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Men and Domestic Violence / RADAR ALERT: "First they ignore you, ..."

Nov 22, 2009, 10:01 PM

RADAR ALERT: "First they ignore you, ..."

Two weeks ago, Slate.com's short-lived¹ publication "Double X" published an article by Kathryn Joyce entitled "'Men's Rights' Groups Have Become Frighteningly Effective."²

This was not Slate.com's finest hour. One thing this article could never be accused of is objective reporting.

On Nov. 5th, the very same day the Double X article appeared, Salon.com's Broadsheet published an article by Judy Berman entitled "'Men's rights' groups go mainstream"³ that adds no new information, and simply seems to be an effort to repeat the Double X article to Salon's readers.

Since the Double X article appeared there have been several analyses of its flaws, the most recent being Cathy Young's article in Forbes: "Feminism should be about equality–for males too"⁴ which says:

Quote

"More than a quarter-century ago, British feminist philosopher Janet Radcliffe Richards wrote, 'No feminist whose concern for women stems from a concern for justice in general can ever legitimately allow her only interest to be the advantage of women.' Joyce's article is a stark example of feminism as exclusive concern with women and their perceived advantage, rather than justice or truth."

In "Journalistic Misrepresentation at Slate's New Woman-Oriented Publication 'Double X'"⁵, RADAR's Mark Rosenthal explained how the article had misrepresented his comments and also took issue with the article's characterization of Murray Straus as someone "who has written extensively on female violence," saying:

Quote

"The characterization of Straus as someone who has written extensively on female violence is like characterizing Susan B. Anthony as someone who wrote extensively on temperance – true but misleading because of what it leaves out. Straus has devoted his professional career to the study of all forms of family violence – parent-to-child, child-to-parent, sibling-to-sibling, as well as partner violence in all its configurations – male-to-female, female-to-male, and mutual. He has never focused exclusively on female violence."

And in a series of articles beginning with "Slate.com & Salon.com Criticize the Fatherhood Movement (Part I)"⁶, Glenn Sacks critiques the quality of the reporting, saying:

Quote

"The articles discuss various aspects and actors in the (men's and fathers) movement, and also quote and misquote me. ... I specifically, repeatedly, and emphatically told Joyce that any linkage between the men's & fathers' movements' grievances and Sodini is not my view, but I guess she was determined to jam it in there anyway."

Mahatma Gandhi is reputed to have said: "First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." The joint Slate/Salon attack pieces are a good indication that we're well past stage 1. Congratulation to all RADAR supporters and allies for getting us this far. Let's keep it up!

1 "Double X closes up shop", http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/2009/11/16/double_x_folds/index.html

2 "'Men's Rights' Groups Have Become Frighteningly Effective.", Slate.com, http://www.doublex.com/section/news-politics/mens-rights-groups-have-become-frighteningly-effective

3 'Men's rights' groups go mainstream, Salon.com, http://www.salon.com/life/broadsheet/feature/2009/11/05/mens_rights/index.html

4 "Feminism should be about equality–for males too", http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/19/mens-rights-feminism-equality-violence-opinions-contributors-cathy-young.html

5 "Journalistic Misrepresentation at Slate's New Woman-Oriented Publication 'Double X'", http://www.breakingthescience.org/DoubleXMisrepresentation.php

6 "Slate.com & Salon.com Criticize the Fatherhood Movement (Part I)", http://glennsacks.com/blog//?p=4359

Date of RADAR Release: November 23, 2009

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

Main / RADAR ALERT: "First they ignore you, ..."

Nov 22, 2009, 10:00 PM

RADAR ALERT: "First they ignore you, ..."

Quote

"More than a quarter-century ago, British feminist philosopher Janet Radcliffe Richards wrote, 'No feminist whose concern for women stems from a concern for justice in general can ever legitimately allow her only interest to be the advantage of women.' Joyce's article is a stark example of feminism as exclusive concern with women and their perceived advantage, rather than justice or truth."

