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Civil Rights Department of Education Domestic Violence Due Process Free Speech Office for Civil Rights Press Release Sex Education Sexual Harassment Title IX

63 Organizations Urge Congress to Halt the Weaponization of Title IX

PRESS RELEASE

Rebecca Hain: 513-479-3335

Email: info@saveservices.org

63 Organizations Urge Congress to Halt the Weaponization of Title IX

WASHINGTON / January 26, 2023 – Sixty-three leading organizations today are calling on Congress to take strong measures to stop the proposed overhaul of Title IX, the law that was designed to curb sex discrimination in schools. On June 23, 2022 the Department of Education proposed a new Title IX regulation that would redefine the meaning of “sex,” limit free speech, and hobble due process protections (1).

The letter notes that Title IX activists also are seeking to “marginalize the role of parents, promote gender transitioning among minors, make a mockery of fairness in women’s sports, and curtail free speech and due process.”

The letter urges Congress to therefore undertake the following actions:

  1. Pursuant to H. Res 12, SELECT SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE WEAPONIZATION OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, investigate how the U.S. Department of Education has collaborated with private sector and non-profit entities to alter the regulatory definitions of “sex” and “sexual harassment,” with the aim of changing the foundational legal definition of “sex” and infringing on First Amendment free speech rights.
  2. Reduce the appropriations to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) by $25 million.
  3. Conduct hearings on experimental medical practices involving gender transition of under-age children, e.g., puberty blocking drugs, opposite-sex hormones, breast removal, and castration.
  4. Vigorously oppose passage of the Students’ Access to Freedom and Educational Rights (SAFER) Act, introduced in December 2022.
  5. Oppose legislation that seeks to expand definitions of “sexual harassment,” promote “trauma-informed” investigations, or seek to weaken free speech, due process, or the presumption of innocence.
  6. Work for the passage of the following legislation:
    1. Parents Bill of Rights Act
    2. Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act
    3. Campus Free Speech Restoration Act
    4. Campus Equality, Fairness, and Transparency Act

A SAVE public opinion poll reveals strong public support for these actions (2).

The 63 organizations are members of the Title IX Network (3). The letter to Congress can be viewed online (4).

Links:

  1. https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-releases-proposed-changes-title-ix-regulations-invites-public-comment
  2. https://www.saveservices.org/2022/06/63-of-americans-oppose-expanding-definition-of-sex-to-include-gender-identity/
  3. https://www.saveservices.org/2022-Policy/
  4. https://www.saveservices.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Letter-to-Stop-Weaponization-of-Title-IX-Jan.-26.pdf
Categories
Domestic Violence Sexual Assault Sexual Harassment

The Waxman Cometh: London’s Commissioner for Which Victims, Exactly?

The Waxman Cometh: London’s Commissioner for Which Victims, Exactly?

Sean Parker

January 25, 2023

Claire Waxman is London’s first Victims Commissioner. In 2011, she won a case to overturn the decision not to prosecute her stalker, university friend Elliot Fogel.

Fogel was first convicted in 2003 over repeated phone calls. The former Sky Sports producer denied he had done anything wrong, but was convicted by a jury of stalking and breaching a restraining order.

Waxman was a contributor to a successful campaign for change in stalking laws, and in 2013 founded campaign group Voice4Victims to continue lobbying for legislation. V4V proposed victims’ rights amendments to the Policing and Crime Bill, passed in the House of Lords in 2016.

Also in 2016 V4V launched the Abuse of Process campaign, which aimed to tackle the problem of alleged victims being abused by alleged perpetrators through legal platforms. Whether this would be following verdict, when a complainant legally becomes a victim, is unclear. V4V also drafted the Sexual Offences Bill, to improve protection for alleged victims of rape and sexual assault. What, if any, connection Waxman has to Betsy Stanko (Operation Soteria grande fromage, charged with increasing UK sexual assault convictions) is as yet undeclared.

Waxman was subsequently reappointed by Sadiq Khan in May 2021. She claims to have undertaken work to transform the criminal justice system to provide a better experience for victims of crime, working alongside victims to amplify their voices, and promoting their interests throughout the ‘criminal justice journey’. Does this also include victims of false allegations of domestic violence and sexual assault, wrongful conviction or incarceration, or men and boys in general?

In December 2022 Waxman issued a series of social media posts that appeared to erase the existence of male victims of domestic abuse, and vilified men. Here are some examples:

  • December 7: “Our campaign is making a real difference in our fight to end the epidemic of male violence against women and girls for good.”
  • December 9: “We should reflect on Violence Against Women and Girls in the 21st Century, and the huge proportion of abuse that takes place online and using technology.”
  • December 12: “Much more must be done to tackle the harmful behaviors of men.”
  • December 14: “Zara’s future was stolen by a man with no regard for her life or the law.”
  • December 18: “We are in an epidemic of violence against women and girls.” December 19: “Everyone has a responsibility to challenge misogynistic views and attitudes.”

Also in 2022, Justice Secretary Dominic Raab declined to renew national Victims Commissioner Dame Vera Baird’s contract. Baird is a well-known radical feminist of the ages. See False Allegations Watch‘s annotated notes on a statement given during her tenure.

