Thread: RADAR need our help in DC Feb. 18-19, 2010

What will each of the four teams be doing, specifically?

Here is the flyer that we distributed last week on Capitol Hill:

Abusegate, Investigate!

Industry representatives mislead lawmakers

For years, representatives of the domestic violence (DV) industry have relied on hide-and-go-seek statistics and misleading claims to disguise the truth of domestic violence.
The research is conclusive: “women are as physically aggressive, or more aggressive, than men in their relationships with their spouses or male partners,” according to Martin Fiebert, PhD of California State University: http://www.csulb.edu/~mfiebert/assault.htm
Lawmakers are well aware of this fact, as well:
“Domestic violence touches the lives of Americans of all ages, leaving a devastating impact on women, men, and children of every background and circumstance.” -- President Barack Obama
But to this day, domestic violence representatives continue to sweep half the problem of domestic violence under the rug. As a result, many victims are ridiculed and ignored.
“The real tragedy of Abusegate is that victims of genuine partner abuse are still left without hope and support.” -- Columnist Trudy Schuett

Former NFL star quarterback Steve McNair, shot four times by his ex-girlfriend as he slept, July 4, 2009

Pushing Harmful Stereotypes
Domestic violence programs often resort to harmful stereotypes aboutAfrican-American men, portraying them as abusive and dangerous. This bus advertisement, placed by a federally-funded shelter in Dallas, Texas, carries the unmistakable taint of race-baiting:


Women Pay the Price
The ongoing misrepresentation of the truth does a disservice to women, as well:
1. Violence-prone women don’t get the help they need. Researcher Susan Steinmetz tells of receiving letters from abusive women who recognized they needed counseling, but were “turned away or being offered no help when they called a crisis line or shelter.”
2. Women are placed at greater risk of retaliatory aggression. According to CDC researcher Daniel Whitaker, “a woman's perpetration of violence [is] the strongest predictor of her being a victim of partner violence.”
3. Ignores same-sex battering. Domestic violence is common in lesbian relationships. Pretending women are never physically aggressive only adds to victims’ isolation and pain.
Scandalous Resistance to Legislative Intent
The domestic violence industry has a long history of thwarting legislative and executive branch attempts to assure the accountability and effectiveness of its services:
1. In 2005, VAWA removed its “mandatory arrest” provisions and moved to a pro-arrest stance instead. Five years later, not a single mandatory arrest state has rolled back its harmful arrest policies.
2. The 2005 reauthorization of VAWA states male victims are eligible to receive services (Section 40002(b)(8)). Five years later, reports of illegal sex discrimination continue to be widespread.
3. In 2004 the OMB reported federally-funded abuse shelters were “Not performing – Results not demonstrated.” Six years later, nothing has changed.
4. In 2007, a GAO audit of federal domestic violence records revealed, “we could not be assured that any survey data we obtained would be consistent and reliable enough for analysis of the specific information required.”
5. The DoJ Inspector General has identified numerous cases of embezzlement, fraud, and other misconduct by VAWA grantees: http://www.radarsvcs.org/docs/RADARreport-DV-Programs-Misuse-1-Billion-Tax-Dollars-Per-Year.pdf

The domestic violence industry apparently wants it both ways: Billions of dollars in federal largesse with no strings attached.

The Result? Victims Placed at Risk…
As a result of a chronic lack of accountability, most domestic violence programs are ineffective, and in some cases, harmful.
Example: the Violence Against Women Act authorizes up to $75 million a year to encourage arrest. Thirty-three states have enacted laws that mandate arrest for partner aggression or violation of a restraining order. But these policies have been proven to actually increase partner homicides:


[insert graph here]






The 2010 VAWA law needs to include incentives so states repeal their mandatory arrest laws.
…and Disparate Impact on African-Americans
According to the Congressional Black Caucus, Black men represent 44% of all male inmates in prisons and jails. Mandatory arrest policies, which disproportionately affect African-Americans, are a major cause of the problem.
“Criminalization of social problems has led to mass incarceration of men, especially young men of color, decimating marginalized communities.”-- Ms. Foundation for Women
Oops, More Disinformation!
H.R. 739/S. 1740, the Security and Financial Empowerment Act, is the latest example of the falsehoods that permeate the domestic violence industry: http://www.mediaradar.org/docs/RADARanalysis-HR739Findings.pdf
The predominance of make-believe “findings” in the SAFE Act is not unusual. According to a recent report, nine out of 10 claims made by the domestic violence industry are exaggerated, misleading, or completely false: www.mediaradar.org/docs/RADARreport-50-DV-Myths.pdf
Abusegate, Investigate!
In 2010, Congress needs to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act and the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act.
But first, Congress needs to investigate the scandal of Abusegate: Why is so much money going for programs that are harming more than helping, while trampling on the civil rights of the falsely accused and ignoring the needs of the true victims?
“We have no evidence to date that VAWA has led to a decrease in the overall levels of violence against women.” — Angela Moore Parmley, PhD, U.S. Department of Justice


For more information, contact:
African-Americans for
VAWA Reform
P.O. Box 8701
South Charleston, WV 25303
www.aavreform.org

I am trying to find a link to it on the RADAR website. Perhaps Ed hasn't goten around to putting it up there yet as he just finnished it early last week.
If there are going to be some people from AM going I would like to know who they are so we can get together. I think Ed mentioned something about a dinner afterwards or something like that so let's plan to hook up then.

Originally Posted by Incognito

What will each of the four teams be doing, specifically?

Ed set up meetings with himself and staffers (legislative directors, policy analysts etc.) and me and Wayne ran around distrubuting flyers.
Bring good walking shoes you will need them. Also, don't bring a lot of stuff as you will have no place to put it. Dressing up nice and being pleasant helps too.