Quote

"The characterization of Straus as someone who has written extensively on female violence is like characterizing Susan B. Anthony as someone who wrote extensively on temperance – true but misleading because of what it leaves out. Straus has devoted his professional career to the study of all forms of family violence – parent-to-child, child-to-parent, sibling-to-sibling, as well as partner violence in all its configurations – male-to-female, female-to-male, and mutual. He has never focused exclusively on female violence."

And in a series of articles beginning with "Slate.com & Salon.com Criticize the Fatherhood Movement (Part I)"⁶, Glenn Sacks critiques the quality of the reporting, saying:

Quote

"The articles discuss various aspects and actors in the (men's and fathers) movement, and also quote and misquote me. ... I specifically, repeatedly, and emphatically told Joyce that any linkage between the men's & fathers' movements' grievances and Sodini is not my view, but I guess she was determined to jam it in there anyway."

Men and Domestic Violence / RADAR ALERT: N.J. Supreme Court Takes Up Crespo

Nov 02, 2009, 02:40 PM

RADAR ALERT: N.J. Supreme Court Takes Up Crespo

On October 6th, the New Jersey Supreme Court announced it would hear the Crespo appeal. Crespo is the case that, among other things, challenges the constitutionality of Protective Orders issued under the "Preponderance of the Evidence" standard of proof, which is among the lowest of all legal standards of proof in the U.S. A lower court judge ruled that "Preponderance of the Evidence" is not sufficient to remove a person from their home and deny them access to their children. The appeals court overturned the decision. But New Jersey attorney David Heleniak has convinced the N.J. Supreme Court to review the case. According to Heleniak, a victory in the New Jersey high court could have ripple effects across the country.

The way protective orders are issued is one example of the erosion of civil rights and due process protections in cases alleging domestic violence. Mandatory arrest, "predominant aggressor" and "primary aggressor" laws, no drop prosecution, low standards of proof for protective orders, over-broad definitions of domestic violence, and Federal funding that encourages officials to interpret as many cases as possible as domestic violence cases, have all lead to the predictable result: massive civil rights violations in the area of domestic violence.

A recent article at crosscut.com (http://crosscut.com/blog/crosscut/19135) illustrates what happens all too often. The police, the prosecutor, and the judge, all chasing VAWA funding, choose to see domestic violence even in cases where the woman they want to paint as victim vehemently insists that rather than domestic violence, what actually happened was that her husband accidentally knocked her over while saving her from being run over by oncoming traffic. In doing so, these officials perpetrate massive harm on the innocent citizens they're charged with protecting.

In no other area of the law have civil rights and due process been so weakened. DV laws lead to politically driven justice instead of the impartial rule of law guaranteed by the federal and state constitutions.

Please notify your state legislators and let them know that the New Jersey Supreme Court has sufficient constitutional concerns for a hearing on civil rights and due process in DV laws. Tell them to undertake similar reviews and make legislative changes to DV legislation in your state.

Date of RADAR Release: November 2, 2009

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

Men and Domestic Violence / RADAR ALERT: N.J. Supreme Court Takes Up Crespo

Nov 02, 2009, 02:39 PM

RADAR ALERT: N.J. Supreme Court Takes Up Crespo

Men and Domestic Violence / RADAR ALERT: Tell Senators to Stop the Civil Rights Travesty!

Oct 28, 2009, 11:12 PM

RADAR ALERT: Tell Senators to Stop the Civil Rights Travesty!

"Unless you have overwhelming evidence to the contrary, arrest the male."

That's the grim reality in dozens of states with DV mandatory arrest and predominant aggressor policies on the books. These laws were passed thanks to the 1994 and 2000 versions of the Violence Against Women Act, which paid millions of $$$ to states to establish and enforce mandatory arrest policies.

This week, we are asking you to take 5 minutes of your time to contact Senators Patrick Leahy and Jeff Sessions of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Tell them:

Mandatory arrest laws are now responsible for the biggest roll-back in civil liberties since the Jim Crow era.¹

State mandatory arrest laws were passed thanks to financial inducements in the 1994 and 2000 versions of the Violence Against Women Act.

Even though the 2005 version of VAWA wisely shifted from a "mandatory" to a "pro" arrest position, not a single state has repealed its mandatory arrest policies.

The 2010 reauthorization of VAWA needs to include strong financial incentives to states to repeal their unconstitutional mandatory arrest policies.

