RADAR ALERT:
VAWA Violates the Civil Rights of 2,000 Americans Every Day

Equal protection under the law. Due process. Innocent until proven guilty.

Those principles, enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, are foundations of a free and just society. And those concepts are routinely violated every day by the Violence Against Women Act. Each and every day in the United States, over 2,000 Americans have their civil rights violated by VAWA.

• These persons include over 750 male victims of severe partner assaults every day – who dont seek service because they know they will be turned away. Or worse, they fear they will be accused of the very crime that they were just subjected to.
• These persons include over 1,250 men – and sometimes women – who are evicted from their homes on the basis of a restraining order that does not even allege violence.
• These persons include an uncounted number of persons accused of partner assault who are unfairly arrested as a result of mandatory arrest policies.

As a result, families are broken up and children are removed from their fathers.

In short, the Violence Against Women Act represents a grave threat to persons civil rights and to the family structure of America.

On March 20, 19 organizations around the country will be coming together to launch a major public education campaign. The five-week campaign will consist of a series of Special Reports that will document:

1. How VAWA harms families, children, men, and women
2. How VAWA programs discriminate against male victims
3. How restraining orders are widely abused
4. How mandatory-arrest policies violate basic principles of justice
5. How VAWA policies have biased the prosecution and adjudication of DV cases

For this Campaign to be successful, we will be calling on persons to pass along the Special Reports to media contacts, friends, and others. We would like to invite you to participate.

To make sure you get the vital Campaign information, please sign up for our E-lerts. It just takes a few seconds:

1. Go to http://www.mediaradar.org.
2. Type in your email address in the E-lert box in the left hand column
3. Hit the Subscribe button.

Its that easy!

Its time to get the truth out about the Violence Against Women Act – how it shamelessly disregards civil liberties and routinely breaks up families – sign up for the E-lert list now!

Date of RADAR Release: March 12, 2006

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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