Category: Domestic Violence

As False Allegations Spiral Out of Control, Feminist Groups Work to Give False Accusers a Free Pass

Post author By Edward Bartlett
Post date August 23, 2023

PRESS RELEASE

Rebecca Hain: 513-479-3335

As False Allegations Spiral Out of Control, Feminist Groups Work to Give False Accusers a Free Pass

WASHINGTON / August 23, 2023 – Courtney Conover of Pennsylvania made a series of false accusations against Dr. James Amor and another person, claiming they had mishandled the complaints of victims of rape and sexual assault. Using her blog and social media account, Conover accused them of being “the devil,” a “human monster,” had been “aiding and abetting a pedophile for two decades,” and other outlandish claims.

The jury was so disturbed by the accusations that it found in favor of Dr. Amor and awarded $1.4 million in damages. This past Friday, U.S. District Court Judge John Gallagher upheld the jury finding, although he did reduce the damages (1).

False allegations represent a growing threat across the country. A 2020 YouGov survey found that 8% of Americans had been falsely accused of sexual assault, domestic violence, or child abuse (2). Three years later, that number had increased to 10% (3).

Unfortunately, feminist groups are working to give a free pass to false accusers, focusing on both the civil and criminal settings:

Civil: Feminists are seeking to confer absolute legal immunity on women who make accusations that are knowingly false. The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized that lawsuits for damages from defamatory claims reflect “our basic concept of the essential dignity and worth of every human being.” (4)

But that didn’t stop Legal Momentum (formerly, the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund) from filing an amicus brief in Khan v. Yale University seeking absolute immunity for the false accuser (5). In June, the Connecticut Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of Khan, rejecting the Legal Momentum arguments (6).

Criminal: Feminist organizations are pressuring prosecutors to not file criminal charges against false accusers, even though every state has laws that ban persons from making false reports. Last week a group known as End Violence Against Women International (EVAWI) released an email message titled, “Is Prosecution for False Reporting Ever Appropriate?”

The message links to a longer document with the provocative title, “Raped, Then Jailed: The Risks of Prosecution for Falsely Reporting Sexual Assault” (7). The report fails to clarify the key distinction between an allegation that is “unfounded” — not meeting the legal standard of proof — versus “false,” that is, made in bad faith.

The crux of the EVAWI argument is that prosecuting an accuser is contrary to the “public interest.” Predictably, the feminist organization’s concept of “public interest” excludes any consideration of the effects of a bogus accusation on the falsely accused, including its devastating effects on the person’s reputation, mental and physical health, social standing, and career opportunities.

Worse, EVAWI never mentions the fact that false allegations and perjury are now the number one cause of wrongful convictions, according to the National Registry of Exonerations (8).

September 9 is International Falsely Accused Day (9). The global event is intended to raise awareness of how easy it is to fall victim to a false accusation, to point out how the presumption of innocence has been eroded, and how the law continues to be upended in the name of “social justice.”

Citations:

Domestic Violence

Women, Custody Disputes, and Spousal Murder

Post author By Edward Bartlett
Post date August 21, 2023

Women, Custody Disputes, and Spousal Murder

SAVE

August 21, 2023

Recently, the ex-wife of murdered Microsoft executive Jaren Bridegan was charged with first-degree murder in connection with his murder. Bridegan, who was in the midst of a custody dispute with his ex-wife, was ambushed on the street after dropping-off the couple’s children at his ex-wife’s house. The mother’s new husband has also been charged in the murder.

Ex-wife of slain Microsoft exec Jared Bridegan charged with his murder

Bridegan was shot and killed in the middle of a Jacksonville Beach street.

Aug 17, 2023

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wife-slain-microsoft-exec-jared-bridegan-charged-murder/story?id=102348013

A few weeks earlier, a New York woman and her new husband were charged with killing her ex-husband, with whom she shared two children. He went missing after dropping-off the couple’s children at the ex-wife’s house.

Accused in Missing Man’s Grisly Killing: His Ex-Wife and Her Husband

Three years ago, Steven Kraft disappeared. This week, Jamie and Nicholas Orsini were arrested and accused of carrying out an elaborate plot to kill him and dispose of his body.

June 16, 2023

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/16/nyregion/steven-kraft-murder-arrests.html

These stories are reminiscent of the infamous murder of Florida State law professor Dan Markel, who was murdered while sitting in a car in his garage. Markel was in the midst of a custody dispute with his ex-wife, who was also a law professor. The ex-wife’s brother, a prominent dentist, has been charged with first degree murder for arranging the contract killing. The trigger-men have already been convicted. Many people believe other members of the wife’s family, including the wife herself, were involved.

Charlie Adelson’s trial over Dan Markel’s killing will now start in October

March 19, 2023

https://news.wfsu.org/wfsu-local-news/2023-03-19/charlie-adelsons-trial-in-dan-markels-killing-will-now-start-in-october

These cases are also reminiscent of an earlier Illinois case in which a father, Steve Watkins, was murdered by his former mother-in-law. Watkins was gunned down from behind when he went to the home of his estranged wife to pick up their child while their divorce case was pending. Watkins died from a single gunshot to the back of his head.

She fought the law and the law won

https://www.illinoistimes.com/springfield/she-fought-the-law-and-the-law-won/Content?oid=11450421

“During the 2010 trial, prosecutor Michael Vujovich called the murder a “family affair,” committed because Jennifer Watkins and her kin considered [the child] their property, and they feared that Steven Watkins might gain custody, or at least substantial visitation rights, during divorce proceedings.”

