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1


RADAR ALERT: Remembering Earl Silverman, Founder of Men's Alternative Safe House




Sunday, 4/28/2013

It is with profound sadness that I report to you on the passing of Earl Silverman.  For many years, Earl singlehandedly ran the Men's Alternative Safe House (MASH), Canada's only shelter for abused men.  Earl was not independently wealthy, but he nevertheless funded the entire enterprise out of his own pocket.

I first met Earl 10 years ago at a conference on male domestic violence victims that I helped organize.  While we were all trying to look and act professional and serious, Earl won everyone over with his irreverence and humor.  The jokes he told had us nearly rolling on the floor.  But deep down, he was as serious about the issue as any of us.

In the intervening years I phoned Earl on occasion, usually when someone in need of help had contacted RADAR and I needed to brainstorm with someone on where to refer them.  In those conversations I got to know Earl a bit, and the one thing I can say about him is that this guy was a mensch!  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mensch)

For many years Earl tried in vain to convince politicians and bureaucrats that he was providing a much needed service that was as worthy of their financial support as the women's shelters that unabashedly discriminated against male victims – discrimination that was actually countenanced by the government itself. Although Earl explained to the politicians and bureaucrats that, on a per-capita basis, he was able to operate his shelter at a fraction of what women's shelters spend, he was rebuffed at every turn by petty misandrists.  (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/misandrist)

Those misandrists have now achieved their goal.  A compassionate man, who devoted two decades of his life to helping those who are ridiculed and reviled by the powers that be, is now lost to the world!  A month ago, unable to afford to continue operating MASH, Earl was forced to close the shelter and sell his home.  And on Friday, April 26, 2013 Earl took his own life.  (The closing of MASH was reported at http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/03/20/privately-run-shelter-for-male-victims-of-domestic-abuse-forced-to-close-its-doors-due-to-lack-of-funding.  Note: That article erroneously reports that Earl ran MASH for only three years.  I don't know for certain how long Earl had been running the shelter, but I do know that it was already in existence a decade ago.  SAFE (Stop Abuse For Everyone) added Earl's shelter to their database of resources for battered men in September 2003. [http://www.safe4all.org/resource-list/view/9866])

Earl's dedication and selfless generosity saved many lives.  The number of men who take their own lives while going through a divorce is ten times as high as the number of women, so there are undoubtedly many men who would not be with us today were it not for Earl's help.

Men's Rights Montreal plans to continue Earl's work by creating the "Earl Silverman Center for Male Victims of Domestic Abuse".  If you wish to make a financial contribution to honor Earl's memory, please visit http://www.gofundme.com/2qyyvs.

As I said earlier, Earl was a real mensch!  There is no higher compliment!  Tonight, I will be saying Kaddish for Earl.  And I ask that, whatever God you pray to, whatever language you do it in, please also say a prayer for him.
          Mark Rosenthal, on behalf of the RADAR team





Date of RADAR Release: April 29, 2013

R.A.D.A.R. -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting -- is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's approach to solving domestic violence.  http://mediaradar.org
           



Copyright (c) 2013. RADAR -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

       
2


RADAR ALERT: Remembering Earl Silverman, Founder of Men's Alternative Safe House




Sunday, 4/28/2013

It is with profound sadness that I report to you on the passing of Earl Silverman.  For many years, Earl singlehandedly ran the Men's Alternative Safe House (MASH), Canada's only shelter for abused men.  Earl was not independently wealthy, but he nevertheless funded the entire enterprise out of his own pocket.

I first met Earl 10 years ago at a conference on male domestic violence victims that I helped organize.  While we were all trying to look and act professional and serious, Earl won everyone over with his irreverence and humor.  The jokes he told had us nearly rolling on the floor.  But deep down, he was as serious about the issue as any of us.

In the intervening years I phoned Earl on occasion, usually when someone in need of help had contacted RADAR and I needed to brainstorm with someone on where to refer them.  In those conversations I got to know Earl a bit, and the one thing I can say about him is that this guy was a mensch!  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mensch)

For many years Earl tried in vain to convince politicians and bureaucrats that he was providing a much needed service that was as worthy of their financial support as the women's shelters that unabashedly discriminated against male victims – discrimination that was actually countenanced by the government itself. Although Earl explained to the politicians and bureaucrats that, on a per-capita basis, he was able to operate his shelter at a fraction of what women's shelters spend, he was rebuffed at every turn by petty misandrists.  (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/misandrist)

Those misandrists have now achieved their goal.  A compassionate man, who devoted two decades of his life to helping those who are ridiculed and reviled by the powers that be, is now lost to the world!  A month ago, unable to afford to continue operating MASH, Earl was forced to close the shelter and sell his home.  And on Friday, April 26, 2013 Earl took his own life.  (The closing of MASH was reported at http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/03/20/privately-run-shelter-for-male-victims-of-domestic-abuse-forced-to-close-its-doors-due-to-lack-of-funding.  Note: That article erroneously reports that Earl ran MASH for only three years.  I don't know for certain how long Earl had been running the shelter, but I do know that it was already in existence a decade ago.  SAFE (Stop Abuse For Everyone) added Earl's shelter to their database of resources for battered men in September 2003. [http://www.safe4all.org/resource-list/view/9866])

Earl's dedication and selfless generosity saved many lives.  The number of men who take their own lives while going through a divorce is ten times as high as the number of women, so there are undoubtedly many men who would not be with us today were it not for Earl's help.

Men's Rights Montreal plans to continue Earl's work by creating the "Earl Silverman Center for Male Victims of Domestic Abuse".  If you wish to make a financial contribution to honor Earl's memory, please visit http://www.gofundme.com/2qyyvs.

As I said earlier, Earl was a real mensch!  There is no higher compliment!  Tonight, I will be saying Kaddish for Earl.  And I ask that, whatever God you pray to, whatever language you do it in, please also say a prayer for him.
          Mark Rosenthal, on behalf of the RADAR team





Date of RADAR Release: April 29, 2013

R.A.D.A.R. -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting -- is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's approach to solving domestic violence.  http://mediaradar.org
           



Copyright (c) 2013. RADAR -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

       
3


RADAR ALERT: Misandry in the Media: RADAR Expands its Focus


Misandry, simply defined, is the pathological hatred of men and boys.  It is the analog to misogyny, but with the bigotry and rage targeted at males.

Paul Nathanson and Katherine K. Young, two scholars in the field of religious studies at McGill University in Montreal, popularized the word "misandry" in a series of books on the topic: Spreading Misandry: The Teaching of Contempt for Men in Popular Culture (2001); Legalizing Misandry: From Public Shame to Systemic Discrimination Against Men (2006); Sanctifying Misandry: Goddess Ideology and the Fall of Man (2010).

Nathanson and Young describe misandry as "a form of prejudice and discrimination that has become institutionalized in North American society, 'a collectively shared and culturally propagated worldview, not a personal emotion such as dislike or anger'"1.

As one would expect from the Nathanson and Young definition, misandry is propagated by the media. A vivid example of this occurred late last year on CNN, the self-proclaimed "Worldwide Leader in News." Interviewing the former Lorena Bobbitt (now using the name Lorena Gallo), who in in 1993 cut off her husband John's penis with a kitchen knife, CNN national correspondent Alina Cho displayed both a shocking disregard for John Bobbitt's ordeal and an appalling camaraderie with a woman who justified sexually mutilating her husband by telling the police, "He always have orgasm [sic], and he doesn't wait for me to have orgasm.  He's selfish."2

Quote from: ALINA CHO, national correspondent, CNN
Her name is Lorena Gallo, but back then on news programs and the subject of late-night comedians, she was Lorena Bobbitt. She's remembered as the wife who employed a – shall we say, dramatic – response to an abusive relationship with her then husband John Wayne-Bobbitt. But in the nearly two decades since then she started a new life. She's been in a long-term relationship, thirteen years strong. She has a five year-old daughter. And while she works as a part-time hairdresser and real estate agent, she says her true passion is counseling domestic violence victims through her organization.

(...)