According to sources Claire Waxman has been used by the legal-dominance feminist lobby to campaign against the recognition of Parental Alienation in the Domestic Abuse Bill. She allegedly went to the President of the Family Division with a list of names of professionals working on Parental Alienation cases. The source suspected that this was why he referred to people having their professional reputation destroyed in a key speech on Parental Alienation in October 2021. The President didn’t take any action.

So the Victims Industry rolls on unquestioned, due to nobody in power wanting to be seen as denying alleged victims justice. But there are many kinds of victims, and in a world where good is bad, right is wrong, left is right and male can be female, there are also potentially 8 billion victims.

Subjectivity ultimately goes in only one direction – inwards; and let it not be forgotten that prisons also are full of ‘victims’. Those who are charged with creating alleged victims are by and large victims themselves, and even if they claim not to have been, have possibly not yet been correctly coerced into seeing themselves that way.

As is increasingly the case, it’s the terminology that’s the problem: If victimhood is seen as a monetisable virtue, then the image of wrongdoing, pain and suffering must be maintained at all costs, and for as long as possible. Otherwise any possible pretence or change of state might be seen through, and fatal doubt sown. Using negative experience as an emotional crutch is a very dangerous business, as crying wolf is a one-way street; once done, rarely recovered from. And don’t even start on the potential false memories in historical cases, or the social contagion of a million believed stories becoming the industrialised wheels before the new culture-wars ambulance-chasers (MeToo lawyers and their ilk).

Categories
Domestic Violence Law & Justice Legal

Why Are Young Women Becoming More Violent?

Why Are Young Women Becoming More Violent?

SAVE

December 28, 2022

These three stories about domestic assaults appeared in a single day on December 27, 2022:

  1. New Jersey woman allegedly shoots, kills husband on Christmas
  2. Florida mother stabs 3-year-old daughter to death: Police
  3. Woman arrested in South Carolina airport after attacking husband over ‘indecent’ photos on his phone: Police

Criminologists have known for more than 30 years that young women are rapidly becoming more violent. To illustrate the phenomenon, here’s a story from 2006, at which point the trend was already more than a decade old:

Are US Girls Becoming More Violent?

July 2006

Adolescent U.S. girls are being arrested in record numbers. … [N]ational arrest statistics for simple and aggravated assaults by girls have been on the rise for more than a decade. The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports note the female percentage of total juvenile assault arrests jumped from 21 percent to 32 percent between 1990 and 2003. And the U.S. female juvenile assault rate rose from about 200 for every 100,000 girls to 750 between 1980 and 2003.

Some analysts trace the surge in the number of girls arrested to increased pressures—from the breakdowns of family, church, community, and school—that have increased their propensity for violence. Other analysts reason that girls are more likely to act out or lash out due to changing gender-role expectations: Greater female freedom and assertiveness have masculinized female behavior and are expressed in an imitation of male machismo competitiveness. And violence by girls is also pervasive in much of today’s entertainment. (Even in a recent Harry Potter movie, a girl character—Hermione Granger—hits a boy, only to say afterwards: “Boy, that felt good.”)

The trend is all the more remarkable because, until 2020, the crime rate for every other demographic group had been declining for more than 20 years. Young women were the only demographic group that showed an increase in violent crime. Here’s a story from early 2020:

Female fugitives: Why is ‘pink-collar crime’ on the rise?

The Guardian, Jan 6, 2020

Men commit more crimes than women do. A lot more. This holds true over time and across cultures. In America, the incarceration capital of the world (more than 2 million detainees), males comprise 93% of the prison population. Men also account for 73% of all arrests and 80% of those charged with violent crimes. This disparity between the sexes is particularly stark when it comes to murder: 90% of the time, the ones who do the killing are men.

All these numbers add up to what criminologists call the “gender gap”. But read enough academic journals and government crime reports, and some curious facts emerge: while crime rates in the western world have steadily declined over the past three decades, the number of young women being convicted for violent crimes in some western countries has increased significantly; law enforcement records indicate the opposite is true for their male counterparts. In other words, the gender gap is closing.

In some UK cities, the number of female arrests increased by 50% from 2015 to 2016. That’s more than a blip. A 2017 report by the Institute For Criminal Policy Research at Birkbeck, University of London came up with this sobering data point: the global female prison population has surged by more than half since the turn of the century, while the male prison population increased by just a fifth over that same period. Women and girls may account for only 7% of all incarcerated people today, but their numbers are now growing at a much faster rate than at any time in recorded history.

Going Easy on Female Offenders

Criminologists advance several different theories for the increase in violent crime by young females, including the substantial disparity in criminal justice outcomes for women compared to men. Young female perpetrators understand they are much less likely to be prosecuted than similarly-situated male offenders. And, even if prosecuted, are likely to receive substantially lower sentences than similarly-situated male offenders. In other words, young women are becoming more violent, at least in part, because they believe they can get away with it.

Numerous studies confirm this sex bias. Here’s a small sample of these studies:

Sex bias in the criminal system arises from the actions of police officers, prosecutors, and judges, and well as from the misconceptions of lawmakers and the public at large. It’s time to stop these egregious violations of the Equal Protection provision of the Fourteenth Amendment.