Other cases:

Dad wins custody of kids, then ex’s boyfriend kills him moments after, VA family says

May 12, 2023

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/nation-world/national/article275354046.html

Father of Children Killed in Reseda Was in Custody Fight With Mother Now Suspected of Murder

Apr. 12, 2021

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/father-of-children-killed-in-reseda-was-in-custody-fight-with-mother-now-suspected-of-murder/2571301/

Cruel twist in Queens custody fight: Mother accused of killing her baby’s father shares joint custody with his heartbroken mom

Nov. 20, 2020

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-custody-battle-queens-killing-20201120-34jkse7v5bdrdp2i3yvgh7zume-story.html

Here’s a twist on the theme. A mother murdered her child’s paternal grandmother.

Texas Grandmother Killed Outside Starbucks, Allegedly by Child’s Mother in Dispute Over Custody

Police said Watts allegedly pulled out a handgun and fired shots at Edwards, killing her in front of the child

Apr. 20, 2022

https://people.com/crime/texas-grandmother-killed-outside-starbucks-allegedly-by-childs-mother-in-dispute-over-custody/

The common theme that runs throughout these cases is a mother who views the children as her property and is unwilling to share custody with their father. Of interest, none of the fathers in these cases was seeking (or had) more than 50% parenting time.

Domestic Violence

Prevalence of Domestic Violence in Australia

Post author By Edward Bartlett
Post date February 7, 2023

Prevalence of Domestic Violence in Australia

Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance

February 7, 2023

Seven population-based or large-scale surveys have examined the sex-specific prevalence of physical domestic violence in Australia. Studies with the strongest methodologies surveyed a large, random sample of the population, and asked about the occurrence of specific abusive behaviors, e.g., slap, shove, hit, etc., consistent with the Conflict Tactics Scale.[1]

The surveys were conducted among adolescents (Gibbon et al), university students (Straus), newlyweds (Halford et al), and the general adult population (Headey et al, Grande et al, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Ahmadabadi et al).

The following surveys found higher rates of male victimization or female perpetration:

Headey et al
Straus
Halford et al
Ahmadabadi et al (among persons currently in a relationship)
Gibbon et al

The following surveys found higher rates of female victimization or male perpetration:

Grande et al
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Ahmadabadi et al (among persons currently not in a relationship)

We conclude that overall, men and women in Australia experience domestic violence at similar rates. Summaries of each survey are shown below, in chronological order of year of publication:

Headey B, Scott D, & de Vaus D (1999). Domestic violence in Australia: Are women and men equally violent? Data from the International Social Science Survey/Australia 1996/1997 was examined. A sample of 1,643 subjects (804 men, 839 women) responded to questions about their experiences with domestic violence in the past 12 months, as assessed by responses to three questions about a slap, shake, or scratch; hit with fist or threw something; or kicked. Results reveal that 5.7 % of men and 3.7 % of women reported being victims of domestic assaults.[2]
Grande ED, Hickling J, Taylor, & Woollacott T (2003). Domestic violence in South Australia: A population survey of males and females. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 27(5), 543–550. A representative random sample of South Australian adults responded to items related intimate partner violence. Results reveal that 2.9 % of 2,596 men and 3.4 % of 2,884 women reported experiencing physical violence perpetrated by their partners.[3]
Straus M (2008). Dominance and symmetry in partner violence by male and female university students in 32 nations. Children and Youth Services Review 30 (252-275). As part of an international study of dating violence among students in 32 countries, Straus surveyed university students in Adelaide. Among the respondents, 20.2% admitted to pushing, grabbing, slapping, throwing something, twisting the arm or hair, punching, kicking, choking, slamming against a wall, beating up, burning, or using a knife or gun against their dating partner within the past year. These incidents were of the following type (Table 2):

Male-only: 14.0%
Female-only: 21.0%
Both violent: 64.9%

Halford W, Farrugia, C, Lizzio A, & Wilson K (2010). Relationship aggression, violence and self-regulation in Australian newlywed couples. Australian Journal of Psychology, 62(2), 82–92. A sample of 379 newlywed couples in Australia responded to a short version of the CTS. Results reveal that 22% of couples experienced a least one act of physical violence in the past year. Female perpetration of violence was more common that male perpetration. Authors report that in violence couples the more common pattern was for women to be violent (59%) followed by violence by both partners (34%) and least common was violence by men only (7%).^[4]
Australian Bureau of Statistics Personal Safety Survey (2017). A large, nationally representative survey inquired about persons’ experience of “violence.” The two components of physical violence are defined as:
1. Physical assault is any incident that involved the use of physical force with the intent to harm or frighten a person.
2. Physical threat is any attempt to inflict physical harm or a threat or suggestions of intent to inflict physical harm, which was made face-to-face and which the person believed was able and likely to be carried out. Excludes incidents of violence in which the threat was actually carried out.

Of all incidents committed by an intimate partner in the past year, 35% of victims were male and 65% female.[5]

Zohre Ahmadabadi, Jackob M. Najman, and Peter d’Abbs (2017). Gender Differences in Intimate Partner Violence in Current and Prior Relationships. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 36 (1-2). The sample consisted of 2,060 young adults (mean age = 30 years) who had participated in the 30-year follow-up of the Mater Hospital and University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy. Percentages of persons who had experienced physical abuse in the previous 12 months:[6]
1. Currently in a relationship: 12.0% of males and 5.9% of females
2. Not currently in a relationship: 22.6% of males and 27.2% of females

Gibbon KF, Meyer S, Boxall H, Maher J, Roberts S (2022). Adolescent family violence in Australia: A national study of prevalence, history of childhood victimisation and impacts. ANROWS conducted a national online survey of over 5,000 adolescents ages 16-20 regarding their abusive actions directed to family members. The survey found that 23% of females and 14% of males reported they had ever perpetrated some form of abuse against a family member (Table 2):

Physical violence — Males: 7%; Females: 11%
Verbal abuse — Males: 9%; Females: 17%
Emotional/psychological abuse – Males: 2%; Females: 6%

The age of onset among female adolescents tended to be earlier than male adolescents (Figure 1.5). The violence was directed to siblings (68%), mothers (51%), and fathers (37%).[7]

Citations:

