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Campus Civil Rights Dating Violence Press Release Sexual Assault Violence Against Women Act

PR: Senator Drops Controversial VAWA Campus Sex Provision, But Civil Rights Violations Remain

Contact: Teri Stoddard

Email: tstoddard@saveservices.org

 

Senator Drops Controversial VAWA Campus Sex Provision, But Civil Rights Violations Remain

Washington, DC/November 14, 2011 — As a result of criticism from Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE)  and other groups, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has dropped the controversial “preponderance of evidence” standard from his proposed Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) reauthorization bill. “Because of the feedback he has received concerning this proposal, he does not plan to include it in the bill he later will introduce,” according to Erica Chabot, spokeswoman for the Senate Judiciary Committee (1).

Language in the draft bill would have required federally funded universities to apply a lower standard of proof — a 51% “preponderance” of evidence rather than the usual “clear and convincing” evidence — in cases of alleged sexual assault or domestic violence.

SAVE is thankful that the Senator decided to drop this section from his proposed bill, but other parts of the measure still contain troubling civil rights concerns:

Due Process Violations:

  • Allows for the continued funding of mandatory arrest policies, which a Harvard study found to increases in partner homicides of 60 percent.
  • One false allegation can be used to tear apart a family: VAWA is an engine for the growth of single-parent households and the demand for welfare services.

Equal Protection Violations:

  • Provides legal assistance to accusers, and at the same time, denies it for the accused.
  • Perpetuates sex-based discrimination through biased predominant aggressor policies and continues due process violations.
  • Does not distinguish between those simply making allegations and those with probable-cause evidence of violence or abuse.

These civil rights problems are explained in SAVE’s Special Report, Are Domestic Violence Policies Respecting our Fundamental Freedoms? (2).

Violations of citizens’ civil rights cannot be justified by resulting reductions in partner abuse. The Department of Justice has acknowledged, “We have no evidence to date that VAWA has led to a decrease in the overall levels of violence against women.”

SAVE spokesman Philip W. Cook says, “We congratulate Senator Leahy for removing the unacceptable ‘preponderance of evidence’ language from his bill. It shows that he is responsive to well-documented civil rights concerns. We hope that he and other Senators will now take the necessary steps to ensure that the many other problems with the proposed legislation are also addressed.”

(1)   http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20111111/NEWS03/111111020/Leahy-scraps-provision-upcoming-bill-following-complaints?odyssey=nav%7Chead

(2)   http://www.saveservices.org/downloads/SAVE-Assault-Civil-Rights

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

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Campus False Allegations Press Release Sexual Assault Victims Violence Violence Against Women Act

PR: False Accusations of Sexual Harassment May Soar, SAVE Warns

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Teri Stoddard

Email: tstoddard@saveservices.org

False Accusations of Sexual Harassment May Soar, SAVE Warns

Washington, DC/November 8, 2011 – The National Association of Scholars recently released a position paper condemning an Education Department directive that forces colleges to remove fundamental due process protections from persons accused of sexual harassment. The statement describes the Dept. of Education mandate as “ominous,” bordering on the “surreal,” and excluding any mention of free speech.

The National Association of Scholars (NAS) position statement follows similar letters by the American Association for University Professors, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, and Stop Abusive and Violent Environments: http://www.saveservices.org/falsely-accused/sex-assault/complaints/

Concerns about false allegations in society have escalated in the past week as a growing number of persons have questioned the validity of accusations by two unnamed women that GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain sexually harassed them over 10 years ago. Leading Democratic politicians have been subjected to false allegations of sexual offenses, as well.

The Department of Education directive mandates that all colleges receiving federal funds change the usual “clear and convincing” standard to “preponderance of evidence.” This low standard requires only that 50.01 percent of the evidence be in favor of an offense having happened in order to reach a conviction.

Of greater concern, the draft of the federal Violence Against Women Act, currently being circulated by Senator Patrick Leahy, proposes to turn the Department of Education directive into statutory law. “It really is strange for a bill to delegate to a federal agency the power to lower due process protections and standards of proof. I believe that is unprecedented,” says Hans Bader of the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

“The consensus among academics is that the proposed VAWA would turn campus disciplinary committees into veritable Kangaroo Courts, thus increasing the number of false allegations by leaps and bounds,” warns SAVE spokesman Philip Cook.