Here's the contact information:

Senate Judiciary Committee	Chairman	Ranking Minority Leader
Name	Patrick Leahy (D-VT)	Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Telephone	202-224-4242	202-224-4124
Fax	202-224-3479	202-224-3149
Contact Webform	http://leahy.senate.gov/contact.cfm	http://sessions.senate.gov/public/index.cfm? FuseAction=ConstituentServices.ContactMe

Even though the Fourth Amendment requires "probable cause" before an arrest can be made, the domestic violence industry delights in putting more and more people behind bars, no matter what the Constitution says! It's time to speak up for our rights and our civil liberties!

States with Mandatory Arrest for Alleged Assault:²
Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

States with Mandatory Arrest for Alleged Violation of a Restraining Order:³
Alaska, California, Colorado, Delaware, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

1 Mark Mahnkey. Biggest civil rights roll-back since Jim Crow era. HeraldNet. October 13, 2009.http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20091013/OPINION03/710139998

2 Miller N. Domestic violence: A review of state legislation defining police and prosecution duties and powers. Alexandria, VA: Institute for Law and Justice, 2004. http://www.ilj.org/publications/docs/Domestic_Violence_Legislation.pdf

3 Hirschel D, Buzawa E. Understanding the context of dual arrest with directions for future research. Violence Against Women, Vol. 8, pp. 1449-1455, 2002.

Date of RADAR Release: October 28, 2009

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

Main / RADAR ALERT: Tell Senators to Stop the Civil Rights Travesty!

Oct 28, 2009, 11:12 PM

RADAR ALERT: Tell Senators to Stop the Civil Rights Travesty!

Mandatory arrest laws are now responsible for the biggest roll-back in civil liberties since the Jim Crow era.¹

State mandatory arrest laws were passed thanks to financial inducements in the 1994 and 2000 versions of the Violence Against Women Act.

Even though the 2005 version of VAWA wisely shifted from a "mandatory" to a "pro" arrest position, not a single state has repealed its mandatory arrest policies.

The 2010 reauthorization of VAWA needs to include strong financial incentives to states to repeal their unconstitutional mandatory arrest policies.

Here's the contact information:

Senate Judiciary Committee	Chairman	Ranking Minority Leader
Name	Patrick Leahy (D-VT)	Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Telephone	202-224-4242	202-224-4124
Fax	202-224-3479	202-224-3149
Contact Webform	http://leahy.senate.gov/contact.cfm	http://sessions.senate.gov/public/index.cfm? FuseAction=ConstituentServices.ContactMe

Men and Domestic Violence / RADAR ALERT: Spread the Word: Domestic Violence Laws Violate Civil Liberties

Oct 12, 2009, 05:19 PM

RADAR ALERT: Spread the Word: Domestic Violence Laws Violate Civil Liberties

At her recent keynote address at the annual conference of the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Amanda McCormick, an employee of Praxis International, showed overt disdain for male victims of domestic violence. As reported by Trudy Schuett, McCormick announced, I think I know a lot of men who deserve to be beaten."¹

Praxis International, according to their website, "is a nonprofit research and training organization that works toward the elimination of violence in the lives of women and children.... Since 1996, [they] have worked with advocacy organizations, intervention agencies, and inter-agency collaborations to create a clear and cooperative agenda for social change in their communities."²

Over the last fifteen years, in the name of combating domestic violence, an entire area of law has been carved out in which those rights and liberties guaranteed under the Bill of Rights no longer apply. Discrimination against male victims is just one of the many ways domestic violence laws violate civil liberties.

RADAR has identified that the laws:

Fund education and training programs that stereotype all men as abusers;

Expand the definition of "domestic violence" to include minor verbal disagreements, thus inviting heavy-handed state intervention into private family matters;

Short-circuit due process protections and remove the presumption of innocence;

Provide incentives to file false allegations;

Encourage the issuance of restraining orders, even in the absence of physical violence;

Promote mandatory arrest policies, even for minor violations of civil restraining orders;

Fund "predominant aggressor" policies that profile men as abusers;

Support mandatory prosecution policies;

Refuse legal assistance to persons falsely accused of domestic violence; and

Discriminate against male victims.