[1] http://rzukausk.home.mruni.eu/wp-content/uploads/Conflict-Tactics-Scale.pdf

[2] http://www.fact.on.ca/Info/dom/heady99.htm

[3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14651403/

[4]https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00049530902804169

[5] https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/personal-safety-australia/latest-release

[6] https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0886260517730563

[7] https://anrows-2019.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/06192210/RP.20.03-RR1_FitzGibbon-AFVinAus.pdf

Child Custody Domestic Violence False Allegations Istanbul Convention Law & Justice Legal

CONSEQUENCES OF THE LAW OF GENDER VIOLENCE AND GENDER IDEOLOGY IN SPAIN

Post author By Edward Bartlett
Post date February 6, 2023

CONSEQUENCES OF THE LAW OF GENDER VIOLENCE AND GENDER IDEOLOGY IN SPAIN

D. Jesús Muñoz

Dª María Legaz

National Association for Assistance to Victims of Domestic Violence (Asociacion Nacional de Ayuda a Victimas de Ayuda de Violencia Doméstica)

24 January 2023

The passage of the LIVG, the comprehensive law against gender-based violence, in Spain in 2004 has led to the violation of the fundamental rights of all heterosexual citizens, especially loss of the “presumption of innocence.”

The socialist party, from which this ideology of copyright criminal law
originated, had on the table, according to public statements by one of its proponents, safeguarding the protection of victims or the presumption of innocence. They opted for the protection of victims, destroying the “presumption of innocence” for hundreds of thousands of men in the past 18 years.

The gender violence law is based on the study of the Minneapolis mandatory arrest law.

From 2004 to 2022, there have been more than 2,260,000 judicial
proceedings, with more than 1,705,000 defendants ending up being declared innocent. This means that innocent people have been prosecuted with public money, depriving them of their liberty. By applying Article 544 TER of the Ley de Enjuiciamiento Criminal, they have been separated from their children, with jail detentions of 24 and 72 hours. These detentions normally take place on weekends, beginning on Fridays, so the man spends the whole weekend in a jail with deplorable hygienic conditions. The man is in a state of shock, not knowing why he has been deprived of liberty, expelled from his house with only what he was wearing. and deprived of his children’s visitation regime.

An average of more than 455 men are arrested every day in Spain for allegations of gender violence, based solely on the word of a woman. An average of 160,000 men are prosecuted each year as terrorists. Year after year, it has been shown that more than 80% of them, who have been deprived of their liberty, are declared innocent, according to data from the General Council of the Judiciary.

Hundreds of billions of euros are spent in Spain, coming from the European Union, squandered by political parties. As an example, between 2014 and 2016 the Junta de Andalucía spent a whopping sum of more than of 66,000 millions of euros.

The European Union allocates €366 billion a year to addressing gender violence. None of these grants are audited.

An estimation of the costs of gender violence in the EU, according to a study carried out by the United Kingdom, estimated that Spain received from more than 24,000 million euros in 2012. With these funds, networks of feminist associations related to political parties have been created, which obtain economic revenue through their gender ideology.

The Spanish gender violence law is based on author’s criminal law, as
stated on page 92 and 93 of the CGPJ’s, LIVG draft report and
Constitutional Court Judgment 59/2008, dated July 4. The Particular
vote of five magistrates, including Judge Jorge Rodríguez Zapata, states
in writing, on folio 25 of the sentences, that this law would make the
dreams of Edmund Mezger, German jurist from Nazi Germany, come true.

He writes in the seventh paragraph:

“Finally, I express my wish that this Judgment not to be the
beginning in our order of the fulfillment of Mezger’s dream: two
Criminal Laws; a criminal law for the generality, in which, in essence, the principles that have governed up to now will remain in force. And, along with it, a completely different criminal law, for special groups of certain people. I leave a record of my position in this Vote.
In Madrid, on May fourteenth, two thousand and eight. Jorge
Rodriguez Zapata Perez. -Signed”.

In addition to this, a renowned member of the Socialist party and expresident of the Spanish Government, Alfonso Guerra, publicly declared that he spoke with an acquaintance of his, who had been the president of the Constitutional Court in 2004, who confirmed to him that the seven magistrates who approved the unconstitutional law, that they did so under pressure from feminist lobbies, and from the socialist party of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero:

Alfonso Guerra reveals the pressure on the TC on the LIVG.

In Spain we are suffering from what Poland and Hungary already warned about, which is why they withdrew from the Istanbul Agreement.

If we add to this, that the socialist government subsidized women’s allegations with public money, since the higher the number of allegations, the more women are declared mistreated and the more
money the feminist associations receive. So says the BOE of 2005, Number 215 on page 30453.

Currently, in addition to all of the overhead, a lot of women in a divorce or children custody proceeding, profit from Articles 92.7 and 94 of the Civil Code. These women use the gender violence law so that fathers cannot fight for joint child custody. And with article 94, during the investigation and judicial process, the man is deprived of child visitation rights, despite the fact that 80% of them are eventually declared to be innocent. You can imagine the ordeal they suffer, when one to five years can pass without being able to see their children.

ANAVID asks that all of these discriminatory laws, which violate constitutional, fundamental and human rights, be repealed. These laws are destroying the lives of men, children, and entire families, and are not protecting the truly mistreated women. We demand laws that protect and punish all people equally, regardless of sex, age, ethnicity or sexual orientation.

Furthermore, we ask that any person declared innocent, that had been
deprived of their liberty to be compensated with €600 per day and for
those who have suffered a restraining order being found innocent, we ask for a compensation of €110 per day.

Note: The original Spanish version of this statement is available on the ANAVID website.

