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Accusing U. Campus False Allegations Press Release Sexual Assault Victims

PR: As Victim Credibility Dwindles, SAVE Calls on Prosecutors to File Charges in Brian Banks False Rape Case

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Teri Stoddard
Telephone: 301-801-0608
Email: tstoddard@saveservices.org

As Victim Credibility Dwindles, SAVE Calls on Prosecutors to File Charges in Brian Banks False Rape Case

WASHINGTON / June 26, 2012 – One month after revelations of Wanetta Gibson’s false rape accusation, Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE) is charging Los Angeles County prosecutors with unacceptable delay in filing perjury charges against Gibson. A vigorous prosecution of Gibson is critical to restoring the credibility of true rape victims, who often complain investigators with growing case loads don’t take their claims seriously, SAVE says.

Rape is No Joke, a victim advocacy group, has charged that “Enormous damages are done by making a false allegation of rape.” New York Post Andrea Peyser columnist laments that false accusations represent a “huge problem for future rape victims.”  And Justice Enriques has decried that “False complaints of rape necessarily impact upon the minds of jurors trying rape cases.”

Wanetta Gibson admitted to the false charge during a taped meeting with a private investigator. “No, he did not rape me,” she was quoted as saying. “I will go through with helping you, but it’s like at the same time all that money they gave us, I mean gave me, I don’t want to have to pay it back.”

Gibson and her mother had been paid $1.5 million by the Long Beach School District following their lawsuit for allegedly failing to provide adequate protections to prevent the assault.

Despite the judge’s decision, Los Angeles County prosecutor Brentford Ferreira said there were no plans to charge Gibson, saying it would be a difficult case to prove.

“Here we have a star athlete nearly broken by a false accusation, a $1.5 million pay-out, and a woman who admitted to wrong-doing,” notes SAVE spokesman Philip Cook. “Prosecutor Ferreira’s comment represents a slap in the face to real victims whose credibility is under assault.”

The rape conviction was overturned by a Long Beach, Calif. Judge on May 24. Minutes later a tearful Banks told media representatives, “There’s more than I can describe, the things I’ve been through and the things that I’ve endured.”

June is False Allegations Awareness Month. One in 10 persons has been falsely accused of sexual assault, domestic violence, or child abuse: http://www.saveservices.org/falsely-accused/survey/

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments is a victim-advocacy organization working for evidence-based solutions to partner abuse: www.saveservices.org

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Accusing U. DED Sexual Assault Directive False Allegations Sexual Assault

PR: Unblinding Lady Justice: SAVE Calls on Dept. of Education to Respond to Civil Rights Complaints

Contact: Teri Stoddard
Email: tstoddard@saveservices.org
Telephone: 301-801-0608

Unblinding Lady Justice: SAVE Calls on Dept. of Education to Respond to Civil Rights Complaints

WASHINGTON / June 19, 2012 – Over a year after the Department of Education issued its controversial sex assault policy, the federal agency has yet to respond to concerns about civil rights violations. Stop Abusive and Violent Environments renews its call to the federal agency to safeguard students’ rights rather than seek to curtail them.

The policy was issued by the Dept. of Education’s Office for Civil Rights on April 4, 2011 without prior opportunity for public comment or debate. On August 24, 2011, SAVE sent a letter to the DED requesting that the policy be rescinded: http://www.saveservices.org/wp-content/uploads/OCRLetter.pdf

In addition, 12 other organizations have issued statements opposing the directive. These groups include the American Association for University Professors, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, Alliance Defense Fund, Feminists for Free Expression, American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, Tully Center for Free Speech at Syracuse University, Accuracy in Media, Heartland Institute, American Council for Trustees and Alumni, National Association for Scholars, John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy, and Defending Dissent Foundation: http://www.saveservices.org/falsely-accused/sex-assault/complaints/

In addition, over 50 editorials have criticized the mandate as removing fundamental civil rights from persons accused of sexual assault: http://www.saveservices.org/camp/ded-editorials/ Many worry that reducing due process protections will invite false accusations, robbing real victims of needed protections and credibility.

In a recent Brown University case, Marcella Dresdale accused a classmate of rape. The accused man, William McCormick, was forced to leave the university. McCormick later sued the accuser’s father, Richard Dresdale, a wealthy Brown donor, alleging the benefactor had interfered with the university’s investigative procedures, violating his due process rights. The Dresdales agreed to an out-of-court settlement, reportedly after McCormick had been offered $1 million.