RADAR has prepared a flyer for distribution to help you inform the public. See http://www.mediaradar.org/docs/RADARflyer-DVAM2009-issues.pdf

Commenting on the flyer, vlogger Bernard Chapin points out that the mainstream media will not cover this story.³ It's up to all of us who know the truth to spread the word as best we can. Let's get to it!

1 http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-12866-Domestic-Violence-Examiner~y2009m9d24-Praxis-International-encourages-domestic-violence-when-properly-applied
2 http://www.praxisinternational.org/default.aspx
3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQemC-_1qEY#normal

Date of RADAR Release: October 13, 2009
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

Main / RADAR ALERT: Spread the Word: Domestic Violence Laws Violate Civil Liberties

Oct 12, 2009, 05:18 PM

RADAR ALERT: Spread the Word: Domestic Violence Laws Violate Civil Liberties

Fund education and training programs that stereotype all men as abusers;

Expand the definition of "domestic violence" to include minor verbal disagreements, thus inviting heavy-handed state intervention into private family matters;

Short-circuit due process protections and remove the presumption of innocence;

Provide incentives to file false allegations;

Encourage the issuance of restraining orders, even in the absence of physical violence;

Promote mandatory arrest policies, even for minor violations of civil restraining orders;

Fund "predominant aggressor" policies that profile men as abusers;

Support mandatory prosecution policies;

Refuse legal assistance to persons falsely accused of domestic violence; and

Discriminate against male victims.

Men and Domestic Violence / RADAR ALERT: Tell State Legislators: Repeal Mandatory Arrest Laws Now!

Oct 06, 2009, 06:31 PM

RADAR ALERT: Tell State Legislators: Repeal Mandatory Arrest Laws Now!

Domestic violence laws represent the biggest roll-back in Americans' civil rights since the era of Jim Crow.

Take mandatory arrest laws that disregard "probable-cause" protections that are guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Then add in "primary aggressor" policies that say, "If you're the bigger and stronger of the two parties (in almost every case, the man), you're the one who will be arrested, regardless of what the evidence shows."

That's gender-profiling at its worst.

Not only do mandatory arrest laws trample on Constitutional protections, they also put victims at risk. According to a Harvard University study, mandatory arrest laws increase partner homicides by 57% – probably because at-risk persons are reluctant to call the police for help, knowing law enforcement is tied to a lock-step arrest policy.¹

For Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we are calling on persons in states with mandatory arrest and/or primary aggressor laws to pay a friendly visit to your own state legislator(s). To prepare for your visit, find your state's legal code on the Internet and identify the places in the code that impose these destructive mandatory arrest and primary aggressor policies. Then when you speak with your legislator or their aide, you can ask them to delete all such language. If you have trouble finding the language in the code, you can ask your legislator to help you find the right sections of the code.

A listing of mandatory arrest states and primary agressor states is shown at the end of this Alert. Here's a flyer you can use: http://www.mediaradar.org/docs/RADARflyer-VAWA-Promotes-Civil-Rights-Abuses.pdf. And for more information, see the Special Report, "Justice Denied: Arrest Policies for Domestic Violence" at http://www.radarsvcs.org/docs/RADARreport-Justice-Denied-DV-Arrest-Policies.pdf

Mandatory arrest represents a grotesque violation of Constitutional protections. If we don't stick up for the civil rights of ourselves and our children, nobody will.

States with Mandatory Arrest for Alleged Assault:²

Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

States with Mandatory Arrest for Alleged Violation of a Restraining Order:³

Alaska, California, Colorado, Delaware, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

1 Iyengar R. Does the certainty of arrest reduce domestic violence? Evidence from mandatory and recommended arrest laws. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, June 2007.

2 Miller N. Domestic violence: A review of state legislation defining police and prosecution duties and powers. Alexandria, VA: Institute for Law and Justice, 2004. http://www.ilj.org/publications/docs/Domestic_Violence_Legislation.pdf

3 Hirschel D, Buzawa E. Understanding the context of dual arrest with directions for future research. Violence Against Women, Vol. 8, pp. 1449-1455, 2002.

