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Domestic Violence Press Release Violence

PR: SAVE Calls for Suspension of Hope Solo Following Domestic Violence Arrest

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Gina Lauterio
Telephone: 301-801-0608
Email: info@saveservices.org

SAVE Calls for Suspension of Hope Solo Following Domestic Violence Arrest

WASHINGTON / October 1, 2014 – SAVE, a national victim-advocacy organization, is today calling on the U.S. Soccer Federation to immediately suspend goaltender Hope Solo following her arrest on charges of domestic violence on June 21. SAVE charges the U.S. Soccer Federation’s plan to allow Solo to continue to play reveals a deplorable lack of understanding of the seriousness of her assault.
Solo’s arrest followed a 911 call by a neighbor stating Solo was “hitting people” and they could not get her to stop. After receiving statements of the persons involved, officers determined Solo was the primary aggressor and had instigated the assault.
Solo was charged with two counts of fourth degree assault. Police photographs revealed Solo caused her nephew to bleed from his left ear and badly scraped her sister’s face: http://www.kirotv.com/gallery/news/photos-hope-solo-domestic-violence-case-investigat/gCLkZ/#5419227

ESPN, TV Guide, and the Chicago Tribune have all called for Solo’s suspension. USA Today sports columnist Christine Brennan penned, “So what kind of message does this send to the millions of girls and women the U.S. national team has empowered and inspired over the past couple of decades? That alleged domestic violence is somehow different and less alarming when the alleged abuser is a woman?”

“When running back Ray Rice was found to have engaged in domestic violence, the NFL put him on indefinite suspension,” notes SAVE spokesperson Sheryle Hutter. “But when Hope Solo threatens, assaults, scratches, and draws blood, U.S. Soccer whitewashes the incident as a ‘personal situation’ and sends her back out on the field.”

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The theme of the observance is Drop the Domestic Violence Double-Standard: http://www.saveservices.org/camp/double-standard/

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments – SAVE — promotes evidence-based solutions to the problem of domestic violence: http://www.saveservices.org/

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Campus Sexual Assault

PR: SAVE Calls on Gov. Brown to Veto Bill that Would Endanger Rape Victims and Trivialize Sexual Assault

Contact: Gina Lauterio
Telephone: 908-783-3542
Email: info@saveservices.org

SAVE Calls on Gov. Brown to Veto Bill that Would Endanger Rape Victims and Trivialize Sexual Assault

WASHINGTON / September 25, 2014 – SAVE, a national victim-advocacy organization, is today calling on Gov. Jerry Brown to veto SB-967, which would impose an Affirmative Consent requirement on California colleges. The bill has been the focus of national ridicule and controversy since it was introduced earlier this year.

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments – SAVE – believes it is illogical to believe that a rapist intent on committing a violent assault would be deterred by the need to obtain a woman’s on-going “affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement,” as the law would require. SAVE charges the bill’s Affirmative Consent provisions would lull potential victims into a false of security.

SB-967 would also blur the distinction between consensual sex and criminal rape, SAVE says. This would serve to squander investigative resources on highly questionable cases and to trivialize the legitimate needs of rape survivors.

Robin Koerner has observed, “Most consensual sexual activity between normal people does not involve the kind of explicit, subsequently provable statement of consent, that this bill demands.” The bill would also have the effect of removing the presumption of innocence and removing due process protections for the accused: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robin-koerner/no-sex-please-were-califo_b_5774674.html

Writing in the New Republic, Batya Ungar-Sargon recently argued SB-967 would only serve to codify a “troubling double standard” that would have the “potential to pervert justice.” http://www.newrepublic.com/article/119459/californias-campus-consent-laws-every-sex-act-potential-crime

“Not a single legislator who voted in favor of this bill has ever stated that he or she actually complies with the dictates of this bill in his or her private life,” notes SAVE spokesperson Sheryle Hutter. “That says a lot how impractical SB-967 would be in real life.”

Numerous editorials have criticized and ridiculed the notion of Affirmative Consent: www.accusingu.org .

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments is working to promote effective and fair solutions to the problem of campus sexual assault: http://www.saveservices.org/

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Uncategorized

Eighteen Groups Announce Opposition to Campus Accountability and Safety Act

Contact: Mac Walter
Email: info@saveservices.org
Phone: 301-525-2279

Eighteen Groups Announce Opposition to Campus Accountability and Safety Act

WASHINGTON / September 10, 2014 – Eighteen organizations are today announcing their opposition to the proposed Campus Accountability and Safety Act (CASA), S. 2692 and H.R. 5354. The 18 groups represent a broad coalition including victim advocacy groups, gender-specific organizations, college trade entities, and media outlets.