A student who was wrongfully expelled by the University of North Dakota after a cavalier investigation of sexual assault charges against him is a recent example: http://www.saveservices.org/2011/10/falsely-accused-student-will-not-return-to-college-that-wrongfully-expelled-him/

Over the last 20 years, sexual harassment policies on college campuses have become increasingly neglectful of Constitutional protections, reveals the NAS. In one case, a professor of history was handed a pink slip, unaware of the accusation or of a clandestine investigation being conducted against him.

SAVE calls on Senator Leahy’s proposed Violence Against Women Act to protect the civil rights of the accused so the credibility of true victims is not diminished by trivial and non-meritorious claims.

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

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False Allegations Press Release Sexual Assault Violence Violence Against Women Act

PR: Bogus Sex Harassment Claims on the Upswing, Says Victim Rights Group

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Teri Stoddard

tstoddard@saveservices.org

Bogus Sex Harassment Claims on the Upswing, Says Victim Rights Group

WASHINGTON/ November 1 – Following recent publication of sexual harassment claims against presidential candidate Herman Cain, a leading victim-rights organization is deploring the use of such accusations as a political maneuver. Resurrected in the middle of a closely fought political campaign, such allegations rob true victims of their credibility and trivialize the problem, according to Stop Abusive and Violent Environments.

This past Sunday, Politico published an article that recounted charges by two unnamed women of alleged “inappropriate behavior” by Herman Cain when he was the president of the National Restaurant Association. The Politico essay describes the behavior as “conversations allegedly filled with innuendo or personal questions of a sexually suggestive nature” and “physical gestures that were not overtly sexual.”

False allegations of sexual misconduct have been leveled against candidates of both political parties, including former vice president Al Gore and Massachusetts senator Scott Brown.

The former wife of Democratic congressman Al Wynn (Maryland) once threatened to throw herself down a flight of stairs and then accuse him of attacking her in order to “ruin your political career.” In 2006, former Republican congressman John Sweeney (New York) narrowly lost his re-election bid following a planted media account of domestic violence.

The U.S. Supreme Court has held that conduct must be “severe” or “pervasive” in order to be deemed sexual harassment. The women never alleged that Cain made any inappropriate requests or that his behavior was pervasive. The decade-old claim that his comments or gestures were “severe” is unlikely.

“We live in a society in which false claims are on the brink of becoming the norm,” explains SAVE spokesman Philip Cook. “Much of the problem can be traced to federal laws like the Violence Against Women Act that, despite the considerable good they do, in some ways encourage scurrilous accusations.”

SAVE is recommending that the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act contain strong language to discourage false allegations, including narrowing definitions of abuse, giving priority to victims with evidence of physical abuse, and providing legal help to the accused on the same footing as accusers: http://www.saveservices.org/pvra

One in 10 persons has been falsely accused of abuse, according to a national survey conducted by SAVE: http://www.saveservices.org/falsely-accused/survey

 

SAVE is a victim rights organization working for evidence-based solutions to domestic violence: www.saveservices.org

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Domestic Violence Press Release Violence Violence Against Women Act

PR: Abuse Programs Must Tell the Truth, SAVE Says

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Teri Stoddard

tstoddard@saveservices.org

Abuse Programs Must Tell the Truth, SAVE Says

Washington, DC/October 20, 2011 – In the face of documented bias and misrepresentation, Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE) is urging abuse reduction programs to present accurate and balanced information about partner violence. This step is essential to assure programs are effective and all victims are served.

SAVE has demonstrated that only one in 10 domestic violence programs present truthful information about partner abuse: http://www.saveservices.org/downloads/SAVE-DV-Educational-Programs .

The website of one national domestic violence organization makes the claim that “there is not a typical woman who will be battered — the risk factor is being born female.”  But 250 studies show domestic violence is an equal opportunity problem for men and women alike: http://csulb.edu/~mfiebert/assault.htm .

The website of Futures Without Violence, a prominent organization in the area, depicts teenage boys as abusers, even though the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports boys are 25 percent more likely to be victims of teenage dating violence than girls: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5704a1.htm#tab11

“It’s impossible to address the problem of partner aggression if we ignore half the victims and half the abusers,” explains SAVE spokesman Philip W. Cook. “All victims have a right to society’s protection, and all perpetrators of violence need intervention and access to treatment.”