“Over the past year, many leading groups have called on the DED to rescind its mandate that universities rely on the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard for sexual assault allegations,” notes SAVE spokesman Philip Cook. “But the federal Office of Civil Rights has yet to respond. Stonewalling these requests, and allowing false accusations of rape to continue, constitutes a parody of justice.”

June is False Allegations Awareness Month. According to a national telephone survey, one in 10 persons has been falsely accused of abuse: http://www.saveservices.org/falsely-accused/survey/

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments is a victim-advocacy organization working for evidence-based solutions to partner abuse: www.saveservices.org

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False Allegations Press Release Sexual Assault Violence

PR: Following Brian Banks Release, SAVE Raps Media for Allowing Rape ‘Hysteria’

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Teri Stoddard
Email: tstoddard@saveservices.org
Telephone: 301-801-0608

Following Brian Banks Release, SAVE Raps Media for Allowing Rape ‘Hysteria’

WASHINGTON / June 14, 2012 – Following the release of Brian Banks after 5 years in jail on a false rape conviction, Stop Abusive and Violent Environments is calling on the media to report rape allegations in a responsible and ethical manner. Media accounts of alleged rape cases often highlight the accusation but fail to report exonerations in the same manner, SAVE says.

Brian Banks was a 16-year-old football star with a full scholarship to the University of Southern California when he was accused of rape by Wanetta Gibson. Fearing a life sentence, Banks agreed to a plea bargain, even though there was no medical evidence or witnesses to support her claim.

Banks spent over five years in jail. In the meantime, Gibson received a $750,000 settlement from the school for not defending her from the alleged assault. Recently Gibson admitted during a taped interview that her accusation was fabricated. On May 24, 2012 Banks was exonerated.

SAVE is calling on the media to assure responsible reporting of all allegations of sexual assault and to stem “rape hysteria.” Common media biases include referring to the accuser as a “victim,” omitting the word “alleged,” not affording equal coverage to the defendant’s account, and failing to note subsequent recantations. Prosecutor decisions to not pursue the case, acquittals, and exonerations are often not reported or not given as prominent coverage as the initial accusation, SAVE notes.

The Banks incident occurred just as the National Registry of Exonerations released a ground-breaking study that details how over 200 men around the country have been falsely convicted on charges of rape, only to be exonerated after years behind bars. Some had been handed life sentences for a crime they didn’t commit.

The exonerations occurred after the “victim” stepped forward to reveal the crime had been fabricated, or after DNA testing proved another person to be the perpetrator: http://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Documents/exonerations_us_1989_2012_full_report.pdf

“Innocent until proven guilty is a concept seemingly forgotten by the media” says Philip W. Cook, SAVE spokesman. “False allegations ruin lives, some of which are never repaired. The media has a responsibility to be factual and balanced, not incendiary.”

June is False Allegations Awareness Month. According to a national telephone survey, one in 10 persons has been falsely accused of abuse: http://www.saveservices.org/falsely-accused/survey/

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments is a victim-advocacy organization working for evidence-based solutions to partner abuse: www.saveservices.org

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Media

SAVE Announces Resignation

WASHINGTON — SAVE announces that Natasha Spivack, member of the SAVE Board of Directors, will be resigning her position due to other professional responsibilities. Her resignation will be effective June 1, 2012. Ms. Spivack has served as a member of the SAVE Board of Directors since the organization’s founding in 2009.

Ms. Spivack is known as a powerful advocate for due process and fairness in the American legal system.

“Born in the former Soviet Union, Natasha saw first-hand how a society can abandon civil rights in the name of accommodating an ideological cause. Her warmth, humor, and many contributions as a SAVE board member will be greatly missed,” notes SAVE spokesman Philip W. Cook.

Categories
Domestic Violence Press Release Violence Violence Against Women Act

PR: House Approves Violence Against Women Act: SAVE Applauds Long-Overdue Reform Measures

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Teri Stoddard
Telephone: 301-801-0608
Email: tstoddard@saveservices.org

House Approves Violence Against Women Act:

SAVE Applauds Long-Overdue Reform Measures

WASHINGTON / May 17, 2012 – The House of Representatives has passed the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act by a 222-205 margin. Responding to public discontent, H.R. 4970 contains a number of measures designed to curb widespread waste and fraud in the domestic violence field.

A recent U.S. News poll found a strong majority of persons are opposed to the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in its current form: http://www.usnews.com/debate-club/should-the-violence-against-women-act-be-reauthorized. Many women have questioned the effectiveness and fairness of the existing VAWA law: http://womenagainstvawa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Flyer-VAWA-Pro-Woman.pdf

Reforms contained H.R. 4970 include strong accountability measures, gender-inclusive language, and provisions to stem fraudulent claims of abuse by immigrants. The current VAWA law has invited immigration fraud by not allowing the US citizen accused of abuse to submit evidence that could refute the accusation.