 

 

Categories
Domestic Violence

Not only Women, But Also Men Can Become Victims of Violence (Lithuanian)

Smurto aukomis tampa ne tik moterys, bet ir vyrai

Stengiamasi žaisti „į vienus vartus“

B.van der Weg-Bražiūnienė atkreipė dėmesį ir į tai, kad visą praėjusią savaitę daugelyje pasaulio šalių, bet tik ne Lietuvoje, vyko Tarptautinei vyrų dienai (pažymima lapkričio 19 d.) skirti renginiai.

„Toks dėmesys – ne atsitiktinis, o tampriai susijęs su stebimu vyrų demonizavimu ir jų teisių menkinimu. Todėl daugybė organizacijų iš viso pasaulio kvietė į 3-ąjį iš eilės Globalinį stebėjimą – savaitę trunkančią Tarptautinės vyrų dienos šventę. Ypatingai šiais metais stengtasi akcentuoti smurto prieš vyrus šeimose problematiką“, – pasakojo visuomenininkė.

Pasak jos, situaciją dar labiau blogina tai, kad problemą stengiamasi ignoruoti.

„Jungtinių Tautų socialinių, humanitarinių ir kultūrinių klausimų komitetas svarsto dokumentą „Smurtas prieš moteris ir merginas, jo priežastys ir pasekmės“. Deja, A/77/136 ataskaita  yra tokia ydinga, kad Tarptautinis prievartos ir smurto artimoje aplinkoje aljansas (Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance, sutr.DAVIA) , kuris šiuo metu apjungia 68 organizacijas iš 28 pasaulio šalių, ragina komitetą atšaukti tolesnį svarstymą. Priešingu atveju kyla pavojus, kad bus diskredituojamos teisėtos pastangos spręsti klimato kaitos, COVID ir realias smurto šeimoje problemas. DAVIA atlikta JT dokumento analizė atskleidė tokius jo trūkumus: 1. Mokslinio patikimumo stoka dėl netinkamo ir netikslaus pagrindinių teiginių šaltinio; 2. Teiginys, kad „Tyrimai parodė, jog per klimatines katastrofas moterys miršta 14 kartų dažniau negu vyrai yra nepatikimas, neįtikėtinas ir nepriklausomų apžvalgininkų apibūdintas kaip „zombių statistika“; 3. Klaidingai tvirtinama, kad COVID „neproporcingai“ paveikia moteris ir mergaites; policijos pranešimai, nusikalstamumo statistika ir kolegų peržiūrimi tyrimai rodo, kad pandemijos metu smurtas šeimoje nepadidėjo; 4. Mirtingumo, susijusio su badu, tyrimų neįtraukimas. Orveliška manipuliacija, padedanti eliminuoti nuolat pasikartojantį didesnį vyrų mirtingumą stichinių nelaimių atvejais; 5. Nesugebėjimas pripažinti fakto, kad moterys taip pat dažnai smurtauja šeimoje; 6. Vyrų-smurto aukų nuasmeninimas yra taktika, seniai asocijuojama su totalitariniais režimais.  Trumpiau tariant, minėtas JT dokumentas, DAVIA nuomone, yra ideologijos triumfas prieš mokslą“, – niūrią realybę įvardino B.van der Weg-Bražiūnienė.

Ji patikslino, kad DAVIA siekė pabrėžti didžiulį, dabar JT komiteto svarstomų pasiūlymų šališkumą, o aljanso parengta ataskaita yra laisvai prieinama internete.

„Reaguodamos į tai tarptautinės organizacijos visame pasaulyje penktadienį, lapkričio 18 d., minėjo Tarptautinę kovos su smurtu prieš vyrus dieną. Tą pačią dieną Tarptautinis prievartos ir smurto artimoje aplinkoje aljansas surengė tarptautinę spaudos konferenciją, kurioje pasisakė DAVIA prezidentas Edward E. Bartlett, knygų apie moterų smurtą prieš vyrus autorė Ann Silvers, su Tėvų atstūmimo problema dirbanti Jan James, Stambulo konvencijos kritikas, politikos studijų profesorius Stephenas Baskerville, Indijos vyrų forumo atstovas Anirban Sinha ir kiti.

Lietuvoje irgi liūdna

Ne vienerius metus su tėvų atstūmimo problematika dirbanti ir aktyviai įvairių organizacijų veikloje dalyvaujanti B.van der Weg-Bražiūnienė įvertino ir Lietuvos situaciją.

„Tyrimai rodo, kad būtent lyčių stereotipai ir nuostatos, kokiais asmenybės bruožais turi pasižymėti viena ar kita lytis, gali lemti tai, jog Lietuvoje vyrų savižudybių yra net keturis kartus daugiau, nei moterų. Dar 2006 m. Rita Žukauskienė savo knygoje „Kriminalinio elgesio psichologija“ rašė: „smurtauti ir būti auka gali ir vyras, ir moteris. Intymių partnerių smurtas yra gana plačiai paplitęs Šiaurės Amerikos visuomenėje. Daugelis pagalbos tarnybų intervencinių programų orientuotos reaguoti į smurtą, kurį patiria moterys iš savo sutuoktinių arba partnerių, ir dažniausiai smurtas tarp partnerių sutuoktinių suprantamas kaip vyro smurtas, o ne priešingai. Vis dėlto kai kurių autorių tyrimai, atlikti daugiausia JAV, rodo, kad moterys taip pat taiko smurtą prieš savo vyrus, o kai kurie autoriai pažymi, jog moterys labiau nei vyrai linkę smurtauti prieš savo intymų partnerį“, – čia prieš tai minėtos knygos ištrauką pacitavo visuomenininkė.

