August 2011 - Save - Leading The Policy Movement For Fairness and Due Process On Campus

Contact: Wendy McElroy, 301-801-0608, wmcelroy@saveservices.org

ACADEMIA REBELS AGAINST THE PRESUMPTION OF GUILT FOR MEN

WASHINGTON, Aug. 24 / U.S. Newswire / — Stop Abusive and Violent Environments is calling on the U.S. Department of Education to rescind a controversial directive. The new DED rule forces persons to abandon their due process rights to get an education. Such persons are considered “guilty until proven innocent” whenever an on-campus sexual accusation occurs.

On April 4, the DED Office of Civil Rights instructed every university that accepts federal funds to use a “preponderance (51%) of evidence” standard in evaluating allegations of sexual offense, including rape. An accuser only needs to ‘tip the scales’ for a professor or student to be found “guilty.”

But the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is now objecting. The group wants sexual accusations to be judged by a higher standard than traffic courts use for parking tickets.

On June 27, Gregory Scholtz, AAUP’s Director of the Department of Academic Freedom, Tenure, and Governance wrote to DED to protest the “lower standard of proof” that threatens “academic freedom and tenure.”

Then on August 18, AAUP’s Chair of the Committee on Women expressed concern about the “potential for accusations, even false ones, to ruin a faculty member’s career.” Backlash from two separate units of the AAUP is remarkable. Their recognition of false accusations is extraordinary.

“People lie for many reasons including revenge and shame; people also make mistakes. This is why courts presume an accused to be innocent and place the burden of proof on the accuser,” explains SAVE spokesman Phil Cook. “Hard evidence and due process are all the more important in sexual cases that often devolve to ‘he said, she said.’”

As a result of the DED directive, campuses are already beginning to reverse the presumption of innocence. Based on questionable data, men are assumed to be predators and women are said to “never lie” about issues like rape. By lowering the standards of justice, the OCR is encouraging false accusations.

SAVE applauds the AAUP for its courage in demanding the OCR rescind its April 4th mandate. SAVE urges college student parents to contact the Department of Education to demand for due process for all.

The SAVE letter to the Department of Education can be seen here: http://www.saveservices.org/wp-content/uploads/OCRLetter.pdf. SAVE is a national victim advocacy organization working for evidence-based solutions to domestic violence.

PRESS RELEASE

DHHS Under Fire for Sex Bias in Screening Guidelines

WASHINGTON – Stop Abusive and Violent Environments, a victim-advocacy organization, is charging bias in the screening guidelines recently issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The guidelines will require health plans recognized under President Obama’s Affordable Care Act to conduct domestic violence screening and counseling for women…but not for men.

The HHS rule was issued exactly three weeks after Catherine Becker of California drugged and bound her husband to a bed. Then she severed the man’s genitalia with a 10-inch knife and disposed of his penis in a garbage disposal.

When the rules were announced, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius explained, “These historic guidelines are based on science and existing literature.”

But independent scientific groups have consistently recommended against routine medical screening for domestic violence, citing lack of evidence of benefit. These include decisions by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care, and the Health Technology Assessment Program in the United Kingdom.

“Over 250 studies show women are at least as likely as men to engage in partner violence,” explains SAVE spokesman Philip Cook. “If Catherine Becker’s husband had been screened for abusive relationships, it’s possible this horrible castration could have been avoided.”

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments is calling for the HHS screening rule to be removed or revised to be gender-inclusive. The HHS requirements can be seen here: http://www.hrsa.gov/womensguidelines