Civil Rights Department of Education Domestic Violence Due Process Free Speech Office for Civil Rights Press Release Sex Education Sexual Harassment Title IX

63 Organizations Urge Congress to Halt the Weaponization of Title IX

Post author By Edward Bartlett
Post date January 25, 2023

PRESS RELEASE

Rebecca Hain: 513-479-3335

Email: info@saveservices.org

63 Organizations Urge Congress to Halt the Weaponization of Title IX

WASHINGTON / January 26, 2023 – Sixty-three leading organizations today are calling on Congress to take strong measures to stop the proposed overhaul of Title IX, the law that was designed to curb sex discrimination in schools. On June 23, 2022 the Department of Education proposed a new Title IX regulation that would redefine the meaning of “sex,” limit free speech, and hobble due process protections (1).

The letter notes that Title IX activists also are seeking to “marginalize the role of parents, promote gender transitioning among minors, make a mockery of fairness in women’s sports, and curtail free speech and due process.”

The letter urges Congress to therefore undertake the following actions:

Pursuant to H. Res 12, SELECT SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE WEAPONIZATION OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, investigate how the U.S. Department of Education has collaborated with private sector and non-profit entities to alter the regulatory definitions of “sex” and “sexual harassment,” with the aim of changing the foundational legal definition of “sex” and infringing on First Amendment free speech rights.
Reduce the appropriations to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) by $25 million.
Conduct hearings on experimental medical practices involving gender transition of under-age children, e.g., puberty blocking drugs, opposite-sex hormones, breast removal, and castration.
Vigorously oppose passage of the Students’ Access to Freedom and Educational Rights (SAFER) Act, introduced in December 2022.
Oppose legislation that seeks to expand definitions of “sexual harassment,” promote “trauma-informed” investigations, or seek to weaken free speech, due process, or the presumption of innocence.
Work for the passage of the following legislation:
1. Parents Bill of Rights Act
2. Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act
3. Campus Free Speech Restoration Act
4. Campus Equality, Fairness, and Transparency Act

A SAVE public opinion poll reveals strong public support for these actions (2).

The 63 organizations are members of the Title IX Network (3). The letter to Congress can be viewed online (4).

Links:

Domestic Violence Sexual Assault Sexual Harassment

The Waxman Cometh: London’s Commissioner for Which Victims, Exactly?

Post author By Edward Bartlett
Post date January 25, 2023

The Waxman Cometh: London’s Commissioner for Which Victims, Exactly?

Sean Parker

January 25, 2023

Claire Waxman is London’s first Victims Commissioner. In 2011, she won a case to overturn the decision not to prosecute her stalker, university friend Elliot Fogel.

Fogel was first convicted in 2003 over repeated phone calls. The former Sky Sports producer denied he had done anything wrong, but was convicted by a jury of stalking and breaching a restraining order.

Waxman was a contributor to a successful campaign for change in stalking laws, and in 2013 founded campaign group Voice4Victims to continue lobbying for legislation. V4V proposed victims’ rights amendments to the Policing and Crime Bill, passed in the House of Lords in 2016.

Also in 2016 V4V launched the Abuse of Process campaign, which aimed to tackle the problem of alleged victims being abused by alleged perpetrators through legal platforms. Whether this would be following verdict, when a complainant legally becomes a victim, is unclear. V4V also drafted the Sexual Offences Bill, to improve protection for alleged victims of rape and sexual assault. What, if any, connection Waxman has to Betsy Stanko (Operation Soteria grande fromage, charged with increasing UK sexual assault convictions) is as yet undeclared.

Waxman was subsequently reappointed by Sadiq Khan in May 2021. She claims to have undertaken work to transform the criminal justice system to provide a better experience for victims of crime, working alongside victims to amplify their voices, and promoting their interests throughout the ‘criminal justice journey’. Does this also include victims of false allegations of domestic violence and sexual assault, wrongful conviction or incarceration, or men and boys in general?

In December 2022 Waxman issued a series of social media posts that appeared to erase the existence of male victims of domestic abuse, and vilified men. Here are some examples:

December 7: “Our campaign is making a real difference in our fight to end the epidemic of male violence against women and girls for good.”
December 9: “We should reflect on Violence Against Women and Girls in the 21^st Century, and the huge proportion of abuse that takes place online and using technology.”
December 12: “Much more must be done to tackle the harmful behaviors of men.”
December 14: “Zara’s future was stolen by a man with no regard for her life or the law.”
December 18: “We are in an epidemic of violence against women and girls.” December 19: “Everyone has a responsibility to challenge misogynistic views and attitudes.”

Also in 2022, Justice Secretary Dominic Raab declined to renew national Victims Commissioner Dame Vera Baird’s contract. Baird is a well-known radical feminist of the ages. See False Allegations Watch‘s annotated notes on a statement given during her tenure.

According to sources Claire Waxman has been used by the legal-dominance feminist lobby to campaign against the recognition of Parental Alienation in the Domestic Abuse Bill. She allegedly went to the President of the Family Division with a list of names of professionals working on Parental Alienation cases. The source suspected that this was why he referred to people having their professional reputation destroyed in a key speech on Parental Alienation in October 2021. The President didn’t take any action.

So the Victims Industry rolls on unquestioned, due to nobody in power wanting to be seen as denying alleged victims justice. But there are many kinds of victims, and in a world where good is bad, right is wrong, left is right and male can be female, there are also potentially 8 billion victims.

Subjectivity ultimately goes in only one direction – inwards; and let it not be forgotten that prisons also are full of ‘victims’. Those who are charged with creating alleged victims are by and large victims themselves, and even if they claim not to have been, have possibly not yet been correctly coerced into seeing themselves that way.

As is increasingly the case, it’s the terminology that’s the problem: If victimhood is seen as a monetisable virtue, then the image of wrongdoing, pain and suffering must be maintained at all costs, and for as long as possible. Otherwise any possible pretence or change of state might be seen through, and fatal doubt sown. Using negative experience as an emotional crutch is a very dangerous business, as crying wolf is a one-way street; once done, rarely recovered from. And don’t even start on the potential false memories in historical cases, or the social contagion of a million believed stories becoming the industrialised wheels before the new culture-wars ambulance-chasers (MeToo lawyers and their ilk).