Quote from: CHO
I have to ask you this. As you well know, there was a time when joking about the Bobbitts was a national pastime. I wonder after all of these years – are you finally able to laugh about it?

Quote from: LORENA BOBBITT (nee GALLO)
I finally am.  And it took a lot of time, it took a lot of years, and definitely a lot of – I went to psychologists, and thanks to the doctors, the therapies I'm here, and I'll be able to now basically start all over again and start a new relationship and have a family and basically I can laugh now3.

More recently, early this year, Brad Womack, returning to the reality show The Bachelor for a second season, was slapped by contestant Chantal O'Brian on the season premiere show.  Before slapping him, she told him: "I watched your season and I have something for you. It's not from me; it's from every woman in America"4. Remarkably, Mr. Womack later stated that while the slap was "very real and very hard," he "deserved it," presumably for his behavior in the previous season.  He explained the slap this way: "I think Chantal was trying to make a statement about my past behavior, and make a strong first impression, which she did."5

In the grand scheme of things, a slap to the face, even a hard one, is fairly trivial, but that the The Bachelor producers, Ms. O'Brian, and even Mr. Womack (male guilt?) believe it is acceptable behavior for a reality show contestant speaks volumes about the pervasive disregard for men's rights that currently exists in modern America.

During Super Bowl XLV, Pepsi Max ran an ad in which a black woman repeatedly abuses her black husband.  This is supposed to be funny. In the final scene, the woman throws a can of Pepsi Max at his head but misses, hitting a white woman instead.  Amazingly, Eric Deggans, media critic for the St. Petersburg Times, blogged that the ad was a "toxic package" of "sexism, weird racial overtones and violence against women"6    (emphasis added).  No mention is made of the ad's depiction of intentional violence against men.

On June 13, 2011, in a segment entitled "Girls Rule, Boys Drool," New York City's popular NPR host Brian Lehrer interviewed Dan Abrams, legal analyst for Good Morning America and ABC News, to discuss his new book, Man Down: Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt That Women Are Better Cops, Drivers, Gamblers, Spies, World Leaders, Beer Tasters, Hedge Fund Managers, and Just About Everything Else7. Only on the KKK News Network could one imagine the reverse thesis being advanced, that men, on the whole, are better than women.

Saving the most appalling example for last, we turn to CBS's The Talk, the poor woman's version of ABC's The ViewThe Talk features a panel of women who discuss current events, including Sharon Osbourne, wife of ageless rockstar Ozzy Osbourne.  In his younger, more intoxicated years, he was known for biting the head off a bat and peeing on a monument at the Alamo.  But the offensiveness of his antics pales in comparison to Sharon Osbourne's behavior during a recent episode of The Talk.

Last month, on July 11, 2011, a 48-year old Californian woman, Catherine Kieu Becker, cut off her husband's penis, and, unlike Lorena Bobbitt, who threw her husband's penis into a field, threw it the garbage disposal unit and turned the unit on.  Osbourne, and most of her co-hosts, found the story hilarious.  Osbourne mimicked with her finger what she envisioned the penis looked like as it went down the garbage disposal, and called Becker's act "quite fabulous," adding: "Just imagine that thing whizzing around the disposal, it's like, hysterical."  She also made sure everyone knew that she lights candles by Lorena Bobbitt's picture.

To her credit, co-host Sara Gilbert, the executive producer of The Talk, pointed out the obvious double standard: "Not to be a total buzz kill, but it is a little bit sexist. If somebody cut a woman's breast off, nobody would be sitting laughing." Ms. Obourne's disagreed, however.  "It's different," she explained, because one is floppy and the other sticks up.  Well, there you have it.  Severed penises are comedy gold.

RADAR has had some modest success in reforming America's approach to the problem of domestic violence.  In fact, the perceived growing power of RADAR was a partial motivating factor for the 2009 hit piece published in Slate.com's Double X entitled: "Men's Rights Groups Have Become Frighteningly Effective". In the article, the author, Kathryn Joyce, incorrectly labels RADAR as a men's rights group and laments the effectiveness RADAR and other groups have had in advancing their views.

Truth be told, however, RADAR and other groups with similar concerns have, with a few exceptions here and there, actually been quite ineffective in stemming the tide of unjust and harmful domestic violence policies. In reflecting on our efforts to reform the nation's approach to solving domestic violence, RADAR has concluded that one major reason judges, prosecutors, and legislators have been unreceptive to our message is the pervasive effect that misandry in the media has on shaping their fundamental biases.

In support of her view that RADAR is frightening, Joyce simply states, incredulously, that RADAR believes "that false allegations are rampant, that a feminist-run court system fraudulently separates innocent fathers from children, that battered women's shelters are running a racket that funnels federal dollars to feminists, that domestic-violence laws give cover to cagey mail-order brides seeking Green Cards, and finally, that men are victims of an unrecognized epidemic of violence at the hands of abusive wives."  Joyce finds it so obvious that no right-thinking person could believe such things that she doesn't even bother to try to refute any of them.

Joyce's faith in the justice of the current system takes on a religious quality.  It is this kind of blind faith that RADAR must shatter before any meaningful reform will happen.

Going forward, RADAR will focus less on particular laws and more on the nation's anti-male culture.  RADAR plans to focus on the prevalence of misandry and the impact of misandry on the nation's approach to domestic violence.  RADAR will highlight the media's role in spreading misandry, with media broadly defined to include not just the print, radio, film and television industries but also the messages disseminated by the nations churches and education, including judicial training that often amounts to nothing more than misandristic indoctrination.

Thank you for your continued support.  With your help, we can change the culture.  Let's do it.


1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathanson_and_Young

2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_and_Lorena_Bobbitt#Arrest_and_trial

3 http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/matt-hadro/2010/12/29/cnn-reporter-gushes-lorena-bobbitt-are-you-finally-able-laugh-about-it#ixzz1Bv6duFBd

4 http://thestir.cafemom.com/entertainment/114581/bachelor_slap_condoned_by_gloria

5 http://www.examiner.com/tv-in-cincinnati/bachelor-brad-womack-says-slap-was-not-criminal-battery

6 http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/media/content/super-bowl-fail-halftime-show-and-ads-misfire-big-night-video

7 http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/2011/jun/13/girls-rule-boys-drool/




Date of RADAR Release: August 28, 2011

R.A.D.A.R. -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting -- is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's approach to solving domestic violence.  http://mediaradar.org
           



Copyright (c) 2005-2011. RADAR -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
4


RADAR ALERT: Misandry in the Media: RADAR Expands its Focus


Misandry, simply defined, is the pathological hatred of men and boys.  It is the analog to misogyny, but with the bigotry and rage targeted at males.

Paul Nathanson and Katherine K. Young, two scholars in the field of religious studies at McGill University in Montreal, popularized the word "misandry" in a series of books on the topic: Spreading Misandry: The Teaching of Contempt for Men in Popular Culture (2001); Legalizing Misandry: From Public Shame to Systemic Discrimination Against Men (2006); Sanctifying Misandry: Goddess Ideology and the Fall of Man (2010).

Nathanson and Young describe misandry as "a form of prejudice and discrimination that has become institutionalized in North American society, 'a collectively shared and culturally propagated worldview, not a personal emotion such as dislike or anger'"1.

As one would expect from the Nathanson and Young definition, misandry is propagated by the media. A vivid example of this occurred late last year on CNN, the self-proclaimed "Worldwide Leader in News." Interviewing the former Lorena Bobbitt (now using the name Lorena Gallo), who in in 1993 cut off her husband John's penis with a kitchen knife, CNN national correspondent Alina Cho displayed both a shocking disregard for John Bobbitt's ordeal and an appalling camaraderie with a woman who justified sexually mutilating her husband by telling the police, "He always have orgasm [sic], and he doesn't wait for me to have orgasm.  He's selfish."2

Quote from: ALINA CHO, national correspondent, CNN
Her name is Lorena Gallo, but back then on news programs and the subject of late-night comedians, she was Lorena Bobbitt. She's remembered as the wife who employed a – shall we say, dramatic – response to an abusive relationship with her then husband John Wayne-Bobbitt. But in the nearly two decades since then she started a new life. She's been in a long-term relationship, thirteen years strong. She has a five year-old daughter. And while she works as a part-time hairdresser and real estate agent, she says her true passion is counseling domestic violence victims through her organization.