Their opposition to CASA arises from the fact the bill does nothing to address the documented inadequacies of campus committees to conduct investigations, hold hearings, and impose appropriate sanctions. Ironically, the Campus Accountability and Safety Act contains no requirements to increase police presence, promote thorough investigations, or strengthen prosecutorial actions.

Under existing Department of Education policies, campus committees are required to adjudicate allegations of sexual assault, but can only expel a person found guilty of sexual assault.

As a result, numerous complaints have been filed by victims of sexual assault alleging the university did not take the allegation seriously.

In addition, over 40 students accused of sexual assault have filed lawsuits claiming due process violations. Last week the U.S. Department of Education notified Brandeis University that it was opening an investigation on behalf of an accused student who was found guilty of sexual misconduct last Spring.

The 18 groups voicing their opposition to CASA include the American Council on Education, Beyond the Registry, Community of the Wrongly Accused, ifeminists.com, National Association of Scholars, Stop Abusive and Violent Environments, Voice for Male Students, Women for Men, and others.
A complete list of opposing groups can be seen here: www.saveservices.org/camp/campus-justice-coalition/

The Duke University Chronicle recently editorialized that the current campus system “has the potential for real, human cost, where innocent students are convicted and guilty ones set free.” The editorial boards of both USA Today and the Los Angeles Times have also come out against universities’ reliance on campus committees to adjudicate felony sexual assault cases.

“The current system represents second-class justice for both victims and the accused,” charges Campus Justice Coalition spokesperson Sheryle Hutter. “CASA is a perfect example of a bill that is full of symbolism but woefully lacking in substance.”

Over 300 editorials have been published this year disputing the notion of “rape-culture” and critiquing proposed legislative approaches: www.accusingu.org .

The Campus Justice Coalition is working to promote effective and fair solutions to the problem of campus sexual assault.

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Bills Campus Press Release Sexual Assault

PR: Turning the Criminal Justice System into an After-Thought: SAVE Announces Opposition to Campus Accountability and Safety Act

Contact: Teri Stoddard
Telephone: 301-801-0608
Email: teristoddard@saveservices.org

Turning the Criminal Justice System into an After-Thought:

SAVE Announces Opposition to Campus Accountability and Safety Act

WASHINGTON / August 5, 2014 – Today Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE) is announcing its opposition to the Campus Accountability and Safety Act. The CASA bill was introduced last week by Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri.

By limiting the involvement of the criminal justice system, the bill would make it harder for thorough investigations to be completed, fair trials to be conducted, and appropriate sanctions to be imposed. The bill impairs the deployment of criminal justice resources in three ways:

1. The Act would not require campus rapes to be reported to law enforcement, thus thwarting the ability of trained investigators to collect evidence.

2. Campus security programs do not possess the legal authority to search FBI DNA and fingerprint databases. A match can prevent a future rape, and allow a previous crime to be solved, as well.

3. The law would preclude the local prosecutor’s office from filing charges unless and until the victim gave permission.

Over 200 editorials have criticized the existing system of campus disciplinary committees for failing to appropriately respond to victims’ needs and conducting shoddy investigations: www.accusingu.org . Even if the accused is found guilty, the most severe punishment is expulsion, a sanction that is woefully inadequate, most say.

The CASA bill has been sharply criticized for ignoring due process protections, as well. Charlotte Hays at the Independent Women’s Forum highlighted concerns about the “erosion of due process for the accused.” Diana Furchtgott-Roth of the Manhattan Institute charged the bill would encourage colleges to “throw out due process.”

“The CASA bill says the way to stop rape is to turn the criminal justice system into an administrative after-thought,” notes SAVE spokesperson Sheryle Hutter. “Rape victims are outraged by this misguided attempt to handcuff the involvement of police, detectives, and prosecutors.”

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments—SAVE—is a victim-advocacy organization working for evidence-based solutions to domestic violence and sexual assault: www.saveservices.org

Categories
Campus Civil Rights Sexual Assault Wrongful Convictions

PR: Campus Justice Coalition Seeks to Restore Fairness in Campus Sex Cases

Contact: Teri Stoddard
Telephone: 301-801-0608
Email: teristoddard@saveservices.org

Campus Justice Coalition Seeks to Restore Fairness in Campus Sex Cases

WASHINGTON / July 30, 2014 – Representatives of sexual assault victims, the accused, and universities have come together to establish the Campus Justice Coalition. The Coalition will seek to achieve legislative change to assure the proper handling of sexual assault cases on college campuses.