Domestic Violence Law & Justice Legal

Why Are Young Women Becoming More Violent?

Post author By Edward Bartlett
Post date December 28, 2022

Why Are Young Women Becoming More Violent?

SAVE

December 28, 2022

These three stories about domestic assaults appeared in a single day on December 27, 2022:

Criminologists have known for more than 30 years that young women are rapidly becoming more violent. To illustrate the phenomenon, here’s a story from 2006, at which point the trend was already more than a decade old:

Are US Girls Becoming More Violent?

July 2006

Adolescent U.S. girls are being arrested in record numbers. … [N]ational arrest statistics for simple and aggravated assaults by girls have been on the rise for more than a decade. The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports note the female percentage of total juvenile assault arrests jumped from 21 percent to 32 percent between 1990 and 2003. And the U.S. female juvenile assault rate rose from about 200 for every 100,000 girls to 750 between 1980 and 2003.

Some analysts trace the surge in the number of girls arrested to increased pressures—from the breakdowns of family, church, community, and school—that have increased their propensity for violence. Other analysts reason that girls are more likely to act out or lash out due to changing gender-role expectations: Greater female freedom and assertiveness have masculinized female behavior and are expressed in an imitation of male machismo competitiveness. And violence by girls is also pervasive in much of today’s entertainment. (Even in a recent Harry Potter movie, a girl character—Hermione Granger—hits a boy, only to say afterwards: “Boy, that felt good.”)

The trend is all the more remarkable because, until 2020, the crime rate for every other demographic group had been declining for more than 20 years. Young women were the only demographic group that showed an increase in violent crime. Here’s a story from early 2020:

Female fugitives: Why is ‘pink-collar crime’ on the rise?

The Guardian, Jan 6, 2020

Men commit more crimes than women do. A lot more. This holds true over time and across cultures. In America, the incarceration capital of the world (more than 2 million detainees), males comprise 93% of the prison population. Men also account for 73% of all arrests and 80% of those charged with violent crimes. This disparity between the sexes is particularly stark when it comes to murder: 90% of the time, the ones who do the killing are men.

All these numbers add up to what criminologists call the “gender gap”. But read enough academic journals and government crime reports, and some curious facts emerge: while crime rates in the western world have steadily declined over the past three decades, the number of young women being convicted for violent crimes in some western countries has increased significantly; law enforcement records indicate the opposite is true for their male counterparts. In other words, the gender gap is closing.

In some UK cities, the number of female arrests increased by 50% from 2015 to 2016. That’s more than a blip. A 2017 report by the Institute For Criminal Policy Research at Birkbeck, University of London came up with this sobering data point: the global female prison population has surged by more than half since the turn of the century, while the male prison population increased by just a fifth over that same period. Women and girls may account for only 7% of all incarcerated people today, but their numbers are now growing at a much faster rate than at any time in recorded history.

Going Easy on Female Offenders

Criminologists advance several different theories for the increase in violent crime by young females, including the substantial disparity in criminal justice outcomes for women compared to men. Young female perpetrators understand they are much less likely to be prosecuted than similarly-situated male offenders. And, even if prosecuted, are likely to receive substantially lower sentences than similarly-situated male offenders. In other words, young women are becoming more violent, at least in part, because they believe they can get away with it.

Numerous studies confirm this sex bias. Here’s a small sample of these studies:

Sonja B. Starr, Estimating Gender Disparities in Federal Criminal Cases, U. of Mich. Law School, Law and Econ. Res. Paper Ser., Paper No. 12-018 (Aug. 2012). After controlling for the arrest offense, criminal history and other variables, “men receive 63 percent longer sentences on average than women” and “women are . . . twice as likely to avoid incarceration if convicted.”
Byungbae Kim, Xia Wang and Hyunjung Cheon, Examining the Impact of Ecological Contexts on Gender Disparity in Federal Sentencing, 36 Justice Qtrly 466 (2018).
Emma E. Fridel, Leniency for Lethal Ladies: Using the Actor–Partner Interdependence Model to Examine Gender-Based Sentencing Disparities, 23 Homicide Stud. 319 (2019). “Women were less likely to receive the harshest possible punishment, regardless of their partner’s gender. These findings provide support for the female leniency effect, suggesting that gender bias continues to influence sentencing decisions for homicide.”
Henry J. Muller, Sarah L. Desmarais and John M. Hamel, Do Judicial Responses to Restraining Order Requests Discriminate Against Male Victims of Domestic Violence? 24 J. Fam. Viol. 625 (2009). Study of domestic violence restraining orders found that “judges were almost 13 times more likely to grant a TRO requested by a female plaintiff against her male intimate partner, than a TRO requested by a male plaintiff against his female partner.”.
Chris Johnson, Nebraska Must Address Gender Bias. (December 14, 2016). “According to the largest-ever review of domestic violence research, women and men abuse their partners at comparable rates. The Partner Abuse State of Knowledge project found 28.3 percent of women perpetrated domestic violence compared with 21.6 percent of men.”

Sex bias in the criminal system arises from the actions of police officers, prosecutors, and judges, and well as from the misconceptions of lawmakers and the public at large. It’s time to stop these egregious violations of the Equal Protection provision of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Domestic Violence

Not only Women, But Also Men Can Become Victims of Violence (Lithuanian)

Post author By Edward Bartlett
Post date December 13, 2022

Smurto aukomis tampa ne tik moterys, bet ir vyrai

Stengiamasi žaisti „į vienus vartus“

B.van der Weg-Bražiūnienė atkreipė dėmesį ir į tai, kad visą praėjusią savaitę daugelyje pasaulio šalių, bet tik ne Lietuvoje, vyko Tarptautinei vyrų dienai (pažymima lapkričio 19 d.) skirti renginiai.