(...)

Quote from: CHO
I have to ask you this. As you well know, there was a time when joking about the Bobbitts was a national pastime. I wonder after all of these years – are you finally able to laugh about it?

Quote from: LORENA BOBBITT (nee GALLO)
I finally am.  And it took a lot of time, it took a lot of years, and definitely a lot of – I went to psychologists, and thanks to the doctors, the therapies I'm here, and I'll be able to now basically start all over again and start a new relationship and have a family and basically I can laugh now3.

More recently, early this year, Brad Womack, returning to the reality show The Bachelor for a second season, was slapped by contestant Chantal O'Brian on the season premiere show.  Before slapping him, she told him: "I watched your season and I have something for you. It's not from me; it's from every woman in America"4. Remarkably, Mr. Womack later stated that while the slap was "very real and very hard," he "deserved it," presumably for his behavior in the previous season.  He explained the slap this way: "I think Chantal was trying to make a statement about my past behavior, and make a strong first impression, which she did."5

In the grand scheme of things, a slap to the face, even a hard one, is fairly trivial, but that the The Bachelor producers, Ms. O'Brian, and even Mr. Womack (male guilt?) believe it is acceptable behavior for a reality show contestant speaks volumes about the pervasive disregard for men's rights that currently exists in modern America.

During Super Bowl XLV, Pepsi Max ran an ad in which a black woman repeatedly abuses her black husband.  This is supposed to be funny. In the final scene, the woman throws a can of Pepsi Max at his head but misses, hitting a white woman instead.  Amazingly, Eric Deggans, media critic for the St. Petersburg Times, blogged that the ad was a "toxic package" of "sexism, weird racial overtones and violence against women"6    (emphasis added).  No mention is made of the ad's depiction of intentional violence against men.

On June 13, 2011, in a segment entitled "Girls Rule, Boys Drool," New York City's popular NPR host Brian Lehrer interviewed Dan Abrams, legal analyst for Good Morning America and ABC News, to discuss his new book, Man Down: Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt That Women Are Better Cops, Drivers, Gamblers, Spies, World Leaders, Beer Tasters, Hedge Fund Managers, and Just About Everything Else7. Only on the KKK News Network could one imagine the reverse thesis being advanced, that men, on the whole, are better than women.

Saving the most appalling example for last, we turn to CBS's The Talk, the poor woman's version of ABC's The ViewThe Talk features a panel of women who discuss current events, including Sharon Osbourne, wife of ageless rockstar Ozzy Osbourne.  In his younger, more intoxicated years, he was known for biting the head off a bat and peeing on a monument at the Alamo.  But the offensiveness of his antics pales in comparison to Sharon Osbourne's behavior during a recent episode of The Talk.

Last month, on July 11, 2011, a 48-year old Californian woman, Catherine Kieu Becker, cut off her husband's penis, and, unlike Lorena Bobbitt, who threw her husband's penis into a field, threw it the garbage disposal unit and turned the unit on.  Osbourne, and most of her co-hosts, found the story hilarious.  Osbourne mimicked with her finger what she envisioned the penis looked like as it went down the garbage disposal, and called Becker's act "quite fabulous," adding: "Just imagine that thing whizzing around the disposal, it's like, hysterical."  She also made sure everyone knew that she lights candles by Lorena Bobbitt's picture.

To her credit, co-host Sara Gilbert, the executive producer of The Talk, pointed out the obvious double standard: "Not to be a total buzz kill, but it is a little bit sexist. If somebody cut a woman's breast off, nobody would be sitting laughing." Ms. Obourne's disagreed, however.  "It's different," she explained, because one is floppy and the other sticks up.  Well, there you have it.  Severed penises are comedy gold.

RADAR has had some modest success in reforming America's approach to the problem of domestic violence.  In fact, the perceived growing power of RADAR was a partial motivating factor for the 2009 hit piece published in Slate.com's Double X entitled: "Men's Rights Groups Have Become Frighteningly Effective". In the article, the author, Kathryn Joyce, incorrectly labels RADAR as a men's rights group and laments the effectiveness RADAR and other groups have had in advancing their views.

Truth be told, however, RADAR and other groups with similar concerns have, with a few exceptions here and there, actually been quite ineffective in stemming the tide of unjust and harmful domestic violence policies. In reflecting on our efforts to reform the nation's approach to solving domestic violence, RADAR has concluded that one major reason judges, prosecutors, and legislators have been unreceptive to our message is the pervasive effect that misandry in the media has on shaping their fundamental biases.

In support of her view that RADAR is frightening, Joyce simply states, incredulously, that RADAR believes "that false allegations are rampant, that a feminist-run court system fraudulently separates innocent fathers from children, that battered women's shelters are running a racket that funnels federal dollars to feminists, that domestic-violence laws give cover to cagey mail-order brides seeking Green Cards, and finally, that men are victims of an unrecognized epidemic of violence at the hands of abusive wives."  Joyce finds it so obvious that no right-thinking person could believe such things that she doesn't even bother to try to refute any of them.

Joyce's faith in the justice of the current system takes on a religious quality.  It is this kind of blind faith that RADAR must shatter before any meaningful reform will happen.

Going forward, RADAR will focus less on particular laws and more on the nation's anti-male culture.  RADAR plans to focus on the prevalence of misandry and the impact of misandry on the nation's approach to domestic violence.  RADAR will highlight the media's role in spreading misandry, with media broadly defined to include not just the print, radio, film and television industries but also the messages disseminated by the nations churches and education, including judicial training that often amounts to nothing more than misandristic indoctrination.

Thank you for your continued support.  With your help, we can change the culture.  Let's do it.


1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathanson_and_Young

2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_and_Lorena_Bobbitt#Arrest_and_trial

3 http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/matt-hadro/2010/12/29/cnn-reporter-gushes-lorena-bobbitt-are-you-finally-able-laugh-about-it#ixzz1Bv6duFBd

4 http://thestir.cafemom.com/entertainment/114581/bachelor_slap_condoned_by_gloria

5 http://www.examiner.com/tv-in-cincinnati/bachelor-brad-womack-says-slap-was-not-criminal-battery

6 http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/media/content/super-bowl-fail-halftime-show-and-ads-misfire-big-night-video

7 http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/2011/jun/13/girls-rule-boys-drool/




Date of RADAR Release: August 28, 2011

R.A.D.A.R. -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting -- is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's approach to solving domestic violence.  http://mediaradar.org
           



Copyright (c) 2005-2011. RADAR -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
5


RADAR ALERT: Pioneering Domestic Violence Advocate Who Refused to Discriminate Leaves Lasting Legacy


TORRANCE, Calif., August 15, 2011 -- She changed the lives of thousands, perhaps millions, but few know her name.  Patricia Shanley Overberg, MSW, died of heart failure in Torrance, California, on August 11, 2011, with her children at her side.  Overberg, a native of Providence, Rhode Island, was 77.

With the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) due for reauthorization this year, Overberg's views on discrimination are particularly timely. Trained in an era before most social work programs adopted the philosophy that all domestic violence is rooted in patriarchy, she believed that family violence needs to be viewed holistically.  Her commitment to the principle of equal treatment for all informed everything she did.

Although most VAWA-funded battered women's shelters force mothers of boys over age 12 to place their sons in foster care or be denied entrance, Overberg refused to require mothers to choose between their own safety and their children's well-being.

When male victims, whether on their own or with their children, sought help, she didn't turn them away.  Overberg was director of the Valley Oasis Shelter in Lancaster, Calif. from 1989 through 1998.  During that time, Valley Oasis was the only shelter in the U.S. that men needing help could turn to.  Even today Valley Oasis remains one of the very few shelters in the U.S. that offers the same level of services to male as to female victims.