Pasak jos, tokias prielaidas patvirtino ir vėlesniais metais atliktos analizės.

Daugiau negu 343 mokslinių tyrimų, atliktų 40 šalių smurto artimoje aplinkoje tema, kompiliacija patvirtina, jog: „moterys yra fiziškai agresyvios, kaip ir vyrai (ar daugiau) santykiuose su savo sutuoktiniais ar priešingos lyties partneriais“ (šaltinis: Martin Fiebert „Nuorodos, nagrinėjančios moterų išpuolius prieš savo sutuoktinius ar vyrus“, 2014 m.). Nepaisant to, feministinės organizacijos nesiremia mokslinių tyrimų išvadomis, bet naudoja pranešimų apie smurtą policijai suvestines. Kaip žinia, vyrai dėl patirto šeimoje smurto skundžiasi dažniausiai tik tada, kai jis tampa fiziškai pavojingas, ką patvirtinta ir 2020 Lietuvoje atliktas tyrimas (https://www.specializuotospagalboscentras.lt/tyrimai/), – toliau situaciją vertino visuomenininkė.  Dar tebėra gajus berniukų auklėjimas principu, jog vyrams nedera reikšti savo jausmų ar laikyti savęs aukomis. Persmelkiantys įsitikinimai ar stereotipai apie tai, kad vyrai yra smurtautojai, o moterys – aukos, tvyro kaip slogus smogas mūsų visuomenėje. Dėl to vyrai nedrįsta skųstis, neieško pagalbos, ką, deja, ne kiekvienas psichologiškai atlaiko. Prievarta prieš vyrus dažnai traktuojama kaip ne tokia rimta arba iš vis nereikšminga.

Vyrai, kaip žinia, dažnai smurtą patiria skyrybų metu, kai, siekiant didesnės dalies užgyvento turto ar išimtinai vaikų globos, jie yra nepagrįstai apkaltinami smurtu. Kol vyksta tyrimas, vyrai negali pareiti į savo nuosavus namus, matytis su vaikais. Praktika rodo, kad dažnai tokių atveju metu vaikai yra nuteikinėjami prieš tėčius, todėl galime kalbėti ir apie psichologinį smurtą prieš vaiką. Vėliau tas, dažniausiai, išsivysto į tėvų atstūmimą. Aišku, moterys taip pat susiduria su tėvų atstūmimu, bet vyrai dėl to nukenčia 4-6 kartus dažniau.

Be to, kaltinimams smurtu nepasitvirtinus, dažniausiai melagingai apkaltinusieji lieka nenubausti. Įdomu, ar statistikoje išlieka nepasitvirtinę pranešimai apie „patirtą“ smurtą. Ar kas susimąstė, kokį psichologines pasekmes patiria nekaltai apkaltintas žmogus?

Pasak B.van der Weg-Bražiūnienės, reikia suprasti, kad smurtas neturi lyties, todėl atpildo privalo susilaukti visi smurtautojai.

Categories
Bills Campus Department of Education Discrimination Domestic Violence False Allegations Free Speech Sexual Harassment Title IX

SAFER Act Seeks Sweeping Changes to Redefine ‘Sex’ and ‘Sexual Harassment’

PRESS RELEASE

Rebecca Stewart: 513-479-3335

Email: info@saveservices.org

SAFER Act Seeks to Make Sweeping Changes to Redefine ‘Sex’ and ‘Sexual Harassment’

WASHINGTON / December 12, 2022 – Lawmakers recently introduced the Students’ Access to Freedom and Educational Rights (SAFER) Act in both the Senate and House (1). The bill proposes to codify sweeping changes to the definitions of “sex” and “sexual harassment.”

Definition of Sex

The existing Title IX law, enacted in 1972, was designed to eliminate discrimination based on a student’s “sex.” But the SAFER bill seeks to expand this fundamental term to include sex stereotypes, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, or gender identity.  Gender identity is defined as “a person’s internal sense of gender, which could be female, male, or another gender.” (Section 101)

To date, two circuit courts have ruled against changing the Title IX definition of sex:

  • On July 15, 2022 a Tennessee District Court issued a Preliminary Injunction overturning the Department of Education’s Interpretation of Title IX to include “discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.” (2)
  • In a November 11, 2022 decision, a Texas District Court ruled in Neese v. Becerra that Title IX does not prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. (3)

Over 200 organizations have gone on record in opposition (4) to proposed changes to Title IX that would expand the definition of “sex,” which would impose devastating consequences on women’s sports (5), promote life-altering sex changes on underage children (6), and have long-term effects on parental rights (7).

Definition of Sexual Harassment

In Davis v. Monroe, the U.S. Supreme Court defined sexual harassment as harassment that is ‘‘so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it can be said to deprive the victims of access to the educational opportunities or benefits provided by the school.’’ (8)

But the SAFER bill proposes a broader definition of sexual harassment that would encompass virtually all sex-related conduct that is perceived as “unwelcome:”

“any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, regardless of whether it is direct or indirect, or verbal or nonverbal (including conduct that is undertaken in whole or in part, through the use of electronic messaging services, commercial mobile services, electronic communications, or other technology), that unreasonably alters an individual’s terms, benefits, or privileges of an education program or activity, including by creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment.” (Section 203(i))

Such changes would exact harmful consequences on free speech (9) and open the door for a wave of false allegations of sexual misconduct and domestic violence (10). A former Washington State prosecutor explains the false allegations problem this way (11):

“The Department of Education has put immense pressure on higher education institutions to handle cases to their liking….As a result of this unfair treatment, innocent accused students, staff, and faculty find themselves expelled, fired or facing criminal charges.”

