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Special Edition e-Newsletter
Sunday, June 10, 2006 |
Please Forward This Newsletter!
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Let us introduce you to R.A.D.A.R. -
Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting
R.A.D.A.R. – Respecting Accuracy in
Domestic Abuse Reporting – is a network of
concerned men and women working to assure that
the problem of domestic violence is treated in a
balanced and effective manner.
Domestic violence is a
problem that affects both men and women. But our
nation's laws are based on a false assumption –
that only women are victims of abuse. As a
result, male victims are often refused service,
and men's civil rights are violated. |
VAWA Resolution
Regarding the Violence Against Women Act
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Whereas, in 2000 Senator
Orrin Hatch directed the executive
branch to "ensure that men who have
been victimized by domestic violence
and sexual assault will receive
benefits and services under the Act"1
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Whereas, despite that
statement of Congressional intent,
male victims continue to be turned
away from VAWA-funded shelters.2
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Whereas, the language of the
2005 Violence Against Women Act now
recognizes that male victims of
domestic violence are in need of
treatment and protection, and
requires VAWA-funded programs to
provide them with such services.3
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Whereas, VAWA funds judicial
education programs that instruct
judges to disregard
constitutionally-protected due
process provisions,4
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Whereas, judges often issue
restraining orders without any
direct threat of harm,5,6
and restraining orders are widely
used as "part of the gamesmanship of
divorce."
7,8
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Whereas, the Massachusetts
Trial Court found that less than
half of all restraining orders
issued in that state involved even
an allegation of physical violence,9
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Whereas, it has been
estimated that each year one million
protective orders are issued in the
United States, and about 500,000 of
such orders represent a direct
violation of due process
protections,10,11
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Whereas, 15% of such
protective orders are issued against
women and 85% against men.12
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Whereas, research shows that
most instances of partner aggression
are minor in nature,13
and such cases require counseling,
not legal intervention,
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Whereas, VAWA-funded programs
and policies often discourage couple
counseling and partner
reconciliation, and
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Whereas, various VAWA
incentives serve to promote family
break-up,14
which results in children losing
daily contact with one of their
parents.15
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Therefore, the
undersigned organizations request that:
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The VAWA appropriation bill for
FY2007 include report language
directing the DoJ Violence Against
Women Office to provide Congress, no
later than December 30, 2007, with
client utilization statistics of
VAWA-funded programs and services,
in compliance with the
male-inclusive requirements of
Section 40002(b)(8) of the 2005
Violence Against Women Act.
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The Senate and House Appropriations
Committees support and approve
President Bush's budget request to
fund the Violence Against Women Act
at the $347 million level in FY2007.
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The United States Congress establish
a panel to investigate the claims
that the Violence Against Women Act
promotes the excessive issuance of
restraining orders, which often
leads to family break-up and
inappropriate loss of parent
involvement.
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Join the Battle With ...
Signed:
Michael J. Geanoulis
R.A.D.A.R.: Respecting Accuracy in
Domestic Abuse Reporting
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Michael McCormick
American Coalition for Fathers and
Children |
Phyllis Schlafly
Eagle Forum |
Terri Lynn Tersak
True-Equality.org |
David R. Usher
ACFC - Missouri Coalition
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Alan Rusmisel
Alabama Coalition of Fathers and
Children |
Tom Smith
American Union for Men
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Eileen
Cipnick
BS KIDS |
Susan N. Wolpin
Bucks County Fathers' and Children's
Equality |
James Hays
Coalition of Fathers and Families NY,
Inc. |
Paul Clements
Dads Against Divorce
Discrimination-NH |
James Semerad
Dads and Moms of Michigan
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Michael Burns
Dialogue on Sustainable Community
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Charles E. Corry
Equal Justice Foundation
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Jamil Jabr
Fathers-4-Justice |
Dan Hogan
Fathers and Families |
Mike East
FATHERS: Fathers Asking to Have Equal
Rights |
Roy Getting
Fathers for Equal Rights
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D'Arcy L. McGreer
Fathers for Virginia |
Richar' Farr
Knights Radio |
Marc Angelucci
National Coalition of Free Men, Los
Angeles Chapter |
Gary Gagnon
National Congress of Fathers and
Children - New Hampshire
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Harry Crouch
Men's Advocacy Network
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Jeffrey W. Dick
MensCustodyShelterNetwork.com
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Marc Snider
NHCustody.org |
Pastor Kenneth Deemer
Shattered Men |
Philip Cook
Stop Abuse for Everyone
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Lee Newman
Stop Abuse for Everyone, NH Chapter
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Lisa Scott
TABS: Taking Action Against Bias
in the System
Your
Name Here!
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Gregory Romeo
Tulsa Area Fathers Rights Association
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The important question to
ask the designers and supporters of VAWA is;
What are the scientific, ethical, and moral
bases for excluding half the population of abuse
victims from support and services?
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What can you do to support R.A.D.A.R.?
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Become a Co-Signer of the VAWA Resolution! |
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Stand up and be counted!