„Toks dėmesys – ne atsitiktinis, o tampriai susijęs su stebimu vyrų demonizavimu ir jų teisių menkinimu. Todėl daugybė organizacijų iš viso pasaulio kvietė į 3-ąjį iš eilės Globalinį stebėjimą – savaitę trunkančią Tarptautinės vyrų dienos šventę. Ypatingai šiais metais stengtasi akcentuoti smurto prieš vyrus šeimose problematiką“, – pasakojo visuomenininkė.

Pasak jos, situaciją dar labiau blogina tai, kad problemą stengiamasi ignoruoti.

„Jungtinių Tautų socialinių, humanitarinių ir kultūrinių klausimų komitetas svarsto dokumentą „Smurtas prieš moteris ir merginas, jo priežastys ir pasekmės“. Deja, A/77/136 ataskaita yra tokia ydinga, kad Tarptautinis prievartos ir smurto artimoje aplinkoje aljansas (Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance, sutr.DAVIA) , kuris šiuo metu apjungia 68 organizacijas iš 28 pasaulio šalių, ragina komitetą atšaukti tolesnį svarstymą. Priešingu atveju kyla pavojus, kad bus diskredituojamos teisėtos pastangos spręsti klimato kaitos, COVID ir realias smurto šeimoje problemas. DAVIA atlikta JT dokumento analizė atskleidė tokius jo trūkumus: 1. Mokslinio patikimumo stoka dėl netinkamo ir netikslaus pagrindinių teiginių šaltinio; 2. Teiginys, kad „Tyrimai parodė, jog per klimatines katastrofas moterys miršta 14 kartų dažniau negu vyrai yra nepatikimas, neįtikėtinas ir nepriklausomų apžvalgininkų apibūdintas kaip „zombių statistika“; 3. Klaidingai tvirtinama, kad COVID „neproporcingai“ paveikia moteris ir mergaites; policijos pranešimai, nusikalstamumo statistika ir kolegų peržiūrimi tyrimai rodo, kad pandemijos metu smurtas šeimoje nepadidėjo; 4. Mirtingumo, susijusio su badu, tyrimų neįtraukimas. Orveliška manipuliacija, padedanti eliminuoti nuolat pasikartojantį didesnį vyrų mirtingumą stichinių nelaimių atvejais; 5. Nesugebėjimas pripažinti fakto, kad moterys taip pat dažnai smurtauja šeimoje; 6. Vyrų-smurto aukų nuasmeninimas yra taktika, seniai asocijuojama su totalitariniais režimais. Trumpiau tariant, minėtas JT dokumentas, DAVIA nuomone, yra ideologijos triumfas prieš mokslą“, – niūrią realybę įvardino B.van der Weg-Bražiūnienė.

Ji patikslino, kad DAVIA siekė pabrėžti didžiulį, dabar JT komiteto svarstomų pasiūlymų šališkumą, o aljanso parengta ataskaita yra laisvai prieinama internete.

„Reaguodamos į tai tarptautinės organizacijos visame pasaulyje penktadienį, lapkričio 18 d., minėjo Tarptautinę kovos su smurtu prieš vyrus dieną. Tą pačią dieną Tarptautinis prievartos ir smurto artimoje aplinkoje aljansas surengė tarptautinę spaudos konferenciją, kurioje pasisakė DAVIA prezidentas Edward E. Bartlett, knygų apie moterų smurtą prieš vyrus autorė Ann Silvers, su Tėvų atstūmimo problema dirbanti Jan James, Stambulo konvencijos kritikas, politikos studijų profesorius Stephenas Baskerville, Indijos vyrų forumo atstovas Anirban Sinha ir kiti.

Lietuvoje irgi liūdna

Ne vienerius metus su tėvų atstūmimo problematika dirbanti ir aktyviai įvairių organizacijų veikloje dalyvaujanti B.van der Weg-Bražiūnienė įvertino ir Lietuvos situaciją.

„Tyrimai rodo, kad būtent lyčių stereotipai ir nuostatos, kokiais asmenybės bruožais turi pasižymėti viena ar kita lytis, gali lemti tai, jog Lietuvoje vyrų savižudybių yra net keturis kartus daugiau, nei moterų. Dar 2006 m. Rita Žukauskienė savo knygoje „Kriminalinio elgesio psichologija“ rašė: „smurtauti ir būti auka gali ir vyras, ir moteris. Intymių partnerių smurtas yra gana plačiai paplitęs Šiaurės Amerikos visuomenėje. Daugelis pagalbos tarnybų intervencinių programų orientuotos reaguoti į smurtą, kurį patiria moterys iš savo sutuoktinių arba partnerių, ir dažniausiai smurtas tarp partnerių sutuoktinių suprantamas kaip vyro smurtas, o ne priešingai. Vis dėlto kai kurių autorių tyrimai, atlikti daugiausia JAV, rodo, kad moterys taip pat taiko smurtą prieš savo vyrus, o kai kurie autoriai pažymi, jog moterys labiau nei vyrai linkę smurtauti prieš savo intymų partnerį“, – čia prieš tai minėtos knygos ištrauką pacitavo visuomenininkė.

Pasak jos, tokias prielaidas patvirtino ir vėlesniais metais atliktos analizės.