Overberg treated gay men and lesbians with the same respect and level of service accorded to everyone she helped.  She pioneered in bringing a transgendered volunteer on board at Valley Oasis.

Erin Pizzey, founder of the first modern battered women's shelter, says: "Pat was a brave, honest and courageous woman.  She faced persecution from her colleagues in the domestic violence field and fought back.  All of us who work at the coal face of human relationships owe Pat a great deal."

Because of Overberg's principled refusal to discriminate based on sex or sexual orientation, many of her peers treated her as a pariah.  In a 2002 sworn deposition, Overberg testified that she "was subjected to continuous abuse by other shelter directors for sheltering battered men." (http://www.ncfmla.org/pdf/overberg.pdf)

Undaunted, Overberg encouraged the National Coalition for Men (NCFM) to bring suit to end the discrimination against male victims of abuse and their children.  Helped by Overberg's testimony, NCFM won a landmark ruling that held it is unconstitutional for California to exclude male victims from state-funded domestic violence services. (David Woods v. Horton (2008) 167 Cal.App.4th 658, http://law.justia.com/cases/california/court-of-appeal/2008/c056072) The effects of this ruling are far-reaching.  All states are now on notice that equal protection clauses in constitutions mean what they say.  State funds cannot be used to support agencies that discriminate on the basis of gender.

Overberg's legacy lives on for all victims of domestic violence and in efforts to provide equal access to services for people everywhere.

Contact:

Stanley Green
202-341-0704
[email protected]


Note: Contributions in Pat's memory may be sent to:

Valley Oasis Shelter
P.O. Box 2980
Lancaster, CA 93539




Date of RADAR Release: August 15, 2011

R.A.D.A.R. -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting -- is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's approach to solving domestic violence.  http://mediaradar.org
           



Copyright (c) 2005-2011. RADAR -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
6


RADAR ALERT: Pioneering Domestic Violence Advocate Who Refused to Discriminate Leaves Lasting Legacy


TORRANCE, Calif., August 15, 2011 -- She changed the lives of thousands, perhaps millions, but few know her name.  Patricia Shanley Overberg, MSW, died of heart failure in Torrance, California, on August 11, 2011, with her children at her side.  Overberg, a native of Providence, Rhode Island, was 77.

With the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) due for reauthorization this year, Overberg's views on discrimination are particularly timely. Trained in an era before most social work programs adopted the philosophy that all domestic violence is rooted in patriarchy, she believed that family violence needs to be viewed holistically.  Her commitment to the principle of equal treatment for all informed everything she did.

Although most VAWA-funded battered women's shelters force mothers of boys over age 12 to place their sons in foster care or be denied entrance, Overberg refused to require mothers to choose between their own safety and their children's well-being.

When male victims, whether on their own or with their children, sought help, she didn't turn them away.  Overberg was director of the Valley Oasis Shelter in Lancaster, Calif. from 1989 through 1998.  During that time, Valley Oasis was the only shelter in the U.S. that men needing help could turn to.  Even today Valley Oasis remains one of the very few shelters in the U.S. that offers the same level of services to male as to female victims.

Overberg treated gay men and lesbians with the same respect and level of service accorded to everyone she helped.  She pioneered in bringing a transgendered volunteer on board at Valley Oasis.

Erin Pizzey, founder of the first modern battered women's shelter, says: "Pat was a brave, honest and courageous woman.  She faced persecution from her colleagues in the domestic violence field and fought back.  All of us who work at the coal face of human relationships owe Pat a great deal."

Because of Overberg's principled refusal to discriminate based on sex or sexual orientation, many of her peers treated her as a pariah.  In a 2002 sworn deposition, Overberg testified that she "was subjected to continuous abuse by other shelter directors for sheltering battered men." (http://www.ncfmla.org/pdf/overberg.pdf)

Undaunted, Overberg encouraged the National Coalition for Men (NCFM) to bring suit to end the discrimination against male victims of abuse and their children.  Helped by Overberg's testimony, NCFM won a landmark ruling that held it is unconstitutional for California to exclude male victims from state-funded domestic violence services. (David Woods v. Horton (2008) 167 Cal.App.4th 658, http://law.justia.com/cases/california/court-of-appeal/2008/c056072) The effects of this ruling are far-reaching.  All states are now on notice that equal protection clauses in constitutions mean what they say.  State funds cannot be used to support agencies that discriminate on the basis of gender.

Overberg's legacy lives on for all victims of domestic violence and in efforts to provide equal access to services for people everywhere.

Contact:

Stanley Green
202-341-0704
[email protected]


Note: Contributions in Pat's memory may be sent to:

Valley Oasis Shelter
P.O. Box 2980
Lancaster, CA 93539




Date of RADAR Release: August 15, 2011

R.A.D.A.R. -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting -- is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's approach to solving domestic violence.  http://mediaradar.org
           



Copyright (c) 2005-2011. RADAR -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
7


RADAR ALERT: RADAR's New Signature Report: "Erring on the Side of Hidden Harm"




RADAR is proud to announce a new line of reports, the RADAR Signature Reports.  Unlike RADAR's Special Reports, the RADAR Signature Reports will be attributed to particular authors.  RADAR invites writers of journal-quality material to submit articles for consideration.

The first report in this new series is "Erring on the Side of Hidden Harm: The Granting of Domestic Violence Restraining Orders," by David N. Heleniak, Esq. (http://www.mediaradar.org/docs/RADARsignatureReport-ErringOnTheSideOfHiddenHarm.pdf)  The article, originally published in the journal Partner Abuse, argues the following:

"In deciding whether to enter a domestic violence restraining order, many judges think about their careers in addition to the merits of the cases before them. While the damage to parent-child relationships and to children's mental health caused by the overzealous entering of restraining orders is seldom if ever reported by the media, the harm caused by overtly violent acts following the failure to enter restraining orders most certainly is. In regards to restraining orders, the phrase 'erring on the side of caution' is often invoked. It is more accurate, however, to characterize the judge's behavior as 'erring on the side of hidden harm.' Rather than judges, juries — one time judicial actors — should decide when domestic violence restraining orders are warranted."

Please read the report and share it with anyone you think might find it interesting.

Thank you for your continued support.




Date of RADAR Release: August 3, 2010

R.A.D.A.R. -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting -- is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's approach to solving domestic violence.  http://www.mediaradar.org
           



Copyright (c) 2005-2010. RADAR -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
8


RADAR ALERT: RADAR's New Signature Report: "Erring on the Side of Hidden Harm"




RADAR is proud to announce a new line of reports, the RADAR Signature Reports.  Unlike RADAR's Special Reports, the RADAR Signature Reports will be attributed to particular authors.  RADAR invites writers of journal-quality material to submit articles for consideration.

The first report in this new series is "Erring on the Side of Hidden Harm: The Granting of Domestic Violence Restraining Orders," by David N. Heleniak, Esq. (http://www.mediaradar.org/docs/RADARsignatureReport-ErringOnTheSideOfHiddenHarm.pdf)  The article, originally published in the journal Partner Abuse, argues the following:

"In deciding whether to enter a domestic violence restraining order, many judges think about their careers in addition to the merits of the cases before them. While the damage to parent-child relationships and to children's mental health caused by the overzealous entering of restraining orders is seldom if ever reported by the media, the harm caused by overtly violent acts following the failure to enter restraining orders most certainly is. In regards to restraining orders, the phrase 'erring on the side of caution' is often invoked. It is more accurate, however, to characterize the judge's behavior as 'erring on the side of hidden harm.' Rather than judges, juries — one time judicial actors — should decide when domestic violence restraining orders are warranted."

Please read the report and share it with anyone you think might find it interesting.

Thank you for your continued support.




