RADAR ALERT:
This Week, We FLOOD Capitol Hill with Calls and Faxes

The past four weeks RADAR has released a series of Special Reports that document how the Violence Against Women Act violates persons’ civil rights on a massive scale:

Restraining orders: According to the FBI, over 1 million restraining orders are issued each year. Half of these restraining orders do not include even an allegation of violence. These orders are widely used as a legal ploy during a divorce proceeding.

Must- and pro-arrest policies: Twenty-two jurisdictions have mandatory arrest laws for DV cases, and 8 others strongly encourage arrest. And 33 states mandate arrest if a restraining order has been violated, even for the smallest technicality.

Primary aggressor laws: Worse, 24 states have laws on the books that discourage dual arrests, and instead rely on a “primary aggressor” assessment which amounts to blatant gender profiling and the inevitable arrest of the man.

No-drop prosecution: Many jurisdictions require prosecution of the case, even if the woman withdraws her complaint. In some cases, prosecutors have coerced a woman into testifying against her will by threatening to have the state take custody of her children if she refuses to testify.

Discrimination against male victims: It is estimated that only 1-5% of victims served by VAWA programs are males. Worse, in many cases when a man does reach out for help, he finds himself accused of the very crime to which he has become the unwitting victim.

This week, RADAR releases its fifth Special Report, “Bias in the Judiciary: The Case of Domestic Violence.” The report reveals how judicial education programs openly tell judges to disregard men’s civil rights, and shows how fast-track prosecution programs operate on the principle, “guilty with no opportunity to prove otherwise.”

The report can be viewed at: http://www.mediaradar.org/docs/Bias-In-The-Judiciary.pdf

VAWA, and the 600-odd state laws it has engendered, is the product of a poisonous gender ideology that claims domestic violence is a tool of patriarchal dominance. But its real target is not just men, because many women also have become caught up in VAWA’s law enforcement abuses.

The real target of VAWA is the family. Why? Because every instance of marital discord – a shove, a thrown object, even a sharp word – is now subject to state intervention and criminalization of the alleged perpetrator. The family unit cannot withstand this assault for much longer.

It is time to cast political correctness and complacency aside.

WE WANT CONGRESS TO CONDUCT HEARINGS ON THE MASSIVE CIVIL RIGHTS ABUSES OF VAWA. AND WE WANT THE HEARINGS NOW.

Telephone or fax these Chairmen:

Be polite, yet firm in your request.

Your telephone call or fax will help stop the VAWA assault on families.

Date of RADAR Release: April 16, 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