The effect of these misleading portrayals is that male victims, and victims of gay or lesbian domestic violence, do not receive the aid they deserve. And female abusers do not receive the treatment and intervention they need.

Because of the need to assure valid information is presented to the public, SAVE has established an accreditation program for training, education, and public awareness (TEPA) programs that address partner abuse. In this way, SAVE ensures that educational programs are based on valid science: http://www.saveservices.org/accreditation/

Sen. Patrick Leahy will soon be introducing the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act. In a recent letter to the Senator, SAVE offered language for the bill to ensure the accuracy of informational programs: http://www.saveservices.org/wp-content/uploads/Ltr.SenLeahy.pdf

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

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False Allegations Law Enforcement Press Release Restraining Order

PR: One in 10 Falsely Accused of Abuse: Survey

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Teri Stoddard

Email: tstoddard@saveservices.org

One in 10 Falsely Accused of Abuse: Survey

Washington, DC/October 17, 2011 — One in 10 adults has been falsely accused of domestic violence, child abuse, or sexual assault, according to a survey conducted by Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE). The survey also found a strong disparity between the number of males and females falsely accused: more than three quarters of all false accusations are levied against men. Nearly seven in 10 false accusers are female.

The survey is the first of its kind to be undertaken, and uncovers distressing trends within the American abuse-reduction system.

Child abuse is the commonest false charge — about twice as many people have been falsely accused of child abuse as of domestic violence or sexual assault. In over one quarter of cases, the false allegations were made in a child custody case.

“Each year, millions of innocent Americans are falsely accused of abuse,” explains SAVE spokesman Philip W. Cook. “These false allegations can strip persons of their assets, harm their families, and ruin their lives.”

Because of these widespread injustices, Cook said, SAVE has launched its Campaign 2012, a grassroots effort to reform U.S. domestic violence laws: http://www.saveservices.org/campaign-2012/

False allegations of domestic violence often lead to family break-up, which forces children into single parent households. Such children face a far greater risk of juvenile delinquency, school drop-out, and teenage pregnancy. One analysis concluded such allegations lead to $20 billion a year in increased welfare and public benefit costs: http://www.saveservices.org/downloads/False-Allegations-Harm-Families-and-Children

Although past studies have examined false abuse allegations within specified groups, no national inquiry previously had been made. To this end, SAVE commissioned the national telephone survey, which queried 20,000 households around the country during two rounds in May and September 2011. More information about the survey methods and results can be seen here: http://www.saveservices.org/falsely-accused/survey/

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

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Press Release

PR: SAVE Launches National Campaign to Reform Abuse Laws

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Teri Stoddard

Email: tstoddard@saveservices.org

SAVE Launches National Campaign to Reform Abuse Laws

Washington, DC/ Oct. 12, 2011 — Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE) is launching its national Campaign 2012 to advocate for the strengthening and reform of U.S. domestic violence (DV) laws. The organization is calling on persons around the country to seize the opportunity afforded by debates, rallies, and town halls to put DV “front and center on the political radar screen.”

SAVE spokesperson, Philip W. Cook notes, “All victims of DV are harmed by a legal system which does not afford certain victims equal protection of the laws, and which contains perverse incentives that encourage false claims by disgruntled partners. SAVE is hopeful that increasing attention will be paid to these injustices by candidates and lawmakers in 2012.”

SAVE is an advocate for all true victims of DV in an environment that tends to marginalize victims who are male or lesbian. The organization fights misinformation with true statistics—pointing out, for instance, that men are as likely to be victims of DV as women are—and also calls attention to homosexual victims of partner violence, who are often ignored.

SAVE’s Campaign 2012 is focusing on eight vulnerabilities of existing DV law:

  • The ease of making false allegations, which end up harming true victims
  • Priority for true victims, so that they are not re-victimized by the legal system
  • Families and children who are hurt by laws that don’t recognize the truth about DV
  • Mandatory arrest, a weapon a spiteful spouse can use against a partner
  • Discriminatory practices that ignore half of DV’s victims
  • Immigration laws, which provide incentives for candidates to falsely allege DV
  • Mismanagement and fraud, which are widespread in billion-dollar federal DV programs
  • False information disseminated by DV groups

SAVE is encouraging the public to join its Campaign 2012 grassroots volunteers at town halls and events across the country as electoral races heat up. The organization has made available at its website (http://www.saveservices.org/campaign-2012 ) flyers that highlight the reforms Congress needs to make. Concerned citizens are encouraged to ask candidates about their willingness to strengthen and reform DV laws.