Campus sex committees have been criticized for being poorly trained, under-resourced, and lacking the legal authority to impose meaningful sanctions. Rape is a crime, but the campus boards possess legal authority to only expel, not imprison the perpetrator.

The current system was established by a 2011 Department of Education regulation which shifted the resolution process to campus disciplinary panels, and eliminated a number of due process safeguards. Under current policies, neither the identified victim or the accused person are allowed to be represented by an attorney.

Following imposition of the federal mandate, numerous complaints and lawsuits have been filed by victims, and by men claiming they were wrongfully expelled: http://www.saveservices.org/wp-content/uploads/Campus-Sexual-Assault-Lawsuits.pdf

Basketball star Dez Wells was expelled from Xavier University in Ohio on allegations of non-consensual sex. The County prosecutor termed the expulsion “fundamentally unfair” and “seriously flawed.” In April the University paid an undisclosed amount, likely exceeding $1 million, to the former student: http://mynorthwest.com/33/2506222/Basketball-star-Wells-settles-suit-against-Xavier

Two weeks ago the University of Connecticut agreed to pay $900,000 to a student who was raped in August 2011. Despite the existence of the new federal policy, the university mishandled her complaint, and the alleged rapist never faced criminal charges: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/07/21/u-connecticut-pay-13-million-settle-sexual-assault-lawsuit#sthash.xJR5NBcw.dpbs

“The shadow-system of justice has betrayed victims and the accused, and has put universities in an impossible situation,” notes Campus Justice Coalition spokesperson Sheryle Hutter. “Sexual assault cases require the full resources of the criminal justice system, not a sorry replay of vigilante justice meted out by untrained amateurs.”

More information on the Campus Justice Coalition can be seen here: http://www.saveservices.org/camp/campus-justice-coalition/

Categories
Bills Campus Civil Rights DED Sexual Assault Directive Innocence Law Enforcement Press Release Sexual Assault

Safety of Our Students: SAVE Calls on Congress to Fix Broken System of Campus Rape Panels

Contact: Teri Stoddard
Telephone: 301-801-0608
Email: teristoddard@saveservices.org

Safety of Our Students: SAVE Calls on Congress to Fix Broken System of Campus Rape Panels

WASHINGTON / May 21, 2014 – Based on growing complaints by victims and accused students, Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE) is calling on Congress to fix the current system of campus disciplinary committees. A 2011 federal policy mandated that these panels adjudicate claims of campus sexual assault. Over 350 editorials to date have sharply criticized the boards both for shortchanging victims and violating the rights of the accused: www.accusingu.org

SAVE is proposing enactment of a new law entitled “SOS: Safety of Our Students.” The law would require that all allegations of campus criminal sexual assault be referred to local criminal justice authorities for investigation and adjudication. The full text of the bill can be seen here: http://www.saveservices.org/camp/campus-rape-courts

In 2011 the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights issued a “Dear Colleague” letter that shifted responsibility for campus rape cases to the committees that handle cheating and plagiarism cases. These panels lack legal authority to subpoena witnesses, conduct in-depth investigations, or impose criminal sanctions.

On May 1, 2014 the Department of Education announced it was launching investigations of 55 universities for “possible violations of federal law over the handling of sexual violence and harassment complaints.” The probe underscores federal concerns over the turmoil and confusion that the current system is now experiencing.

Five days later a USA Today Editorial Board column charged the current approach is “failing” because the “strongest punishment schools can deliver is to expel a rapist from campus.” A May 13 editorial by the Los Angeles Times Board echoed similar concerns.

“Despite the best of intentions by its proponents, the current system represents second-class justice to victims and third-world justice for the accused,” charges SAVE spokesperson Sheryle Hutter. “We call on Congress to act promptly to respond to the growing crisis in handling campus rape cases.”

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments—SAVE—is a victim-advocacy organization working for evidence-based solutions to domestic violence and sexual assault: www.saveservices.org

Categories
Accusing U. Campus Innocence Press Release Rape-Culture Hysteria Sexual Assault

PR: SAVE Deplores Orwellian Claims Surrounding California Campus Sex Bill

Contact: Teri Stoddard
Telephone: 301-801-0608
Email: teristoddard@saveservices.org

SAVE Deplores Orwellian Claims Surrounding California Campus Sex Bill

WASHINGTON / March 25, 2014 – Senate Bill 967, which would impose an “affirmative consent” standard on sexual activities at California colleges, has attracted national attention. SAVE believes that campus sexual assault is a problem that deserves greater attention. Since its inception, however, the controversial California bill has been surrounded by exaggerated and inflammatory claims that bear little relationship to the truth, SAVE says.