Daugiau negu 343 mokslinių tyrimų, atliktų 40 šalių smurto artimoje aplinkoje tema, kompiliacija patvirtina, jog: „moterys yra fiziškai agresyvios, kaip ir vyrai (ar daugiau) santykiuose su savo sutuoktiniais ar priešingos lyties partneriais“ (šaltinis: Martin Fiebert „Nuorodos, nagrinėjančios moterų išpuolius prieš savo sutuoktinius ar vyrus“, 2014 m.). Nepaisant to, feministinės organizacijos nesiremia mokslinių tyrimų išvadomis, bet naudoja pranešimų apie smurtą policijai suvestines. Kaip žinia, vyrai dėl patirto šeimoje smurto skundžiasi dažniausiai tik tada, kai jis tampa fiziškai pavojingas, ką patvirtinta ir 2020 Lietuvoje atliktas tyrimas (https://www.specializuotospagalboscentras.lt/tyrimai/), – toliau situaciją vertino visuomenininkė. Dar tebėra gajus berniukų auklėjimas principu, jog vyrams nedera reikšti savo jausmų ar laikyti savęs aukomis. Persmelkiantys įsitikinimai ar stereotipai apie tai, kad vyrai yra smurtautojai, o moterys – aukos, tvyro kaip slogus smogas mūsų visuomenėje. Dėl to vyrai nedrįsta skųstis, neieško pagalbos, ką, deja, ne kiekvienas psichologiškai atlaiko. Prievarta prieš vyrus dažnai traktuojama kaip ne tokia rimta arba iš vis nereikšminga.

Vyrai, kaip žinia, dažnai smurtą patiria skyrybų metu, kai, siekiant didesnės dalies užgyvento turto ar išimtinai vaikų globos, jie yra nepagrįstai apkaltinami smurtu. Kol vyksta tyrimas, vyrai negali pareiti į savo nuosavus namus, matytis su vaikais. Praktika rodo, kad dažnai tokių atveju metu vaikai yra nuteikinėjami prieš tėčius, todėl galime kalbėti ir apie psichologinį smurtą prieš vaiką. Vėliau tas, dažniausiai, išsivysto į tėvų atstūmimą. Aišku, moterys taip pat susiduria su tėvų atstūmimu, bet vyrai dėl to nukenčia 4-6 kartus dažniau.

Be to, kaltinimams smurtu nepasitvirtinus, dažniausiai melagingai apkaltinusieji lieka nenubausti. Įdomu, ar statistikoje išlieka nepasitvirtinę pranešimai apie „patirtą“ smurtą. Ar kas susimąstė, kokį psichologines pasekmes patiria nekaltai apkaltintas žmogus?

Pasak B.van der Weg-Bražiūnienės, reikia suprasti, kad smurtas neturi lyties, todėl atpildo privalo susilaukti visi smurtautojai.

Bills Campus Department of Education Discrimination Domestic Violence False Allegations Free Speech Sexual Harassment Title IX

SAFER Act Seeks Sweeping Changes to Redefine ‘Sex’ and ‘Sexual Harassment’

Post author By Edward Bartlett
Post date December 12, 2022

PRESS RELEASE

Rebecca Stewart: 513-479-3335

Email: info@saveservices.org

SAFER Act Seeks to Make Sweeping Changes to Redefine ‘Sex’ and ‘Sexual Harassment’

WASHINGTON / December 12, 2022 – Lawmakers recently introduced the Students’ Access to Freedom and Educational Rights (SAFER) Act in both the Senate and House (1). The bill proposes to codify sweeping changes to the definitions of “sex” and “sexual harassment.”

Definition of Sex

The existing Title IX law, enacted in 1972, was designed to eliminate discrimination based on a student’s “sex.” But the SAFER bill seeks to expand this fundamental term to include sex stereotypes, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Gender identity is defined as “a person’s internal sense of gender, which could be female, male, or another gender.” (Section 101)

To date, two circuit courts have ruled against changing the Title IX definition of sex:

On July 15, 2022 a Tennessee District Court issued a Preliminary Injunction overturning the Department of Education’s Interpretation of Title IX to include “discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.” (2)
In a November 11, 2022 decision, a Texas District Court ruled in Neese v. Becerra that Title IX does not prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. (3)

Over 200 organizations have gone on record in opposition (4) to proposed changes to Title IX that would expand the definition of “sex,” which would impose devastating consequences on women’s sports (5), promote life-altering sex changes on underage children (6), and have long-term effects on parental rights (7).

Definition of Sexual Harassment

In Davis v. Monroe, the U.S. Supreme Court defined sexual harassment as harassment that is ‘‘so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it can be said to deprive the victims of access to the educational opportunities or benefits provided by the school.’’ (8)

But the SAFER bill proposes a broader definition of sexual harassment that would encompass virtually all sex-related conduct that is perceived as “unwelcome:”

“any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, regardless of whether it is direct or indirect, or verbal or nonverbal (including conduct that is undertaken in whole or in part, through the use of electronic messaging services, commercial mobile services, electronic communications, or other technology), that unreasonably alters an individual’s terms, benefits, or privileges of an education program or activity, including by creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment.” (Section 203(i))

Such changes would exact harmful consequences on free speech (9) and open the door for a wave of false allegations of sexual misconduct and domestic violence (10). A former Washington State prosecutor explains the false allegations problem this way (11):

“The Department of Education has put immense pressure on higher education institutions to handle cases to their liking….As a result of this unfair treatment, innocent accused students, staff, and faculty find themselves expelled, fired or facing criminal charges.”

In Orwellian fashion, the bill sponsors make the remarkable claim that the SAFER Act will protect “all” students from discrimination (12).

SAVE urges lawmakers to strongly oppose the SAFER Act.

Links:

Domestic Violence Due Process False Allegations Law & Justice Legal

Families in Bermuda Are Being Harmed by the UN’s Domestic Violence Policies

Post author By Edward Bartlett
Post date December 6, 2022

Families in Bermuda Are Being Harmed by the UN’s Domestic Violence Policies

Edward M. Tavares

Co-founder, ChildWatch Bermuda

Bermuda is part of United Kingdom’s commonwealth as an overseas dependent territory. We are sharing our concerns about the status of shared parenting and domestic violence policies.

Shared Parenting

According to Bermuda’s last statistical family type release in May 31, 2006, 85% of custody of children post-divorce and separation was held by women. How can 85% of fathers be relegated to visitor status by the courts because their marriage failed? Most studies show these divorce decisions are made unilaterally by women.