The White House played an active role in opposing the bill. The Obama Administration issued a Statement of Administration Policy on Tuesday stating it would veto any bill that was modeled on H.R. 4970.

During Wednesday’s floor debate, sponsor Sandy Adams (R-FL) withstood numerous challenges. When informed by John Conyers (D-MI) that numerous organizations opposed her bill, she retorted, “Shame on them!”

Following passage of the bill, a number of established domestic violence organizations have reacted with anger and implied threats. The National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Against Women called the bill “dangerous.” The National Organization for Women charged that Representatives who voted for the bill “will be judged in the public arena and at the polls in November.”

According to SAVE spokesman Philip W. Cook, “H.R. 4970 certainly is not a perfect bill. Still, passage of the House measure is a victory for victims who have been refused service in the past. It removes most sex discriminatory language. It is also a victory for taxpayers who are tired of the ongoing reports of waste and fraud.”

SAVE thanks the many organizations and individuals who have supported VAWA reform efforts. SAVE will continue to work for ways to reform and strengthen the Violence Against Women Act: www.saveservices.org/pvra.

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments is a victim-advocacy organization working for evidence-based solutions to partner abuse: www.saveservices.org

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Bills Civil Rights Domestic Violence False Allegations Immigration Press Release Sexual Assault Violence Violence Against Women Act

PR: SAVE Calls on Lawmakers to Stand Tall for Victims and the Constitution during Upcoming VAWA Vote

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Teri Stoddard
Telephone: 301-801-0608
Email: tstoddard@saveservices.org

SAVE Calls on Lawmakers to Stand Tall for Victims and the Constitution during Upcoming VAWA Vote

Washington, DC/May 15, 2012 – A leading victim-advocacy organization is calling on Representatives to support reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, H.R. 4970. Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE) says H.R. 4970 will best help victims of partner abuse and safeguard Constitutional protections.

SAVE urges lawmakers to resist attempts to expand definitions of domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault. Overly-broad definitions encourage false allegations of abuse and make it harder for true victims to be heard.

Since its passage in 1994, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) has sparked controversy. The ACLU once termed VAWA’s mandatory arrest provisions “repugnant” to the Constitution, and in 2000 the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a VAWA provision designed to provide a federal civil remedy for sex assault cases.

One area of particular controversy centers on VAWA’s immigration provisions, which allow a foreign national to claim to be a domestic violence victim without provision of evidence. Under current law, the accused person is deprived of key due process protections and is barred from submitting evidence of immigration fraud. One civil rights expert termed such provisions “Kafka-esque.” (http://www.mindingthecampus.com/originals/2012/03/the_new_vawaa_threat_to_college_students.html)

Last year the Senate Judiciary Committee invited testimony from Julie Poner, who was a victim of false allegations made by her former husband from the Czech Republic. Saying she had “suffered unimaginable consequences,” Poner lamented the countless men and women “who have lost access to their children, their homes, their jobs, and in some cases their freedom because of false allegations of abuse.” (http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/pdf/11-07-13%20Poner%20Testimony.pdf)

“Our nation was founded on due process protections such as the right of the accused to be advised of the charges, to confront his accuser, and to be afforded the opportunity to refute the accusations,” notes SAVE spokesman Philip Cook. “But under the existing VAWA, the accused is stripped of these Constitutional protections, affording more rights to the accuser than to the American citizen. This is a slap in the face to notions of justice and fairness.”

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments is a victim-advocacy organization working for evidence-based solutions to partner violence: www.saveservices.org

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False Allegations Law Enforcement Press Release Violence Violence Against Women Act

PR: VAWA Must Stop Funding Lethal Mandatory Arrest Policies

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Teri Stoddard
Telephone: 301-801-0608
Email: tstoddard@saveservices.org

VAWA Must Stop Funding Lethal Mandatory Arrest Policies

Washington, DC/May 8, 2012 — States that enacted mandatory arrest policies saw a 60 percent increase in intimate partner homicides, according to a Harvard U. study. Now, Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE) is calling on lawmakers involved in the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) to halt funding for such lethal policies.

Beginning in 1994, VAWA pushed states to change their domestic violence arrest standards from probable cause to the more aggressive mandatory arrest policy. Under mandatory arrest, the accused person is taken away in handcuffs if the police are called, even in the absence of evidence of physical violence.