In Orwellian fashion, the bill sponsors make the remarkable claim that the SAFER Act will protect “all” students from discrimination (12).

SAVE urges lawmakers to strongly oppose the SAFER Act.

Links:

  1. https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/hr9387/BILLS-117hr9387ih.pdf
  2. https://adfmedialegalfiles.blob.core.windows.net/files/TennesseeOrderOpinionPI.pdf
  3. https://casetext.com/case/neese-v-becerra-1
  4. https://www.saveservices.org/2022-Policy/
  5. https://www.iwf.org/womens-sports-resource-center/
  6. https://nrb.org/articles/thousands-rally-at-tennessee-state-capitol-to-end-child-mutilation/
  7. https://parentalrights.org/
  8. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/526/629/
  9. https://speechfirst.org/about/
  10. https://www.saveservices.org/2021/05/pr-40-50-of-campus-sexual-assault-allegations-are-unfounded-revealing-need-for-strong-protections-of-the-innocent/
  11. https://kuhlmanoffice.com/practice-areas/title-ix-defense/
  12. https://www.casey.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/one_pager_safer_act.pdf
Categories
Domestic Violence Due Process False Allegations Law & Justice Legal

Families in Bermuda Are Being Harmed by the UN’s Domestic Violence Policies

Families in Bermuda Are Being Harmed by the UN’s Domestic Violence Policies

Edward M. Tavares

Co-founder, ChildWatch Bermuda

Bermuda is part of United Kingdom’s commonwealth as an overseas dependent territory. We are sharing our concerns about the status of shared parenting and domestic violence policies.

Shared Parenting

According to Bermuda’s last statistical family type release in May 31, 2006, 85% of custody of children post-divorce and separation was held by women. How can 85% of fathers be relegated to visitor status by the courts because their marriage failed? Most studies show these divorce decisions are made unilaterally by women.

Continuous violation exists with respect to the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child, which states in Article 9:

  1. Parties shall ensure that a child shall not be separated from his or her parents against their will, except when competent authorities subject to judicial review determine, in accordance with applicable law and procedures, and that
  2. Such separation is necessary for the best interests of the child. Such determination may be necessary in a particular case such as one involving abuse or neglect of the child by the parents, or one where the parents are living separately, and a decision must be made as to the child’s place of residence.
  3. Parties shall respect the right of the child who is separated from one or both parents to maintain personal relations and direct contact with both parents on a regular basis, except if it is contrary to the child’s best interests.

However, fathers have been relegated to visitor status for decades in regard to custody of their children after divorce or separation by the courts, most times without any investigations or due process. This can cause violations of the European Human Rights, Article 8 of the Convention– Right to respect for private and family life:

“Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.”

One father went to court for 28 years trying to obtain custody and to defend his parental rights. Meanwhile, he lost his house, bank accounts, etc., while having to obtain 14 lawyers and achieving little remedy in the court. This abuse of the law constitutes as legal administrative abuse and coercive control, requiring that the father must conform and comply with their demands.

The biases of the Courts and family Counsellors, Department of Child and Family Services, apparently see only mothers as viable caregivers. These injustices are usually compounded by many local organizations with the power of the Bermuda Police Services, while threatening and harassing letters are sent out without any investigations to many fathers to order them to conform to the demands which often are contrary to Court orders in place. We believe that these letters are just to gain higher status and finances, within society, and garner sympathy from politicians/legislators.

Prior to 2002 we had six men paying support for a child that was not theirs. We at ChildWatch advocated for legal changes as unwed fathers were not able to take proceedings against mothers, nor were allowed DNA testing for paternity fraud, according to “The Affiliation Act, 1976.”  One father found out that he wasn’t the father 17 years later, and a few others learned the truth 14 years later.

In 2006, one accused father was denied DNA testing even after it was implemented into law in 2002. The Judge refused DNA testing on the false claim of the mother that he was the father. After three years having gone to prison as ordered by the court, we lobbied to have him tested. Eventually this father was granted permission, and the results revealed that he was not the biological father. This ruined his life, having lost his job, and was considered unemployable, and unacceptable to society.

Many fathers suffer from not only losing their children, but also losing their homes and finances in the struggle for their children’s benefit.  Following a divorce, a parent may engage in behaviors that serve to alienate the child from the other parent. In an attempt to cover up the alienating behavior, the alienating parent may then falsely accuse the target parent of child abuse.

Bermuda’s prison inmates come largely from fatherless homes.  Poor education attainment, and dropping out, teen pregnancy, drug abuse, alcohol, behavioral problems, gang culture, and deaths by murder are more customary to male victims who come mostly from fatherless homes.