Date of RADAR Release: August 3, 2010

R.A.D.A.R. -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting -- is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's approach to solving domestic violence.  http://www.mediaradar.org
           



Copyright (c) 2005-2010. RADAR -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
9


RADAR ALERT: NPR Gives Raped Males The Unworthy Victim Treatment




Last week, June 23, Attorney General Eric Holder missed the deadline for issuing standards to prevent prison rape.1

Men being raped in prison is so accepted by mainstream America that Saturday Night Live's writers saw nothing wrong with doing 4-1/2 minutes of ass-rape jokes in a sketch called "Scared Straight" that ended with Betty White saying emphatically, "Wizard of Ass"!2  Blogger Scott Starnes states the attitude explicitly.  Under a graphic stating "Ass-Rape: It's Always Funny," Starnes asks: "Who honestly cares about criminals being ass-raped in prison?"3

Ignorant callousness is an obvious problem for reformers trying to eliminate prison rape.  But an even more insidious problem is the media's treatment of male victims as unworthy of concern, as NPR's Morning Edition recently did.4.  NPR chose to ignore the fact that 90% of incarcerated individuals are male, and instead focused their story solely on a female-prisoner's experience of prison-rape.  This form of bias is so subtle that most listeners won't even notice it.  But it is a classic example of the very media bias described by Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman in their book  Manufacturing Consent5, in which they write:
Quote
"Our hypothesis is that worthy victims will be featured prominently and dramatically, that they will be humanized, and that their victimization will receive the detail and context in story construction that will generate reader interest and sympathetic emotion. In contrast, unworthy victims will merit only slight detail, minimal humanization, and little context that will excite and enrage."


NPR's decision to focus solely on a female victim's experience demonstrates that they view female rape victims as "worthy" and male victims as "unworthy."  And their mischaracterizing the issue will inevitably lead to stronger protections for female inmates and weaker or non-existent protections for the vast majority of inmates -- the male inmates.

Society's indifference to male victimization helps explain why the Department of Justice can't get its act together to come up with standards that are already pretty well known.  Columnist Robert Franklin summarizes the DoJ's cynical attitude about missing the deadline as, "Why bother?  It's mostly men who are abused, right?"6

Cultural assumptions play an important role in the creation of public policy.  And a subtly biased story coming from a mainstream media outlet like NPR is far more effective in propagating and perpetuating bias than anything an obviously biased blogger like Scott Starnes could come out with.  Therefore, efforts at exposing subtle bias and trying to correct it are essential to RADAR's mission to reform the nation's domestic violence laws.

Kindly contact Morning Edition

http://help.npr.org/npr/includes/customer/npr/custforms/contactus.aspx?sid=1

and ask them to do a follow-up story on the DoJ's failure to issue standards for the prevention of prison rape.  Let them know that their listeners want them to treat male victims as equally worthy of sympathy as female victims.  In Chomsky and Herman's words, the suffering of male victims should be featured prominently and dramatically, the male victims should be humanized just as NPR's stories have done for female victims, and stories on male victims should give sufficient detail and context to generate reader interest and sympathetic emotion.

When you contact NPR, please be polite.

1 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lovisa-stannow/attorney-general-misses-h_b_622777.html
2 http://www.hulu.com/embed/Jg9atJtz6ba4_jem0HfKUw
3 http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/2010/06/14/doj-lead-by-ag-eric-holder-is-worried-about-ass-rape-in-prison-system
4 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127376570
5 http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Herman%20/Manufac_Consent_Prop_Model.html
6 http://glennsacks.com/blog/?p=4841




Date of RADAR Release: June 29, 2010

R.A.D.A.R. -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting -- is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's approach to solving domestic violence.  http://www.mediaradar.org
           



Copyright (c) 2005-2010. RADAR -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

       
10


RADAR ALERT: NPR Gives Raped Males The Unworthy Victim Treatment




Last week, June 23, Attorney General Eric Holder missed the deadline for issuing standards to prevent prison rape.1

Men being raped in prison is so accepted by mainstream America that Saturday Night Live's writers saw nothing wrong with doing 4-1/2 minutes of ass-rape jokes in a sketch called "Scared Straight" that ended with Betty White saying emphatically, "Wizard of Ass"!2  Blogger Scott Starnes states the attitude explicitly.  Under a graphic stating "Ass-Rape: It's Always Funny," Starnes asks: "Who honestly cares about criminals being ass-raped in prison?"3

Ignorant callousness is an obvious problem for reformers trying to eliminate prison rape.  But an even more insidious problem is the media's treatment of male victims as unworthy of concern, as NPR's Morning Edition recently did.4.  NPR chose to ignore the fact that 90% of incarcerated individuals are male, and instead focused their story solely on a female-prisoner's experience of prison-rape.  This form of bias is so subtle that most listeners won't even notice it.  But it is a classic example of the very media bias described by Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman in their book  Manufacturing Consent5, in which they write:
Quote
"Our hypothesis is that worthy victims will be featured prominently and dramatically, that they will be humanized, and that their victimization will receive the detail and context in story construction that will generate reader interest and sympathetic emotion. In contrast, unworthy victims will merit only slight detail, minimal humanization, and little context that will excite and enrage."


NPR's decision to focus solely on a female victim's experience demonstrates that they view female rape victims as "worthy" and male victims as "unworthy."  And their mischaracterizing the issue will inevitably lead to stronger protections for female inmates and weaker or non-existent protections for the vast majority of inmates -- the male inmates.

Society's indifference to male victimization helps explain why the Department of Justice can't get its act together to come up with standards that are already pretty well known.  Columnist Robert Franklin summarizes the DoJ's cynical attitude about missing the deadline as, "Why bother?  It's mostly men who are abused, right?"6

Cultural assumptions play an important role in the creation of public policy.  And a subtly biased story coming from a mainstream media outlet like NPR is far more effective in propagating and perpetuating bias than anything an obviously biased blogger like Scott Starnes could come out with.  Therefore, efforts at exposing subtle bias and trying to correct it are essential to RADAR's mission to reform the nation's domestic violence laws.

Kindly contact Morning Edition

http://help.npr.org/npr/includes/customer/npr/custforms/contactus.aspx?sid=1

and ask them to do a follow-up story on the DoJ's failure to issue standards for the prevention of prison rape.  Let them know that their listeners want them to treat male victims as equally worthy of sympathy as female victims.  In Chomsky and Herman's words, the suffering of male victims should be featured prominently and dramatically, the male victims should be humanized just as NPR's stories have done for female victims, and stories on male victims should give sufficient detail and context to generate reader interest and sympathetic emotion.

When you contact NPR, please be polite.

1 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lovisa-stannow/attorney-general-misses-h_b_622777.html
2 http://www.hulu.com/embed/Jg9atJtz6ba4_jem0HfKUw
3 http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/2010/06/14/doj-lead-by-ag-eric-holder-is-worried-about-ass-rape-in-prison-system
4 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127376570
5 http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Herman%20/Manufac_Consent_Prop_Model.html
6 http://glennsacks.com/blog/?p=4841




Date of RADAR Release: June 29, 2010

R.A.D.A.R. -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting -- is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's approach to solving domestic violence.  http://www.mediaradar.org
           



Copyright (c) 2005-2010. RADAR -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

       
11


RADAR ALERT: The "Scalping Politicians" Email Is Not From RADAR




It has come to our attention that an email that was neither composed nor approved by RADAR is being circulated over the signature "RADAR."  The email states, "When our target politician loses on November 2, we wave around the person's scalp, to send an indelible message to other politicians that they'd better get serious about VAWA reform."

Inflammatory language like this is anathema to RADAR's philosophy.  In order for a demoracy to function properly, it is essential that people who hold different opinions be able to talk to each other and try to convince each other with solidly-backed, reasoned arguments.  We cannot expect politicians to listen to us unless we respect their right to their own beliefs.  RADAR never threatens to "wave around" anyone's scalp.

Was RADAR's name attached to this email by a misguided supporter or by someone who wanted to discredit us?  There's no way for us to know.  But just in case it's the former, we'd like to ask our supporters to refrain from attaching our name to anything we haven't approved.  Any email whose "From" header doesn't contain the domain mediaradar.org is most likely not from RADAR.  If you have any doubts, check with us at [email protected].  Thank you all for your support.




