RADAR ALERT:
VAWA 2005: Time of Decision

This past Thursday Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) introduced the Violence Against Women Act of 2005 in the Senate. A similar bill is expected to be introduced in the House of Representatives in the next few days.

The proposed law, known as VAWA 2005, ignores the hundreds of thousands of men who are victims of domestic violence. This ideologically-loaded bill proposes to expand the previous VAWA legislation by taking the male = batterer, female = victim message and carrying it to children and youth, American Indians, and college students around the country. By our calculations, the bill carries a taxpayer price tag of $842 million a year.

Since its formation in January 2005, RADAR has made enormous strides in reducing media bias about domestic violence. But if passed in its current form, VAWA 2005 will spawn countless media stories that push the old domestic violence myths.

Worse, VAWA-induced hysteria will be used to thwart proposed fathers rights legislation. And the continued perception of an “epidemic” of domestic violence may well lead to new laws that discriminate against men and fathers.

At this point, Americans face two choices:

1. Simply allow the proposed VAWA law to pass as proposed, OR
2. Become actively involved in the legislative process.

If you are in the second category, please read on.

During the upcoming weeks and months, VAWA 2005 will undergo a number of steps in both the Senate and House of Representatives:

1. Crime Sub-committee
2. Judiciary Committee
3. Vote by the full Senate and House
4. Conference committee to reconcile differences between the Senate and House versions of the bill.
5. Confirmatory vote by both the Senate and House
6. Approval or veto by President Bush

Each of these steps presents an opportunity to influence the direction of VAWA 2005. However, it is usually easier to influence legislation in the early stages of the process.

At this time, it is imperative that every person concerned about gender fairness to decide on your position:

1. VAWA should be defeated, OR
2. VAWA be modified so male victims of DV can receive services.

To help persons make this decision, RADAR has posted several articles on its website at http://www.mediaradar.org, including the following:

1. Promotional piece by VAWA advocates (2 pages): http://www.mediaradar.org/vawa_reauth2005_info/Two-pagerVAWA6.6.05.doc
2. VAWA factual summary (14 pages): http://www.mediaradar.org/vawa_reauth2005_info/VAWA Sec 6.6.05.doc
3. VAWA bill (266 pages): http://www.mediaradar.org/vawa_reauth2005_info/JEN05634_LC.PDF

Also, Phyllis Schlafly’s recent article, What Have Feminists Done to America’s Fathers? makes some provocative comments: http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=7713

Next week’s Alert will ask persons to contact their Senators and express their views on VAWA. If you have not already signed up to receive the RADAR e-lerts, visit our website at www.mediaradar.org.

VAWA is such a far-reaching law that if passed, every American will be affected by its programs. So now, for every one of us, it’s a Time of Decision.

Date of RADAR Release: June 13, 2005

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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