Write to R.A.D.A.R. at
info@mediaRADAR.org and become a
card-carrying member of the
VAWA Campaign. You will
be among some of our nation's legal and
legislative reform leaders.
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Sign-up for the R.A.D.A.R. E-Alerts List! |
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Join in with others in the
know. Use the form in the R.A.D.A.R. Alert box
in the top right corner of this Special
Edition e-Newsletter or go to
www.mediaRADAR.org.
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Be Ready for the Truth and Consequences
campaign!
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On June 19 these
organizations will announce a national campaign
to educate candidates during the upcoming 2006
elections about the massive civil rights
violations caused by VAWA. The theme of the
campaign is "Truth and Consequences: 2006
Elections." The theme highlights the fact
that VAWA interest groups frequently fail to
tell the truth about the nature of domestic
violence, and the consequences these
distortions have for families and children.
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The VAWA Election Campaign: |
- About
the Campaign
- Resolution
on VAWA
- Listing
of Contact Persons
- Find
your Representative: Go to
www.house.gov and enter your zip code
into the box
- Five
Steps YOU Can Take to Help Stop the Abuses:
- Set
up the meeting
- Prepare
for the meeting
- Hold
the meeting
- Follow-up
- Report
your meeting results to R.A.D.A.R.
- Questions?
Ask R.A.D.A.R.'s Political Advisor
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Call! |
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Call your Senators and
Representative today. For contact information
for your Members of Congress, visit
www.senate.gov or
www.house.gov, or call the Capitol
Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
Tell them:
- Your
name and the city and state you live in.
- Tell
them how these programs hurt the victims by
turning them away when the need help the
most or how they refuse to serve victims in
your communities because they say the law
requires them to.
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Send Letters! |
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Send a personal letter to your Senators
and Representative. Include information
about your community and the programs that
deny abuse victims service. Describe your
successes in helping those abandoned by a
multi-billion dollar funding source and the
unmet needs male victims and their child
face everyday.
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Fax this letter to your Representative
and Senators. For contact information
for your Members of Congress, visit
www.senate.gov or
www.house.gov, or call the Capitol
Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
It is crucial that Senators
and Representatives hear from their constituents
about why these programs are bias and
discriminatory and how they can correct them
through simple processes.
Please read the R.A.D.A.R.
Special Report
VAWA Programs Discriminate Against Male Victims
for more information about how VAWA is funding
discrimination against male victims of abuse and
their children. The documents linked in the
R.A.D.A.R. Special Reports detail the widespread
abuses of the civil rights of half of all abuse
victims.
For more information,
contact:
Dave Usher,
R.A.D.A.R. Contact, at
info@mediaRADAR.org. |
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Networking in Action
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RADAR Takes Action: |
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Child Abuse |
Department of Health and Human
Services
Child Maltreatment 2004 |
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References |
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1 |
Congressional Record, October
11, 2000, pp. S10191-92.
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2 |
R.A.D.A.R. VAWA Programs
discriminate against male
victims. Rockville, MD:
Respecting Accuracy in Domestic
Abuse Reporting, 2006.
www.mediaRADAR.org
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3 |
Violence Against Women Act,
Section 40002(b)(8).
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4 |
Bleemer R: N.J. judges told to
ignore rights in abuse TROs. New
Jersey Law Journal April 24,
1995.
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5 |
David Heleniak. The new Star
Chamber: The New Jersey family
court and the prevention of
Domestic Violence Act. Rutgers
Law Review, Spring 2005.
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6 |
Wendy McElroy. Abuse of
temporary restraining orders
endangers real victims.
FoxNews.com, December 27, 2005.
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7 |
Thomas Kasper. Obtaining and
defending against an order of
protection. Illinois Bar Journal
June 2005.
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8 |
Thomas Kiernan. Re: False
Claims. New Jersey Law Journal ,
April 21, 1988 Vol. 121 p. 6.
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9 |
Office of the Commissioner of
Probation, Massachusetts Trial
Court: The tragedies of domestic
violence: A qualitative analysis
of civil restraining orders.
October 12, 1995.
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10 |
Dorothy Carl Quinn. Ex parte
protection orders: Is due
process locked out? Temple Law
Quarterly Vol. 58, Winter 1985.
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11 |
R.A.D.A.R. VAWA: Threat to
families, children, men, and
women. Rockville, MD: Respecting
Accuracy in Domestic Abuse
Reporting, 2006.
www.mediaRADAR.org
.
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12 |
Cathy Young. Domestic violence:
An in-depth analysis.
Washington, DC: Independent
Women's Forum, 2005.
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13 |
Linda Kelly. Disabusing the
definition of domestic abuse.
Florida State University Law
Review Vol. 30, 2003.
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14 |
Phyllis Schlafly. Federal
incentives make children
fatherless, Human Events Online,
May 11, 2005.
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15 |
Stephen Baskerville. Violence
against families: Fathers fall
victim to domestic-abuse laws.
American Conservative, August
29, 2005, pp. 23-25. |
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2005-2006. True Equality Network.
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