Date of RADAR Release: May 17, 2010

R.A.D.A.R. -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting -- is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's approach to solving domestic violence.  http://mediaradar.org
           



Copyright (c) 2005-2010. RADAR -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
12


RADAR ALERT: The "Scalping Politicians" Email Is Not From RADAR




It has come to our attention that an email that was neither composed nor approved by RADAR is being circulated over the signature "RADAR."  The email states, "When our target politician loses on November 2, we wave around the person's scalp, to send an indelible message to other politicians that they'd better get serious about VAWA reform."

Inflammatory language like this is anathema to RADAR's philosophy.  In order for a demoracy to function properly, it is essential that people who hold different opinions be able to talk to each other and try to convince each other with solidly-backed, reasoned arguments.  We cannot expect politicians to listen to us unless we respect their right to their own beliefs.  RADAR never threatens to "wave around" anyone's scalp.

Was RADAR's name attached to this email by a misguided supporter or by someone who wanted to discredit us?  There's no way for us to know.  But just in case it's the former, we'd like to ask our supporters to refrain from attaching our name to anything we haven't approved.  Any email whose "From" header doesn't contain the domain mediaradar.org is most likely not from RADAR.  If you have any doubts, check with us at [email protected].  Thank you all for your support.




Date of RADAR Release: May 17, 2010

R.A.D.A.R. -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting -- is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's approach to solving domestic violence.  http://mediaradar.org
           



Copyright (c) 2005-2010. RADAR -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
13


RADAR ALERT: A Weird Story Gets Weirder -- Ever-Expanding Definitions Of Abuse


Last month England's Daily Mail reported that New Jersey resident Donna Simpson was determined to become the world's fattest woman (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1257850/Super-sized-mother-determined-worlds-fattest-woman-years.html).

Already 600 lbs at the age of 42, the stay-at-home mom of a three year old girl wants gain 400 lbs in the next two years, reaching her goal weight of 1000 lbs and thereby breaking the Guinness World Record for female fatness.  He husband, a 150lb "belly man," is completely supportive of her pursuit.

On March 20, 2010, an outraged Renee Martin blogged that Simpson's husband isn't just a chubby chaser, he's an abuser.  "Abuse can take many forms and it often goes unremarked upon, or else wrongly labelled. The nature of the power dynamic between the feeder/feedee removes agency and therefore eliminates culpability. Just as it is highly unreasonable to blame the victim of domestic violence for their bruises, so too is it unconscionable to blame the feedee for over eating."

Ms. Martin's take on the story is wrong for three reasons.  First, and most importantly, by stretching the definition of domestic violence to include the encouragement of overeating, she diminishes the suffering of real victims of domestic violence.  Secondly, she infantilizes Donna Simpson, that is, she treats her as an unconscious automaton who has no role to play in her efforts to gain weight.  Lastly, she places Simpson's husband in a no-win position.  What if he chastised her for wanting to gain more weight, or was simply indifferent?  Wouldn't that make him an unsupportive bastard?  Isn't that abuse under an expansive definition of domestic violence?

The story of one woman's quest to become the fattest woman in the world and the accompanying question of whether her husband is an abuser for encouraging her to reach her goal is perfect for talk radio, both on the left and the right of the political spectrum.  Please contact your favorite radio talk show and tell them about the controversy.  If you can, please send them a copy of our report, Expanding Definitions of Domestic Violence, Vanishing Rule of Law (http://www.mediaradar.org/docs/RADARreport-Vanishing-Rule-of-Law.pdf).

Thanks for your help.




Date of RADAR Release: April 20, 2010

R.A.D.A.R. -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting -- is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's approach to solving domestic violence.  http://mediaradar.org
           



Copyright (c) 2005-2010. RADAR -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
14


RADAR ALERT: A Weird Story Gets Weirder -- Ever-Expanding Definitions Of Abuse


Last month England's Daily Mail reported that New Jersey resident Donna Simpson was determined to become the world's fattest woman (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1257850/Super-sized-mother-determined-worlds-fattest-woman-years.html).

Already 600 lbs at the age of 42, the stay-at-home mom of a three year old girl wants gain 400 lbs in the next two years, reaching her goal weight of 1000 lbs and thereby breaking the Guinness World Record for female fatness.  He husband, a 150lb "belly man," is completely supportive of her pursuit.

On March 20, 2010, an outraged Renee Martin blogged that Simpson's husband isn't just a chubby chaser, he's an abuser.  "Abuse can take many forms and it often goes unremarked upon, or else wrongly labelled. The nature of the power dynamic between the feeder/feedee removes agency and therefore eliminates culpability. Just as it is highly unreasonable to blame the victim of domestic violence for their bruises, so too is it unconscionable to blame the feedee for over eating."

Ms. Martin's take on the story is wrong for three reasons.  First, and most importantly, by stretching the definition of domestic violence to include the encouragement of overeating, she diminishes the suffering of real victims of domestic violence.  Secondly, she infantilizes Donna Simpson, that is, she treats her as an unconscious automaton who has no role to play in her efforts to gain weight.  Lastly, she places Simpson's husband in a no-win position.  What if he chastised her for wanting to gain more weight, or was simply indifferent?  Wouldn't that make him an unsupportive bastard?  Isn't that abuse under an expansive definition of domestic violence?

The story of one woman's quest to become the fattest woman in the world and the accompanying question of whether her husband is an abuser for encouraging her to reach her goal is perfect for talk radio, both on the left and the right of the political spectrum.  Please contact your favorite radio talk show and tell them about the controversy.  If you can, please send them a copy of our report, Expanding Definitions of Domestic Violence, Vanishing Rule of Law (http://www.mediaradar.org/docs/RADARreport-Vanishing-Rule-of-Law.pdf).

Thanks for your help.




Date of RADAR Release: April 20, 2010

R.A.D.A.R. -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting -- is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's approach to solving domestic violence.  http://mediaradar.org
           



Copyright (c) 2005-2010. RADAR -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
15


RADAR ALERT: McGill University Student Newspaper Smears RADAR


In December, The McGill Tribune, published by the McGill University Students' Society, printed an article (included below) that made false statements about RADAR (Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting). A few days later, the Tribune's editor promised to retract the most offensive claim.  But even with that claim retracted, the article still paints a misleading portrait of RADAR.  So he also said he might consider publishing an op-ed by RADAR to correct the other misinformation about the reasons RADAR exists.

RADAR did submit a response, but of necessity it was much longer than the Tribune's length limit for an op-ed.  That's because the information RADAR knows about is not common knowledge, so for us to simply state a position without backing it up with facts would not make a credible case.  After weeks of inquiries as to whether or not the Tribune will be publishing our response, we learned just recently that they will not.

Here's the article the Tribune will not be printing.




Why RADAR Is Needed
Mark Rosenthal Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting (RADAR)


The 12/1/2009 article www.mcgilltribune.com/media/storage/paper234/news/2009/12/01/Opinion/Off-The.Board.The.Fight.For.Mens.Rights-3842224.shtml]"OFF THE BOARD: The fight for men's rights"[/url]1 by Carolyn Gregoire repeated claims about RADAR (Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting) from an article in Slate.com's DoubleX.  Although the DoubleX article contained more misrepresentation than fact, at least that author interviewed her subjects.  Ms. Gregiore not only failed to do that, but also added embellishments of her own, which caused the Tribune's editor to append an apology.  This article was composed to counter the misrepresentation and enlighten the Tribune's readers about what RADAR is really all about, but the Tribune has declined to publish it.

First of all, we are not a Men's Rights group, as those working against us like to claim.  As our mission statement says, RADAR is dedicated to improving the effectiveness of solutions to the problem of domestic violence.  RADAR has always been as concerned about women abused by the system as about men.  If we seem to be advocating more for men than for women, that's a reflection of the ways that DV policies are badly broken, not a reflection of our underlying philosophy.

On a personal note, I must object to the statement, "RADAR chooses to undermine the prevalence of rape and domestic violence against women." Far from wishing to deny women protection, one of my primary motivations is to see to it that no other children suffer the fate that befell my sister – a matter I've touched on in many of my compositions,2 most notably "Don't Put Your Trust In Movements"3.