Date of RADAR Release: October 7, 2009

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

Main / RADAR ALERT: Tell State Legislators: Repeal Mandatory Arrest Laws Now!

Oct 06, 2009, 06:30 PM

RADAR ALERT: Tell State Legislators: Repeal Mandatory Arrest Laws Now!

Men and Domestic Violence / RADAR ALERT: NJ Attorney Challenges Constitutionality of Restraining Orders

Sep 27, 2009, 08:54 PM

RADAR ALERT: NJ Attorney Challenges Constitutionality of Restraining Orders

David Heleniak, a Morristown, NJ attorney, has filed a motion on behalf of his client, John Paulsen, to vacate a final restraining order (FRO) on the ground that it violates Paulsen's constitutional rights.

Heleniak gained recognition on the issue of domestic violence restraining orders with his 2005 law review article "The New Star Chamber: The New Jersey Family Court and the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act." More recently, in Crespo vs. Crespo, Heleniak won a landmark decision in which the Honorable Francis Schultz of Hudson County ruled that the criteria for a FRO must be "clear and convincing evidence" rather than a "preponderance of the evidence." That verdict made Crespo vs. Crespo a glimmering hope to anyone who was ever hit with a frivolous restraining order – until it was recently overturned by the New Jersey Court of Appeals.

"They were dismissive of the whole idea [that the NJ domestic violence statute could be unconstitutional]" said Heleniak. "In fact, they dealt with some of our best points in a footnote [7], in which they said they were unworthy of discussion. I think they're hoping the issues go away."

Heleniak, disappointed with the decision of the Appellate Division, has asked the NJ Supreme Court to take the Crespo case and has forged ahead with Paulsen in a similar action with a motion to vacate a domestic violence restraining order on constitutional grounds in the local Morris County family court.

"I believe their [the Appellate Division's] refusal to address some of the issues head-on affects their credibility. It just looks like they were ducking," said Heleniak. "But at some point the issues will have to be addressed at a high level. There are just too many cases out there with the same story – a restraining order handed down without sufficient evidence that ruins a man's life and the lives of his children."

Paulsen said that the FRO against him was nothing more than a tactical maneuver to gain an unfair advantage in the litigation process.

"The allegations of abuse against me that gave rise to the FRO were manufactured by my wife to gain a tactical advantage in a divorce that she had decided she wanted months before the allegations were made," said Paulsen. "In fact, she had surreptitiously had several meetings with her divorce attorney and was using the threat of a restraining order as a means of intimidation within our marriage for over a year before she used it as a first strike weapon in the divorce."

A recent analysis notes that unwarranted restraining orders create a "ripple" effect that can persist for many years, harming the alleged person's reputation, legal standing, security clearances, career prospects and financial status. In many cases, it also affects the person's relationship with their children, often causing devastating and permanent harm to that relationship.
(A Culture of False Allegations, http://www.radarsvcs.org/docs/RADARreport-VAWA-A-Culture-of-False-Allegations.pdf.)

False allegations not only damage the individual falsely accused, they also affect other family members who may be barred from seeing a grandchild, nephew, or niece.

Special reports regarding domestic violence restraining orders can be viewed at http://mediaradar.org/radarServices_special_reports.php.

Date of RADAR Release: September 28, 2009

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

Main / RADAR ALERT: NJ Attorney Challenges Constitutionality of Restraining Orders

Sep 27, 2009, 08:54 PM

RADAR ALERT: NJ Attorney Challenges Constitutionality of Restraining Orders

Main / RADAR ALERT: Stop the Civil Rights Abuses; Prepare for Domestic Violence Awarene

Sep 20, 2009, 10:21 PM

RADAR ALERT: Stop the Civil Rights Abuses; Prepare for Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Have you, or a person you know, ever been falsely accused of domestic violence? Targeted with a restraining order? Put in jail?

Each year over one million Americans are hit with a false or trivial accusation of partner abuse. It's now reached the point that domestic violence laws represent the largest roll-back in Americans' civil rights since the Jim Crow era!

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and the theme is "Restore Civil Rights to the Violence Against Women Act." DV Awareness Month is our opportunity to get word out that our nation's domestic violence laws have gone too far, harming innocent citizens and diverting scarce resources away from the true victims.