Continuous violation exists with respect to the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child, which states in Article 9:

Parties shall ensure that a child shall not be separated from his or her parents against their will, except when competent authorities subject to judicial review determine, in accordance with applicable law and procedures, and that
Such separation is necessary for the best interests of the child. Such determination may be necessary in a particular case such as one involving abuse or neglect of the child by the parents, or one where the parents are living separately, and a decision must be made as to the child’s place of residence.
Parties shall respect the right of the child who is separated from one or both parents to maintain personal relations and direct contact with both parents on a regular basis, except if it is contrary to the child’s best interests.

However, fathers have been relegated to visitor status for decades in regard to custody of their children after divorce or separation by the courts, most times without any investigations or due process. This can cause violations of the European Human Rights, Article 8 of the Convention– Right to respect for private and family life:

“Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.”

One father went to court for 28 years trying to obtain custody and to defend his parental rights. Meanwhile, he lost his house, bank accounts, etc., while having to obtain 14 lawyers and achieving little remedy in the court. This abuse of the law constitutes as legal administrative abuse and coercive control, requiring that the father must conform and comply with their demands.

The biases of the Courts and family Counsellors, Department of Child and Family Services, apparently see only mothers as viable caregivers. These injustices are usually compounded by many local organizations with the power of the Bermuda Police Services, while threatening and harassing letters are sent out without any investigations to many fathers to order them to conform to the demands which often are contrary to Court orders in place. We believe that these letters are just to gain higher status and finances, within society, and garner sympathy from politicians/legislators.

Prior to 2002 we had six men paying support for a child that was not theirs. We at ChildWatch advocated for legal changes as unwed fathers were not able to take proceedings against mothers, nor were allowed DNA testing for paternity fraud, according to “The Affiliation Act, 1976.” One father found out that he wasn’t the father 17 years later, and a few others learned the truth 14 years later.

In 2006, one accused father was denied DNA testing even after it was implemented into law in 2002. The Judge refused DNA testing on the false claim of the mother that he was the father. After three years having gone to prison as ordered by the court, we lobbied to have him tested. Eventually this father was granted permission, and the results revealed that he was not the biological father. This ruined his life, having lost his job, and was considered unemployable, and unacceptable to society.

Many fathers suffer from not only losing their children, but also losing their homes and finances in the struggle for their children’s benefit. Following a divorce, a parent may engage in behaviors that serve to alienate the child from the other parent. In an attempt to cover up the alienating behavior, the alienating parent may then falsely accuse the target parent of child abuse.

Bermuda’s prison inmates come largely from fatherless homes. Poor education attainment, and dropping out, teen pregnancy, drug abuse, alcohol, behavioral problems, gang culture, and deaths by murder are more customary to male victims who come mostly from fatherless homes.

Policies of the United Nations

The World Health Organization reports that men are far more likely to die of violence-related causes than women, for the following age groups (death rates 100,00 population):

• 5-14 years: Male: 1.7; Female: 1.0

• 15-24 years: Male: 57.7; Female: 8.1

• 25-34 years: Male: 92.3; Female: 10.3

• 35-54 years: Male: 70.6; Female: 6.5

• 55-74 years: Male: 29.5; Female: 3.3

Overall, the WHO reveals that men are eight times more likely than women to die of violence-related causes.

The UN report, “A Gendered Analysis of Violent Deaths”, similarly concluded, “Globally, men and boys accounted for 84 per cent of the people who died violently in 2010–15.” Clearly, violence against men represents a greater problem than violence against women.

Regarding domestic violence, a compilation of 343 scholarly investigations concluded that “women are as physically aggressive as men (or more) in their relationships with their spouses or opposite-sex partners.” These studies were conducted on a broad range of racial, ethnic, and socio-economic groups in 40 different countries.

ChildWatch Bermuda has great concerns regarding the UN Women’s position paper to “Eliminate Domestic Violence Against Women and Girls.” Our concern is that there is no mention of the “Elimination of Domestic Violence Against Men and Boys” included. Studies show that men suffer equally as women from domestic violence.

An analysis of Resolution A/77/302: Intensification of Efforts to Eliminate All Forms of Violence Against Women and Girls by the Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance on October 17, 2022 reveals substantial bias against male victims.

Domestic Violence During the COVID Pandemic

On March 23, 2020 the U.S.-based National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence issued an alert with this startling claim: “Survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault are facing extreme danger and risk.” Likewise, UN Women declared a “shadow pandemic of violence against women and girls” which would result from lockdowns across the world.

These alerts did not provide any evidence to support their claims. Subsequently, a wave of media accounts predicted an imminent “spike” and “spurt” of abuse, often featuring heart-rending — but unsubstantiated — anecdotes.

But the predicted catastrophe never happened. Numerous independent analyses of hotline calls, police calls for service, and crime statistics, both in the United States and abroad, concluded that overall, there was no increase in domestic violence or sexual assault, and some locales saw a decrease.

The U.S. National Domestic Violence Hotline reports on the number of answered calls, chats, and texts received each year since 1996. The graph from the most recent report reveals the number of answered inquiries in 2020 was 363,000, which is the same number as in 2018. Clearly, there was no “spike” or “surge” in the number of abuse calls during the COVID pandemic.

Imposed Separation Communication breakdowns are inherent in human relationships. In years past, police officers encouraged the parties to temporarily separate and make amends. But now, any marital tiff can be considered to be domestic “abuse.” Today, we have instituted mandatory-arrest laws, even when short-term separation and counseling for the parties would be the more appropriate measure.

Conclusion

These are just a few examples of the many injustices seen in Bermuda. We would like to thank you for taking the time to review and consider our concerns. Hopefully, we can reach a viable solution against domestic abuse for men and women, including boys and girls.

In addition, I will be happy to set up a telephone call to answer any questions you may have. Thank you for your attention to this matter of importance.