Due to decades of one-sided reporting on domestic violence, explaining the issues RADAR is concerned about often feels like telling someone, "Everything you know is wrong!"  In fact, DV policy in the U.S. (and Canada too) is not the solution its supporters claim.  All too often, it causes harm even as it fails to help those it purports to help.

Shelters are not the refuges from abuse that people think

Many shelters keep their beds full by taking in alcoholics and drug abusers who often place other residents at risk.  In Florida, Milaus Almore was killed by a knife-wielding shelter resident.  Shelter staff had ignored reports of earlier death threats made by the killer4.

In Massachusetts, Nev Moore's nightmare was not the time her husband got drunk and pushed her during an argument.  It was a year later when the Massachusetts DSS used that incident as an excuse to seize her 8-year-old daughter and coerce the mother to attend a battered women's support group under threat of permanent loss of her child.  Moore says the group's facilitators "encouraged women to stay stuck in the victim mentality"5, and that the primary motivation is not to help the women heal and move on with their lives, but to maximize the shelter's income.

One Ontario abuse victim describes how she and other residents were subjected to sexual advances by the staff6, and penalized by the staff for spurning their advances.  (Watch 33:20-36:04)Exposing the morally corrupt women's shelter industry ONE VIDEO AT A TIME!

Canadian immigration sent a Russian immigrant who was not abused to a battered women's shelter for the free food and lodging.  This woman also reports being sexually preyed upon by the shelter staff7. (Watch 16:46-20:15) Exposing the women's shelter industry ONE VIDEO AT A TIME!

A little girl who stayed at a battered women's shelter with her mother found the shelter itself to be a violent place8. (Watch 5:55-8:28) Exposing the morally corrupt women's shelter industry - one video at a time! A child's perspective.

Safeguards against false claims have been weakened to the point of virtual non-existence

In 2005, Coleen Nestler filed for a restraining order against David Letterman, claiming Letterman had used code-words, gestures, and "eye expressions" on his nationally televised show to send messages to Nestler alone. Her application9 asked the court to order Letterman not to "Think of me, and RELEASE ME from his mental harassment & hammering."  Despite the absurdity of the claims, Judge Daniel Sanchez granted the order.  When asked by a reporter if he might have made a mistake, he stated that he had read Nestler's application10. Sanchez is no ordinary judge. He's Chairman of the Northern New Mexico Domestic Violence Task Force11.  Sanchez' actions are the model that other judges look to when deciding the appropriate way to handle an obviously absurd accusation.

In the Letterman case, the accuser was clearly out of touch with reality.  But what happens when unscrupulous people simply want the benefits the government intends for the abused. A recent New York Times article12 headlined "Domestic Abuse Fraud: It's Rarely Suspected and Rarely Detected" reported on women who lied about having been abused in order to move to the front of the subsidized housing queue.  Without providing any evidence to back the claim, the article asserts that such cases are rare.  At the same time, the article also quotes a shelter director admitting that the system is not set up to catch people committing fraud, so they can't possibly know that cases like this are rare.  If getting a break on housing costs is enough to induce some women to lie about being abused, there can be little doubt that the many benefits intended for women who truly have been abused also induce unscrupulous non-abused women to falsely accuse innocent men.

In his article "Erring on the Side of Hidden Harm"13 N.J. attorney David Heleniak explains that in addition to the merits of any particular restraining order application, judges worry about the potential damage to their careers if their name should end up in the headlines because they denied a restraining order and the applicant was later harmed.  A restraining order often physically prevents children from having access to their father except under supervised visitation, an unnatural setting that clearly tells the child that their father is a dangerous person.  Princeton Sociology Professor Sara McLanahan has found that "Father absence clearly diminishes a child's prospects for success in adult life."14 So, when judges issue thousands of unnecessary restraining orders against innocent fathers, they're not "erring on the side of safety" as they claim.  They're choosing the harm that won't damage their careers over the harm that will.

Honest And Objective Scientific Research Has Been Warped To Produce Politically Desired Results

Fields of study like sociology and psychology are much more difficult to quantify than fields like physics and chemistry, making it much easier for "researchers" with an agenda to manipulate the results. Unfortunately, such manipulation is commonplace in domestic violence research.

One researcher who strives to hold himself and his field of study to a higher standard is Murray Straus, one of the world's leading authorities on family violence.  His work from the early 1970s onward is what made the study of family violence a legitimate topic for scientific research.  Straus recently published "Processes Explaining the Concealment and Distortion of Evidence on Gender Symmetry in Partner Violence"15 which lists the following ways he's seen researchers distort DV research over the past 40 years:
  • Suppress Evidence
  • Avoid Obtaining Data Inconsistent with the Patriarchal Dominance Theory
  • Cite Only Studies That Show Male Perpetration
  • Conclude That Results Support Feminist Beliefs When They Do Not
  • Create "Evidence" by Citation
  • Obstruct Publication of Articles and Obstruct Funding Research That Might Contradict the Idea that Male Dominance Is the Cause of Partner Violence
  • Harass, Threaten, and Penalize Researchers Who Produce Evidence That Contradicts Feminist Beliefs


Straus concludes the article:
Quote
"Finally, it was painful for me as feminist to write this commentary. I have done so for two reasons. First, I am also a scientist and, for this issue, my scientific commitments overrode my feminist commitments. Perhaps even more important, I believe that the safety and well being of women requires efforts to end violence by women and the option to treat partner violence in some cases as a problem of psychopathology, or in the great majority of cases, as a family system problem."


In 1975 and 1985, Straus worked with Richard Gelles, and Suzanne Steinmetz to conduct the National Family Violence Survey for the National Institute of Health.  Gelles, now Dean of the School of Social Policy & Practice at the University of Pennsylvania, recalls16:
Quote
"The response to our finding that the rate of female-to-male family violence was equal to the rate of male-to-female violence not only produced heated scholarly criticism, but intense and long-lasting personal attacks.  All three of us received death threats.  Bomb threats were phoned in to conference centers and buildings where we were scheduled to present.  Suzanne received the brunt of the attacks - individuals wrote and called her university urging that she be denied tenure; calls were made and letters were written to government agencies urging that her grant funding be rescinded."


Univ. of British Columbia Psychology Professor Donald Dutton is world-reknowned in the field of spousal violence, and has served as an expert witness in family violence cases, including testifying for the prosecution in the O.J. Simpson trial.  In his article "Transforming a flawed policy: A call to revive psychology and science in domestic violence research and practice"17 Dutton criticizes the theory (known as the Duluth Model) that all domestic violence is a product of "patriarchal beliefs".  He writes (p. 477)
Quote
"It is unfortunate that a once pioneering model has become an impediment to effective program and criminal justice responses to domestic violence.  ... The Duluth model ... maintains that unlike the bulk of similar aggressive criminal behaviors (e.g., assault, child abuse, elder abuse), violence perpetrated toward women is influenced in no way by social marginalization or psychosocial deficits, but rather is solely a product of gender privilege."


Dutton concludes:
Quote
"Those with continued allegiance to the patriarchal view should stand back and ask themselves if their primary motivation is to advance the safety of women and families or to preserve a self-interested political stance."


Discrimination

The OFF THE BOARD article accuses RADAR of attempting "to take funding away from 'discriminatory' women's-only shelters, rather than fighting for resources for male victims of domestic violence and sexual harassment". Had the writer done her homework, she'd have discovered that people have been "fighting for resources for male victims of domestic violence" for decades, and for just as long it's been the people running the women's shelters who've been playing the role of George Wallace standing in the schoolhouse door. Since the late 1970s, women-only shelters have used their huge political clout to prevent the allocation of any resources for male victims, and have made it impossible for men in need of help to find any help.

One example of this is the experience of Pat Overberg, who ran the Valley Oasis Shelter (VOS) outside L.A. for much of the 1980s and 1990s.  In a 2002 affidavit18, she recounts the hostile and unprofessional way she was treated by directors of other shelters for the transgression of offering help to men as well as women.  VOS was the only shelter in the nation that offered help to men, so many men traveled great distances to get help. Overberg states, "During my tenure as director of VOS I was subjected to continuous abuse by other directors for sheltering battered men." At a government-sponsored fact-finding meeting, the chairwoman, who was also director of a battered women's shelter tried to silence Overberg whenever she raised the issue of the need to provide services for battered men.  And although every other issue discussed in the meeting made it into the minutes, the minutes contained no indication that the issue had even been raised.