We are asking each and every person who reads this Alert to participate in DV Awareness Month. You can attend one of the events sponsored by your state domestic violence coalition - see listing of coalitions at http://www.usdoj.gov/ovw/statedomestic.htm.

Or you can set up your own event, whether it's an information table at a local library, presentation to local police, press release, radio interview, or whatever!

To assist your efforts, we've developed:

A 2-page Analysis of the Issues: http://www.mediaradar.org/docs/RADARflyer-DVAM2009-issues.pdf

A 1-page flyer: http://www.mediaradar.org/docs/RADARflyer-DVAM2009.pdf

At the national level, several columnists have agreed to write articles on the issue, and we will be holding a major lobbying event in Washington DC.

RADAR would like to have DV Awareness Month activities in every state around the country. After you have your activity, event, or program, please send us an email and let us know how it went: [email protected]

As we approach the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2010, it's critical that every American hear the message, "Restore Civil Rights to the Violence Against Women Act."

"A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
-- Margaret Mead

Date of RADAR Release: September 20, 2009

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

Men and Domestic Violence / RADAR ALERT: Stop the Civil Rights Abuses; Prepare for Domestic Violence Awarene

Sep 20, 2009, 10:20 PM

RADAR ALERT: Stop the Civil Rights Abuses; Prepare for Domestic Violence Awareness Month

A 2-page Analysis of the Issues: http://www.mediaradar.org/docs/RADARflyer-DVAM2009-issues.pdf

A 1-page flyer: http://www.mediaradar.org/docs/RADARflyer-DVAM2009.pdf

Men and Domestic Violence / RADAR ALERT: Another DV Myth: DV Situations and Danger To Police

Aug 26, 2009, 08:02 AM

RADAR ALERT: Another DV Myth: DV Situations and Danger To Police

Last week the mayor of Milwaukee was injured while intervening between a drunk man and his daughter's grandmother.¹ ABC's Milwaukee affiliate, WISN, followed up with a story that asserted, "domestic violence situations are, by far, the number one reason that police officers are wounded on duty," and quoting "domestic violence experts" to back up this bit of received wisdom.²

There's just one problem with this claim -- researchers who studied this very question³ found it wasn't true. They found that domestic disturbance ranked fourth in the ratio of assaults to calls for service, but only fifth in the ratio of injuries to calls for service. In other words, the rate of injury from domestic disturbance calls was lower than the rate from four other types of calls.

By no means is domestic violence "by far, the number one reason that police officers are wounded on duty."

As for Mayor Barrett's injuries, It makes far more sense to attribute them to the fact that one of the participants in the dispute was drunk, and invest in solving that problem. Instead, WISN sought out "experts" who have a financial stake in promoting themselves as the solution regardless of the research. And surprise, surprise, those "experts" used this story "as an example of how 'possibly lethal' and extremely dangerous domestic disputes can be".

So add yet another myth to the list in RADAR's report "Fifty Domestic Violence Myths"⁴.

Please contact WISN, TV 12, Milwaukee at [email protected] and tell them that their failure to properly research the story only serves to promote unwarranted fear among law enforcement officers, thereby causing them to place themselves and the public in greater danger by needlessly escalating otherwise resolvable disputes. Tell them to educate themselves about domestic violence myths by reading our report at http://mediaradar.org/docs/RADARreport-50-DV-Myths.pdf before their next article on the topic promotes yet another harmful falsehood.

1 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090817/ap_on_re_us/us_milwaukee_mayor_attacked

2 "Experts Say Barrett Walked Into 'Lethal' Situation", WISN, TV 12, Milwaukee, Wisc., http://www.wisn.com/news/20470411/detail.html

3 Relative Contribution of Domestic Violence to Assault and Injury of Police Officers, Hirschel, Dean, & Lumb, Justice Quarterly, Vol. 11 #1, March 1994, pp. 99-117, http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=150233

4 RADAR, "Fifty Domestic Violence Myths", http://mediaradar.org/docs/RADARreport-50-DV-Myths.pdf

Date of RADAR Release: August 26, 2009

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

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