-supporting group and what we found out really means is there is a dramatic lack of oversight it is self-supporting
and many of those who voluntarily go to AA are all too often sitting alongside a
predator somebody who has been mandated to go there by the courts or somebody who has a violent criminal past now to
me there seems like there's a pretty easy solution to that why not separate the groups why can't you have two
meetings instead of one well AA says that that violates the very Spirit of anonymity perhaps but it begs a very
important question is it more important to protect the identity of a predator or
to protect the innocent person and potential victim that is sitting next to them we tried to pose that question to
Alcoholics Anonymous tune in for this week's show to see what their comment on that was I know this is a fairly cont
controversial topic because it is very important to get help especially if your time has come that you really want that
help you need to seek it but you also need to find out who you're going to be doing and getting that help with and
from if you want to join the conversation or you have a comment I strongly encourage you to join us live
during and after the show on Twitter and Facebook

Correspondent Maureen Maher takes you behind the reporting of this week's "48 Hours" and discusses the sensitive, but serious topics of addiction and domestic violence. For more, Watch "the Sober Truth," Saturday, Jan. 2 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

Brief Summary

This episode examines Alcoholics Anonymous, domestic violence, and the safety of women seeking help for drinking issues.

Key points

The Role of Alcoholics Anonymous. Exploring how AA functions as a support group rather than a rehabilitation center.
Controversial Questions Raised. Debating the balance between anonymity and victim safety in support groups.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Is it more important to protect the identity of a predator?

Questioning the priorities of Alcoholics Anonymous.

1:40WatchNov 27, 2014

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