Policies of the United Nations 

The World Health Organization reports that men are far more likely to die of violence-related causes than women, for the following age groups (death rates 100,00 population):

• 5-14 years: Male: 1.7; Female: 1.0

• 15-24 years: Male: 57.7; Female: 8.1

• 25-34 years: Male: 92.3; Female: 10.3

• 35-54 years: Male: 70.6; Female: 6.5

• 55-74 years: Male: 29.5; Female: 3.3

Overall, the WHO reveals that men are eight times more likely than women to die of violence-related causes.

The UN report, “A Gendered Analysis of Violent Deaths”, similarly concluded, “Globally, men and boys accounted for 84 per cent of the people who died violently in 2010–15.” Clearly, violence against men represents a greater problem than violence against women.

Regarding domestic violence, a compilation of 343 scholarly investigations concluded that “women are as physically aggressive as men (or more) in their relationships with their spouses or opposite-sex partners.” These studies were conducted on a broad range of racial, ethnic, and socio-economic groups in 40 different countries.

ChildWatch Bermuda has great concerns regarding the UN Women’s position paper to “Eliminate Domestic Violence Against Women and Girls.” Our concern is that there is no mention of the “Elimination of Domestic Violence Against Men and Boys” included. Studies show that men suffer equally as women from domestic violence.

An analysis of Resolution A/77/302: Intensification of Efforts to Eliminate All Forms of Violence Against Women and Girls by the Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance on October 17, 2022 reveals substantial bias against male victims.

Domestic Violence During the COVID Pandemic

On March 23, 2020 the U.S.-based National Task Force to End Sexual and Domestic Violence issued an alert with this startling claim: “Survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault are facing extreme danger and risk.” Likewise, UN Women declared a “shadow pandemic of violence against women and girls” which would result from lockdowns across the world.

These alerts did not provide any evidence to support their claims. Subsequently, a wave of media accounts predicted an imminent “spike” and “spurt” of abuse, often featuring heart-rending — but unsubstantiated — anecdotes.

But the predicted catastrophe never happened. Numerous independent analyses of hotline calls, police calls for service, and crime statistics, both in the United States and abroad, concluded that overall, there was no increase in domestic violence or sexual assault, and some locales saw a decrease.

The U.S. National Domestic Violence Hotline reports on the number of answered calls, chats, and texts received each year since 1996. The graph from the most recent report reveals the number of answered inquiries in 2020 was 363,000, which is the same number as in 2018. Clearly, there was no “spike” or “surge” in the number of abuse calls during the COVID pandemic.

Imposed Separation Communication breakdowns are inherent in human relationships. In years past, police officers encouraged the parties to temporarily separate and make amends. But now, any marital tiff can be considered to be domestic “abuse.” Today, we have instituted mandatory-arrest laws, even when short-term separation and counseling for the parties would be the more appropriate measure.

Conclusion

These are just a few examples of the many injustices seen in Bermuda. We would like to thank you for taking the time to review and consider our concerns. Hopefully, we can reach a viable solution against domestic abuse for men and women, including boys and girls.

In addition, I will be happy to set up a telephone call to answer any questions you may have. Thank you for your attention to this matter of importance.

 

 

Categories
Domestic Violence

Human Rights, Sex Bias, and Family Court

Human Rights, Sex Bias, and Family Court

Carl Roberts

November 30, 2022

On December 10, persons around the world will be observing Human Rights Day, a day that is devoted to celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 7 of the Declaration states,

“All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.”

So how well are family courts upholding this principle?

Extensive experience reveals a fundamental problem with the family court, child support, child welfare, and domestic violence systems is an unsupported bias and belief that men are less safe than women. Even though these biases are contrary to the data and wealth of available social science(1), policy and system practices persist to unjustly deny children healthy relationships with their fathers.

Fatherlessness is a public health crisis disproportionately impacting communities of color(2). When fathers are absent, children are at greater risk of all other societal ills(2). From gun & criminal violence, suicide & mental health issues, child poverty and homelessness, to everything in between and beyond, children without a father in their life have life’s odds stacked against them. Still, fathers are treated as second class citizens and pushed out of their children’s lives. Often, simply at the whim of the mother.

Unfortunately, well-meaning policymakers are similarly misled and uninformed of the data and social science regarding domestic violence (DV)(3), intimate partner violence (IPV)(4), and child abuse(5). Their instinct is to protect women and children from what they perceive as more dangerous men. So all it takes is a single allegation of abuse to invoke the implicit or explicit bias of the judge, or person in position of authority, who wants to err on the side of caution to protect the child.

Stated another way, men are presumed guilty until proven innocent.  In many cases, the allegation is not adjudicated, but the seed of a false claim has its intended effect. To harm, impair, or sever a child’s relationship with their father.

Criminal law is based on the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Family law has no presumption that a parent is fit until shown otherwise. Without a presumption that can be overcome with a preponderance of evidence, parents can allege whatever they want, without accountability, to invoke the favor of a judge. Unscrupulous family law attorneys advise their clients on this strategy because it works, there is no downside, and it increases revenue.

Many feminists seek to deny their children a relationship with their father. Gender biased domestic violence advocates argue that they shouldn’t have to prove abuse. They argue they should just be believed because only men are perpetrators, never women.

Mothers AND fathers are equally as important.  Children have a right to being raised, loved, and cared for by their moms AND their dads. A child’s right to having healthy relationships with both parents must be protected by presuming that each parent is good unless proven that either parent is unsafe or unfit.