When Sen. de Leon introduced his affirmative consent bill on February 10, he highlighted reports in the Los Angeles Times that Occidental College had withheld 27 sexual assault cases from its Clery Act reports: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/02/10/6146048/california-bill-would-set-affirmative.html

But a March 14 LAT editorial retracted the newspaper’s prior claims, noting that the 27 unreported incidents “did not fall under the law’s disclosure requirements:” http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-editors-note-20140315,0,1134632.story#axzz2wHq5eFQN

De Leon has insisted his bill would reduce the number of campus sexual assaults. But his bill would not require assault cases to be reported to law enforcement authorities, meaning many rapists would be expelled from college, but not imprisoned. SAVE believes mere expulsion to be a woefully inadequate punishment for rape.

Dramatically expanding the definition of sexual assault would result in many more cases being processed by campus disciplinary boards. As a result, real victims will encounter longer delays and greater skepticism from university investigators, SAVE predicts.

Without offering evidence, de Leon claimed that current campus culture “stigmatizes survivors, not the perpetrators.” Given that media accounts typically name the accused but not the accuser, SAVE believes most stigma is placed on the accused, whether or not he is actually guilty of the alleged assault.

“The measure will change the equation so the system is not stacked against the survivors,” de Leon claimed, apparently unaware of the irony that civil rights experts say his bill would create a “vicious double standard” against the accused: http://fff.org/explore-freedom/article/making-men-rapists

“The California bill was inspired by a policy that was tried at Antioch College in the 1990s. Student enrollments declined, and Antioch was forced to close its doors,” notes SAVE spokesperson Sheryle Hutter. “We can only imagine what would happen if a similar misguided policy is imposed on California colleges.”

See SAVE’s Ten Steps to Turn Any Student into a Sex Offender: http://www.saveservices.org/camp/affirmative-consent

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments—SAVE—is a victim-advocacy organization working for evidence-based solutions to domestic violence and sexual assault: www.saveservices.org

Categories
Accusing U. Bills Campus Innocence Press Release Sexual Assault

PR: Commentators Ridicule Campus Sex Bill, SAVE Says It Will Harm Victims

Contact: Teri Stoddard
Telephone: 301-801-0608
Email: teristoddard@saveservices.org

Commentators Ridicule Campus Sex Bill, SAVE Says It Will Harm Victims

WASHINGTON / March 11, 2014 – Editorial writers are criticizing Senate Bill 967 for removing due process protections and encouraging false allegations. Stop Abusive and Violent Environments, a victim advocacy group, says the bill’s broad definitions would serve to dissipate scarce resources and make it harder for victims to be believed.

SB 967 would require students contemplating any form of “sexual activity” to express their prior consent through “clear, unambiguous actions.” SB 967 also encourages partners to reaffirm consent on a continuing basis throughout the sex act.

National columnist Cathy Young reveals the notion of mandating verbal consent to sex has been “widely ridiculed as political correctness gone mad.” “With the California bill, we now have a state legislature effectively mandating how people—at least college students—should behave during sex,” Young notes. “Whatever happened to getting the government out of the bedroom?” http://www.mindingthecampus.com/originals/2014/02/want_to_have_sex_sign_this_con.html

Civil rights expert KC Johnson believes SB 967 embodies a clear “hostility to due process” by mandating the “preponderance-of-evidence threshold in branding a student a rapist.” http://www.mindingthecampus.com/forum/2014/02/a_deceptive_california_bill_on.html

By expanding the definition of sexual assault, the number of persons charged with sexual offenses would be likely to increase exponentially. Columnist Hans Bader asks, “How will classifying most consensual sex as rape help rape victims?” http://libertyunyielding.com/2014/03/09/california-activists-seek-redefine-quiet-consensual-sex-rape/

“The California bill would flood the system with students falsely accused of sexual assault,” notes SAVE spokesperson Sheryle Hutter. “This would make investigators more skeptical of persons claiming to be raped, and leave real victims less likely to report the crime. Who in their right mind would want that?”

For more information, see SAVE’s Ten Steps to Turn Any Student into a Sex Offender: http://www.saveservices.org/camp/affirmative-consent/

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments is a victim-advocacy organization working for evidence-based solutions to domestic violence and sexual assault: www.saveservices.org

Categories
Dating Violence Domestic Violence Press Release Research VAWA Inclusion Mandate Violence

PR: White House Dating Violence Proclamation Mocks the Truth, SAVE Charges

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Teri Stoddard
Telephone: 301-801-0608
Email: tstoddard@saveservices.org

White House Dating Violence Proclamation Mocks the Truth, SAVE Charges

WASHINGTON / February 21, 2014 – A leading victim-advocacy group charges a recent White House Proclamation provides a misleading and dishonest portrayal of the dating violence problem. Stop Abusive and Violent Environments calls on the Obama Administration to revise its flawed Proclamation and reaffirm its commitment to evidence-based policies.