VAWA’s 2005 reauthorization did away with the mandatory arrest language, but states continued to enforce these harmful policies. SAVE insists that the House of Representatives insert language in its version of VAWA that would stop taxpayer funding of arrest without probable cause.

Victims usually just want an officer’s help to defuse the situation, and are less likely to call for help if it will mean an arrest. So police aren’t there when they are needed most. Harvard researcher Dr. Radha Iyengar explains, “victims don’t want to call the police after the laws are implemented.”

SAVE’s report further details how the spike in homicides—more than 600 intimate partner murders a year—can be attributed to the mandatory arrest policies. http://www.saveservices.org/downloads/Justice-Denied-DV-Arrest-Policies

Besides loss of life, VAWA’s mandatory arrest policies have resulted in a civil rights fiasco by compromising the due process rights of the accused. Nearly 70 percent of those arrested are never convicted of the alleged offense—a sign that Fourth Amendment probable cause protections often are not met.

Said SAVE spokesman Philip W. Cook: “The needless loss of 600 lives each year is a stinging indictment of mandatory arrest. Amazingly, Congress continues to dole out $30 million in taxpayer money each year to support this blinkered policy.”

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments is a victim-advocacy organization working for evidence-based solutions to partner violence: www.saveservices.org

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Bills Press Release Research Training Victims Violence Against Women Act

PR: Battering the Truth: SAVE Report Reveals Many Abuse Statistics are One-Sided or False

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Teri Stoddard
Email: tstoddard@saveservices.org

Battering the Truth: SAVE Report Reveals Many Abuse Statistics are One-Sided or False

Washington, DC/April 11, 2012 — The federal government spends $76 million a year for domestic violence education programs, but 90 percent of the claims made in these programs are one-sided, misleading, or completely untrue, according to a new report from Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE). The report, “Most DV Educational Programs Lack Accuracy, Balance, and Truthfulness,” compares validated scientific research with the claims made by leading abuse-reduction groups: http://www.saveservices.org/downloads/SAVE-DV-Educational-Programs

The SAVE report highlights three offenders:

  1. The American Bar Association frames its discussion of domestic violence with the broad claim that “2 to 4 million American women are battered every year.” But the dean of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Work derides that statistic as a “factoid from nowhere.”
  2. The National Network to End Domestic Violence, an umbrella organization for state domestic violence advocates, has developed a fact sheet on “Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Fact Sheet.” Only five of the 30 statements contained in the NNEDV fact sheet are accurate and truthful representations of the social science.
  3. Judicial benchbooks, used by judges as summaries of current law and key information on a subject, are similarly skewed. Various states’ manuals present the statistic that 95 percent of spouse-abuse victims are women. In fact, men are equally as likely as women to be victims of intimate partner aggression: http://www.saveservices.org/pdf/Seven-Facts-Every-American-Should-Know-About-DV.pdf.

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which funds many of these educational efforts, has been criticized for having inadequate safeguards against waste and fraud: http://saveservices.org/pdf/SAVE-Accountability-and-Oversight.pdf.

SAVE has declared that such false claims are doing harm to victims of domestic violence. By imprinting a false picture of domestic violence on Americans’ understanding of the issue, the domestic violence establishment hampers outreach to male, LGBT, and other underserved victims.

Spokesman Philip W. Cook says of the report’s findings: “VAWA must not be reauthorized without a remedy for the damage this misinformation is doing to domestic violence victims and to our system of justice. The biases we are talking about are systematic, widespread, and doggedly resistant to correction.”

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments is a victim-advocacy organization working for evidence-based solutions to partner violence: www.saveservices.org.

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Domestic Violence Press Release Violence Violence Against Women Act

PR: $1.2 Million in Anti-Violence Funds Embezzled, Missing, or Misused: Fraud is Widespread, SAVE Charges

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Teri Stoddard
Email: tstoddard@saveservices.org

$1.2 Million in Anti-Violence Funds Embezzled, Missing, or Misused: Fraud is Widespread, SAVE Charges

Washington, DC/April 4, 2012 – Following release of three reports by the Department of Justice, Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE) is charging that many grants made under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) are plagued by fraud and waste. Such malfeasance shortchanges the vulnerable victims of partner abuse.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued three reports in March highlighting the problem:

1. A March 28 press release announced the sentencing of Julie and Andrea Matau for embezzlement of funds from a VAWA grant. From 2005 to 2007, the mother and daughter pair stole $159,763 in federal money from their American Samoa legal services corporation, which had received $1.2 million in VAWA-related grants. http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2012/March/12-crm-386.html