Family courts and related systems diminish child health, safety, and family resilience because they operate on the basis of gender bias to presume fathers are less safe and push them away.

This widespread form of child abuse and parental alienation must stop!

Citations:

  1. References Examining Assaults by Women on Their Spouses or Male Partners: An Updated Annotated Bibliography. Martin S. Fiebert – A compilation of 343 scholarly investigations (270 empirical studies and 73 reviews) demonstrating that women are as physically aggressive as men (or more) in their relationships with their spouses or opposite-sex partners. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261543769_References_Examining_Assaults_by_Women_on_Their_Spouses_or_Male_Partners_An_Updated_Annotated_Bibliography
  2. Father Facts 8 (8th Edition – 2019) – National Fatherhood Initiative – Fatherhood.org
  3. Seven Key Facts About Domestic Violence Prepared by: Coalition to End Domestic Violence (EndtoDV.org) Fact #1: Each year, men are more likely than women to be victims of domestic violence and other forms of partner abuse, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. http://endtodv.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Seven-Key-Facts-About-DV-9.11.2021.pdf
  4. Partner Abuse State of Knowledge Project Findings At-a-Glance summarizes the results of the Partner Abuse State of Knowledge Project, a comprehensive, 2,300- page review of the domestic violence research literature. https://domesticviolenceresearch.org/pdf/FindingsAt-a-Glance.Nov.23.pdf
  5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2018), National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2015 Data Brief – Updated Release, Atlanta, Georgia. Tables 9 and 11. https:www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/2015data-brief508.pdf
Categories
Domestic Violence

Opinion by a Peruvian Citizen Regarding the Domestic Abuse of Men (Spanish)

Opinion de Una Ciudadana Peruana Acerca del Abuso Doméstico Hacia el Hombre

Laura Leon

16 noviembre 2022

Soy hispana y estoy completamente en contra del abuso doméstico como psicológico tanto a mujeres, hombres o niños. No digo nombres, pero he sido testigo de casos de mujeres que solas se golpean contra objetos para dejar marcas o hematomas en sus cuerpos, con el fin de probar que fué abusada — pero quien lo vió? Nadie, y quien lo vió no se atreve a decirlo para no tener problemas futuros.

Desgraciadamente, la policía o cualquier otra persona que la vé lo creerá aunque la parte que esta siendo acusada diga que no es cierto. Se abusa mucho del famoso dicho “sexo débil.”

Si el hombre no denuncia es por verguenza, y si se atreve a denunciar nadie le cree (empezando por la misma policía), y es motivo de burlas que a la larga, muchas veces trae trágicas consecuencias.

Conozco casos cercanos tanto de amistades como familiares de abuso corporal como psicológico en el cual los únicos perdedores son los hijos. Principales testigos de dichos maltratos pero que no hablan por temor a que el agresor, sea el padre o la madre agresora, pueda reaccionar hacia ellos. Estas escenas son clases para un futuro abusador o abusadora.

Estos abusos domesticos no solo se dan entre parejas de esposos, convivientes o parejas del mismo sexo. El abuso, sea doméstico o psicológico, no tiene sexo, ni tamaño del agresor.

Ya es hora que todo esto termine y se dé mas credibilidad a la palabra masculina, que el hombre que acusa de haber sido abusado, sea escuchado. Todas las voces deben ser escuchadas, porque entonces caemos en la famosa palabra muchas veces mencionada, pero también muchas veces no aplicada, sobretodo en el caso del hombre, y es “discriminación!

Categories
Child Custody Domestic Violence False Allegations Law & Justice Sexual Assault

Family Courts Increasingly Are Holding False Accusers Accountable for Their Actions

Family Courts Increasingly Are Holding False Accusers Accountable for Their Actions

SAVE

April 1, 2022

Over the years, people have asked how to seek recompense for false allegations and other abusive litigation tactics.  Family law cases have a tendency to bring out bad behavior in people, and false allegations have an unfortunate tendency to arise with greater frequency in such cases.

Following are examples of three family law cases:

  1. In Leisinger v. Jacobson, 2002 SD 108 (S.D. 2002), a South Dakota man sued his ex-wife for making a series of false allegations during the pendency of their divorce. Among other things, she “orchestrated [a] protection order, and violations of it, to obtain leverage against him in the divorce.” The South Dakota Supreme Court affirmed a malicious prosecution verdict in which a jury ordered the ex-wife to pay $13,754 in damages to her ex-husband.  The jury also ordered her to pay $120,000 in punitive damages, which the Supreme Court reduced to $25,000.   https://ujs.sd.gov/Supreme_Court/opiniondetail.aspx?ID=1014
  2. In a 2010 case titled Bloch v. Bloch, the Michigan Court of Appeals reversed a trial order that dismissed a malicious prosecution case that was based on false allegations made during a divorce. During the divorce case, the wife sought full custody of the couple’s minor child. Wife made false reports of physical abuse by him and reported or caused to be reported a number of false allegations of sexual abuse by the husband against the couple’s child. These allegations resulted in two separate child protective service (CPS) investigations, a psychological review of the parties and the child, and a number of police investigations. Husband was also forced to undergo a psychological evaluation, a polygraph examination, and was subject to at least one arrest. During the divorce proceedings, the trial court found the allegations were without merit, a finding supported by the psychologist who examined the parties and the child. Based on these facts, the Court of Appeals allowed the husband’s malicious prosecution case against his ex-wife to proceed.  https://www.michbar.org/file/opinions/appeals/2010/090210/46723.pdf
  3. In Norberg v. Norberg, 2017 ND 14 (N.D. 2017), the North Dakota Supreme Court allowed a case to proceed against a woman who falsely accused her husband of sexual assault in an effort to win custody of their children. The false allegations resulted in her husband being tried and acquitted of rape. https://www.ndcourts.gov/supreme-court/opinion/2017ND14