February is National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month. In observance of the event, the White House issued a Proclamation on Dating Violence that states, “girls and young women ages 16 to 24 are at the highest risk” for dating violence. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/01/31/presidential-proclamation-national-teen-dating-violence-awareness-month-

This statement is false. It’s young boys who are at decidedly greater risk, says the Centers for Disease Control. According to the CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey, high school boys were more likely than girls to have experienced dating violence during the past 12 months. This gender disparity was found when the survey was administered in 2007, 2009, and 2011: http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/youthonline/App/Default.aspx

A second CDC-funded study interviewed young adults aged 18 to 28 years. The survey found the sex disparity was even more pronounced in this older group: “women were the perpetrators in more than 70% of the cases,” the researchers concluded: http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2005.079020

The cases of Jodi Arias of Arizona and Crystal Mangum, notorious false accuser in the Duke U. lacrosse case, reveal that female-perpetrated partner violence is a serious problem in the United States. Both Arias and Mangum were convicted in 2013 for the brutal slayings of their intimate partners.

“President Obama promised his Administration would base its policies on science, not ideology,” notes SAVE spokesperson Sheryle Hutter. “But repeatedly, we have seen White House pronouncements on domestic violence that reveal at best a dubious relationship to truth or verifiable fact.”

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments is a victim-advocacy organization working for evidence-based solutions to domestic violence and sexual assault: www.saveservices.org

Categories
Domestic Violence Press Release Sexual Assault

PR: SAVE Commends Groups for Debunking Super Bowl Abuse Myths

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Teri Stoddard
Telephone: 301-801-0608
Email: tstoddard@saveservices.org

SAVE Commends Groups for Debunking Super Bowl Abuse Myths

WASHINGTON / February 7, 2014 – A leading victims-rights group is commending groups for speaking out to counter Super Bowl myths. Stop Abusive and Violent Environments – SAVE – believes misleading claims can promote faulty policies and divert scarce resources away from the very victims who need help the most.

SAVE highlights these groups for taking a public stand against Super Bowl abuse myths:

National Network to End Domestic Violence: The claim that Super Bowl Sunday is the “biggest day of the year for violence against women” has surfaced over the years. But NNEDV’s Cindy Southworth flatly dismisses the claim: “The Super Bowl does not cause domestic violence, and it doesn’t increase domestic violence.” http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2014/01/30/super-bowl-2014-myths-facts-legends/#ixzz2sTj7lNnK

Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women: Cindy McCain, wife of the Arizona senator, has labeled the Super Bowl “the largest human-trafficking venue on the planet.” But the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women has examined the record on sex trafficking related to the Super Bowl and other sporting events. The Alliance concludes, “despite massive media attention, law enforcement measures and efforts by prostitution abolitionist groups, there is no empirical evidence that trafficking for prostitution increases around large sporting events.” http://maggiemcneill.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/whats_the_cost_of_a_rumour-gaatw2011.pdf

Abuse myths have real-world consequences. Writing in the New York Times, Kate Mogulescujan explains that misleading the public is harmful “because it creates bad policy. In the days leading up to Sunday’s game, local law enforcement dedicated tremendous resources to targeting everyone engaged in prostitution.” http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/01/opinion/the-super-bowl-of-sex-trafficking.html

Fact Checker Joe Carter, who has also found the sex-trafficking claims to be false, notes, “when we exaggerate the problem it causes people to trivialize it as concern.” http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2014/01/30/factchecker-super-bowl-sex-trafficking-and-other-myths/

Despite these positive efforts, false domestic violence “factoids” are still commonplace. According to research by Dr. Denise Hines presented in the current issue of Partner Abuse, 27% of domestic violence agencies’ fact sheets include this claim: “Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women between the ages of 15 and 44.” But domestic violence does not appear among the top five leading causes of injury for women in this age group: http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/nfilead2000.html

“Abuse is a serious problem,” notes SAVE spokesperson Sheryle Hutter. “But wildly inflating the numbers, stereotyping persons as abusers, and misrepresenting the problem ends up doing a grave disservice to victims.”

A SAVE report documents that domestic violence myths have become widespread: http://www.saveservices.org/downloads/SAVE-DV-Educational-Programs

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments is a victim-advocacy organization working for evidence-based solutions to domestic violence and sexual assault: www.saveservices.org