Besides their long history of obstructing the provision of help to battered men, existing battered women's programs' insistence on believing that women can never be abusive causes them to empower such women rather than giving them appropriate treatment, thereby putting the children of abusive mothers in grave danger.

Conclusion

RADAR is concerned about serious issues.  We're hardly the caricature of intolerance that Ms. Gregoire portrays us as.  Far from it. RADAR's primary concern is that interventions are too often ineffective, inappropriate, or both.  The help offered to victims encourages them to stay stuck in a victim mentality rather than to heal.  The innocent are as likely to be penalized as the guilty.  And too many service providers are handsomely compensated for peddling snake-oil.

As our mission statement says, RADAR is dedicated to improving the effectiveness of solutions to the problem of domestic violence.


1 "OFF THE BOARD: The fight for men's rights" , Carolyn Gregoire, McGill Tribune, Dec. 1, 2009, www.mcgilltribune.com/media/storage/paper234/news/2009/12/01/Opinion/Off-The.Board.The.Fight.For.Mens.Rights-3842224.shtml] LINK ]http://media.www.mcgilltribune.com/media/storage/paper234/news/2009/12/01/Opinion/Off-The.Board.The.Fight.For.Mens.Rights-3842224.shtml] Link
2 Mark's Personal Writings, http://www.breakingthescience.org/#personal
3 "Don't Put Your Trust In Movements", http://www.breakingthescience.org/DontPutYourTrustInMovements.php
4 Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Safespace, Inc. Homicide Incident, Management Review, http://web.tcpalm.com/2007/11/10/safespace.pdf
5 Inside A 'Batterers Program' for 'Abused' Women, http://www.ifeminists.net/introduction/editorials/2003/0729moore.html
6 Interview with former resident of Ontario battered women's shelter discussing being subjected to sexual advances by the shelter staff. Watch 33 min. 20 sec. to 36 min. 4 sec., www. vimeo .com/745927
7 Interview with Russian immigrant sent by Canadian immigration to a battered women's shelter for the free food and lodging discussing being sexually preyed upon by the shelter staff. Watch 16 min. 46 sec. to 20 min. 15 sec., www. vimeo .com/790290
8 Interview with young shelter resident. Watch 5 min. 55 sec. to 8 min. 28 sec., www. vimeo .com/864606
9 Colleen Nestler vs. David Letterman, Application for a Restraining Order, http://volokh.com/files/lettermanapp.pdf
10 Letterman lawyers: End Santa Fe claim, Santa Fe New Mexican, Dec. 21, 2005, http://web.archive.org/web/20060101201517/http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/36651.html
11 Judge Daniel Sanchez, State of New Mexico, First Judicial District Court, Division VII, http://firstdistrictcourt.com/Division%207.htm
12 Domestic Abuse Fraud: It's Rarely Suspected and Rarely Detected, New York Times, p. A28, October 23, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/23/nyregion/23domestic.html
13 Erring on the Side of Hidden Harm, David Heleniak, Associated Content, March 20, 2007, http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/175557/erring_on_the_side_of_hidden_harm_the.html
14 Father Absence and the Welfare of Children, Sara McLanahan, MacArthur Research Network on the Family and the Economy, http://apps.olin.wustl.edu/macarthur/working%20papers/wp-mclanahan2.htm
15 Processes Explaining the Concealment and Distortion of Evidence on Gender Symmetry in Partner Violence, Murray Straus, European Journal of Criminal Policy Research, 2007, pp. 13:227-232, http://pubpages.unh.edu/~mas2/V74-gender-symmetry-with-gramham-Kevan-Method%208-.pdf
16 The Missing Persons of Domestic Violence: Battered Men, Richard J Gelles, The Women's Quarterly, 1999, Independent Women's Forum, http://breakingthescience.org/RichardGelles_MissingPersonsOfDV.php
17 Transforming a flawed policy: A call to revive psychology and science in domestic violence research and practice, Donald G. Dutton & Kenneth Corvo, Aggression and Violent Behavior, 2006, pp. 457-483, http://www.mediaradar.org/docs/Dutton_Corvo-Transforming-flawed-policy.pdf
18 Affidavit of Patricia Overberg, MSW, Nov. 1, 2002, http://www.ncfmla.org/pdf/overberg.pdf




Here is the article showing how it originally appeared and the changes made after RADAR contacted the editor.

The McGill Tribune, 12/1/2009
OFF THE BOARD: The fight for men's rights
by Carolyn Gregoire


Discrimination against men has, understandably perhaps, never occupied a prominent position on the feminist agenda. Recently, however, the rise of the men's rights movement has led men's rights groups and feminists alike to call issues specific to male identity into question. A recent article on Slate's women-oriented webzine DoubleX entitled "Men's Rights Groups are Becoming Frighteningly Effective" has spurred contentious debate extending beyond the feminist blogosphere as to whether feminism should encompass issues of men's rights.

The article was triggered by the actions of men's activist group RADAR (Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting) who gathered in Washington this October to lobby against issues such as false allegations of rape and domestic violence, unrecognized domestic violence against men, and child custody rights for divorced fathers.

Many women, and not only those who identify as feminists, are outraged by the measures these groups have taken. Rather than addressing the negative impact that patriarchy and gender stereotypes have on men and calling for change, RADAR chooses instead to undermine the prevalence of rape and domestic violence against women. Relying on hyperbolic claims and sensationalism - suggesting, for instance, that domestic violence laws represent "the largest regression in civil rights since the Jim Crow era" - RADAR succeeded in blocking the [strikethrough]passage[/strikethrough] expansion of several domestic violence bills, such as the Violence Against Women act. [*Correction appended] [strikethrough]It is also worth noting that many of the movement's leaders are themselves accused batterers.[/strikethrough]

Though issues of men's rights and injustice towards men deserve attention, the anti-feminist approach employed by RADAR and many other men's rights groups in battling these issues is counterproductive and alarmingly reactionary. RADAR's attempt to take funding away from "discriminatory" women's-only shelters, rather than fighting for resources for male victims of domestic violence and sexual harassment, epitomizes this ineffectual methodology.

While it's true that all human rights are men's rights and that history is essentially a men's rights movement, discrimination against men should be a feminist concern because male and female rights are inextricably intertwined. Though a patriarchal society operates for male benefit, societal standards of masculinity are also harmful to men in real ways which deserve to be acknowledged. Rigid definitions of masculinity which narrowly cast men into aggressive, machismo, bread-winning roles are damaging to men, and further, they are damaging to men in ways that are also damaging to women. Following this line of reasoning, many feminists fight for fathers' rights as a means of countering the socially sanctioned notion that nurturer or caregiver must be a female-occupied role. A central objective of the feminist movement is debunking gender stereotypes, even when they apply only to men.

Male victims of sexual harassment, domestic violence, and rape deserve to be recognized and taken seriously, mothers should not be unjustly favoured over fathers in child custody proceedings, and individuals of both genders do not deserve to be systemically limited and harmed by rigid social definitions of masculinity. Feminist concerns and men's rights are not mutually exclusive, and should meet on the common ground of seeking gender equality - the irony of it all is that we're both fighting the same battle. As feminist Gloria Anzaldua suggests, "Men, even more than women, are fettered to gender roles ... We need a new masculinity and the new man needs a movement."


Correction: The article's original version claimed that RADAR had blocked the passage of several domestic violence bills, including the Violence Against Women act. In fact, RADAR helped block the expansion of these bills. Also, the Tribune apologizes for previously claiming that many of RADAR's leaders were accused batterers.




Date of RADAR Release: March 1, 2010

R.A.D.A.R. -- Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting -- is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's approach to solving domestic violence.  http://www.mediaradar.org
           



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