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

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Dating Violence Domestic Violence Press Release

PR: On Partner Abuse, President Obama Flubs his Facts

PRESS RELEASE

On Partner Abuse, President Obama Flubs his Facts

Washington DC (Oct. 4, 2011) – Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE) is calling on President Obama to correct false information in the Domestic Violence Proclamation he issued Monday. At a time when victims are demanding accuracy and accountability, the declaration features misleading statements and inaccurate facts.

The presidential proclamation, issued for Domestic Violence Awareness Month, makes the claim that “One in four women and one in 13 men will experience domestic violence in their lifetime.” But multiple studies show that men and women abuse each other at similar rates.

The Center for Disease Control’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey reveals males are being victimized at a higher rate than females: 10 percent of teenage males versus 9 percent of teenage females report dating violence. In the American Journal of Public Health, a second CDC study of young adults revealed a dramatic gap for one-way violence: in 71 percent of cases, females were the aggressors.

The Obama Proclamation also states, “Young women are among the most vulnerable, suffering the highest rates of intimate partner violence.” But the President did not mention that the most important risk factor for female victimization is a woman striking the first blow with a slap, punch, or other form of physical aggression.

This follows Vice President Biden’s recent visit to The View (ABC) where he only addressed the problem of male-on-female abuse. The Vice President also side-stepped Whoopi Goldberg’s direct question about women hitting men.
The Presidential Proclamation follows a string of high-profile media reports of women harming, or threatening to harm men:
Duke lacrosse accuser Crystal Mangum stabbed her boyfriend Reginald Daye to death in April. In July, Katherine Becker of California drugged her husband, tied him to a bed, and sliced off his penis. Later, actor Daniel Baldwin filed for a restraining order against his wife writing, “My wife has claimed over 10 times in the last two months that she will stab me, slash me or slit my throat in my sleep. I am truly fearful for my life.”

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

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Domestic Violence Press Release

PRESS RELEASE: SAVE Deplores Portrayal of Domestic Violence as Glamorous

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Teri Stoddard, tstoddard@saveservices.org

SAVE Deplores Portrayal of Domestic Violence as Glamorous

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE), along with many other advocacy groups and media outlets, has condemned fashion photographs recently taken of television star Heather Morris (Brittany from “Glee”) engaged in mock domestic violence with a male model. But advocates other than SAVE have ignored the male victim in the pictures, and by focusing only on the depicted violence against Ms. Morris, they perpetuate damaging stereotypes and hide the facts about domestic violence from Americans.

A black-eyed Morris, dressed as Barbie, stares seductively into the camera, and later merrily presses a hot iron to her partner’s crotch. The photo depicts a getting-what-he-deserves storyline that reinforces serious misconceptions about domestic violence. Men are stereotyped as abusers, and Barbie supposedly strikes a blow for victims everywhere.

The truth is that men are just as likely to be the victims of domestic violence as women (although they are much less likely to report the crime) and most of the time, domestic disputes result in mutual violence. But while Barbie’s bruising is facial, “Ken” is sexually assaulted through his trousers. In this case, as in thousands of others, shame will probably cause Ken not to report the crime.

Predictably, reactions to the photos have focused only on the abuse to Barbie: her assault of Ken has been ignored, even though it is the more serious crime. Rita Smith, director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), spoke to E! news about the photos, but it was as if she had seen a different set of photos.

Still worse, nothing has been said about the photographer’s donation to an advocacy group that disregards male victims of domestic violence and portrays men as serial abusers: after the negative public reaction to the shoot, Tyler Shields told the Daily Mail that he would auction off his photos and donate the proceeds to Glamour magazine’s Tell Somebody campaign. The Tell Somebody campaign, like almost all programs, focuses exclusively on violence perpetrated against women—that is, on only half the picture.

SAVE is calling on Shields to select a different beneficiary—one that serves all victims, whether they are female or male, gay or straight—so that proceeds from the sale of a photo making light of domestic violence  victims will not go to a project that stereotypes men as the only abusers.

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CAMP False Allegations Press Release

PRESS RELEASE: Academia Rebels Against the Presumption of Guilt for Men

PRESS RELEASE

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.

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Press Release Victims

PRESS RELEASE: DHHS Under Fire for Sex Bias in Screening Guidelines

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