2. A DOJ audit of the Virgin Islands Law Enforcement Planning Commission reported that $847,553 in funds awarded by the Office of Violence Against Women were found to be questionable. Of this amount, $372,434 of expenditures had no records to document how the money had been spent. http://www.justice.gov/oig/reports/2012/g4012001.pdf

3. An audit of VAWA grants to the Coeur d’Alene Native American tribe’s domestic violence program revealed $240,431 had been improperly spent, including $171,000 in salary for an unapproved position. http://www.justice.gov/oig/grants/2012/g6012008.pdf

Each year VAWA awards $500 million in grants to abuse-reduction organizations, but fiscal management practices have been found to be sub-standard. A SAVE report documents long-standing problems of fraud and abuse. http://saveservices.org/pdf/SAVE-Accountability-and-Oversight.pdf

The SAVE report points out that the Office of Violence Against Women has not conducted comprehensive self-evaluations, in disregard of directives from the Government Accountability Office and Office of Management and Budget.

Says SAVE spokesman Philip W. Cook: “Victims of domestic violence are ill-served by fraud and waste, especially on such a broad scale. Congress must assure the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act contains strong accountability measures that deny funding to rogue grantees that misuse taxpayer money.”

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments is a victim-advocacy organization working for evidence-based solutions to partner violence: www.saveservices.org.

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Bills Media Press Release Violence Violence Against Women Act

PR: SAVE Chides Media for ‘Sound-Bite’ Coverage of Abuse Bill

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Teri Stoddard
Email: tstoddard@saveservices.org

SAVE Chides Media for ‘Sound-Bite’ Coverage of Abuse Bill

Washington, DC/March 21, 2012 – Media accounts of the Violence Against Women Act bill, currently being debated in the U.S. Senate, are focusing largely on the political horse-race, charges victim-advocacy group Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE). This “sound-bite” coverage of the abuse issue glosses over the substantive problems and does a disservice to victims, SAVE alleges.

For example, a March 15 CNN story consisted of a point-for-point recitation of Senators’ talking points, providing little context for understanding the debate (1).

An article published in the Washington Post (2) failed to address any of the substantive concerns identified by Women Against VAWA Excess, including evidence that aggressive law-enforcement policies can escalate violence and place women at risk (3).

A recent letter by Concerned Women for America cited a statement by Angela Moore Parmley, Ph.D. that “We have no evidence to date that VAWA has led to a decrease in the overall levels of violence against women.” (4) But media accounts have largely ignored questions of program effectiveness.

Leading civil rights advocate Wendy Kaminer recently published an article in The Atlantic titled “What’s Wrong with the Violence Against Women Act?” (5) Kaminer criticizes VAWA for becoming a “prescription for false convictions.” But media coverage has skirted discussion of VAWA’s impact on the civil liberties of the accused.

In contrast, a March 14 article in the New York Times provided substantive and thoughtful coverage of the issues surrounding the VAWA reauthorization bill (6).

Media coverage has generally ignored the problem of violence against men, even though a recent Centers for Disease Control report found women were more likely to initiate partner violence than men.

“Domestic violence is too important an issue to concede the debate only to the politicians. In some parts of the country, victims have to wait three months to get into an abuse shelter,” reveals SAVE director Philip Cook. “Have elected officials considered how overly-broad definitions of abuse are contributing to the problem? We think not, and that’s why the media needs to do its homework in covering the issue.”

SAVE has developed a number of Special Reports that analyze and document a number of shortcomings with the present law: http://www.saveservices.org/reports

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments is a victim-advocacy organization working for evidence-based solutions to partner violence: www.saveservices.org.

  1. CNN. Accusations Fly in Senate over Violence Against Women Act. http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/15/politics/senate-vawa-accusations/index.html
  2. Female Senators Push to Reauthorize Violence Against Women Act. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/2chambers/post/female-senators-push-to-reauthorize-violence-against-women-act/2012/03/15/gIQAHuOYES_blog.html
  3. WAVE. Is the Violence Against Women Act Really Pro-Woman? http://womenagainstvawa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Flyer-VAWA-Pro-Woman.pdf
  4. Concerned Women for America. Letter to Senators. Feb. 1, 2012. http://www.saveservices.org/wp-content/uploads/CWA-VAWALtr.2.1.2012.pdf
  5. Kaminer W. What’s Wrong with the Violence Against Women Act? The Atlantic. March 2012.
  6. Women Figure Anew in Senate’s Latest Battle. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/15/us/politics/violence-against-women-act-divides-senate.html