The North Dakota Supreme Court earlier affirmed a trial decision that awarded sole custody of the couple’s children to the falsely accused ex-husband. The trial court found the wife’s report of sexual abuse was untrue and nothing more than her attempt to get custody of the parties’ children.  The court also found that she lied to the children about her allegations, which alienated the children from their father and may have damaged his relationship with them. The court found her lies were strong evidence of her moral unfitness because the children had to deal with news accounts of their father’s criminal trial and the intrusions of supervised parenting time, and the lies put their father at risk of going to prison: http://jimfishertruecrime.blogspot.com/2012/11/dr-jon-norbergs-nightmare-rape.html

Malicious Prosecution

The family law cases discussed above all involved false allegations of rape and/or child abuse, which resulted in criminal investigations. It’s hard to image a more malicious act than to falsely accuse someone of rape or child abuse.

That said, malicious prosecution claims should only be brought in egregious situations – those that involve malice.  Malicious prosecution claims are generally disfavored in the law because of their potential chilling effect on people’s willingness to bring legitimate claims. Trial lawyers David Parker and William Mills write:

Malicious prosecution claims have long been recognized as having a chilling effect on an ordinary citizen’s willingness to bring a dispute to court, and as a result the tort is often characterized as a “disfavored cause of action.”

It is not simply a matter of a chilling effect on the public – it affects lawyers as well. “[T]here is a basic and important policy that public access to the courts should be unfettered by threats of retaliatory litigation. Access to the courts would be illusory if plaintiffs were denied counsel of their choice, because attorneys feared being held liable as insurers of the quality of their clients’ cases. Few attorneys would be willing to prosecute close and difficult matters, and virtually none would dare challenge the propriety of established legal doctrines.” http://parkermillsllp.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/MaliciousProsecutionHandbook2014.pdf  (citations omitted)

Takeaways

What are the takeaways from these cases for both lawyers and parties?

For lawyers, the takeaway is “do your diligence.”  Don’t merely repeat what your client tells you.  This is true at the start of the case as well as at all times during the pendency of the case.  If you learn during the pendency of the case that your allegations are false or unfounded, don’t repeat them.

Above all, don’t make unfounded allegations in an attempt to gain leverage.  If you allege child abuse or domestic violence in an effort to bolster your case and lose, you’ll certainly lose credibility with the court.  You might also find yourself a defendant in a malicious prosecution case.

For parties, don’t make unfounded allegations in an attempt to gain leverage.  For many years, this was considered a low-risk strategy – the so-called “silver bullet.”  However, things have changed.  These unsavory tactics not only are increasingly unlikely to carry the day, they may backfire and cause you to lose the case.  Even worse, you might get sued by your former partner after the case is over.

Categories
Domestic Violence Law Enforcement Murdered and Missing Sexual Assault Violence Against Women Act

PBS’ ‘Bring Her Home’ Betrays the Truth, Ignores Missing and Murdered Indian Men

PBS’ ‘Bring Her Home’ Betrays the Truth, Ignores Missing and Murdered Indian Men

Rebecca Stewart

March 17, 2022

Imagine Danokoo Hoaglen were your 16-year-old boy who went missing in Montana almost a year ago and you’ve heard nothing since. He’s just gone. Finding him, or any morsel of information on what happened, would be your most important mission.

Hoaglen is one of more than a thousand missing Native Americans, like Jonathan Kent of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma, who disappeared in December at age 15; or Willis Derendoff, age 34, missing without a trace since November 2020. It’s a relative’s worst nightmare, not knowing what happened or where a loved one is.

Whether that person is a son or a daughter makes no difference in the level of strife and determination for finding help and bringing that person home. Whether that’s a son or a daughter should make no difference in the level of help that’s offered from the community.

FBI statistics on the plight of Murdered and Missing Indigenous People (MMIP) are detailed in a report from the National Crime and Information Center. In 2020 there were 918 missing indigenous men and boys and 578 missing women and girls. In addition, the Centers for Disease Control reports105 Indian men and 34 Indian women are murdered each year.

Knowing that 75% of murdered Indians are males, it is puzzling and frustrating to notice that most of the media coverage and political attention highlights only the struggle in the female indigenous population. In fact, a soon-to-be-released PBS documentary titled “Bring Her Home,” focuses only on the plight of women and girls, and provides zero mention of the statistical fact that men and boys make up the majority of missing and murdered indigenous people. Instead, men are spoken of as perpetrators with the comment that society must “reteach men how to be in a relationship with women.” This generalized misrepresentation damages the truth of the process and sadly, stagnates progress for the entirety of indigenous society.

PBS backed up its apparent feminist agenda with a discussion panel on March 15, previewing the “Bring Her Home” premiere. While the panelists were supporting a cause that deserves discussion, they only escalated the one-sided analysis that’s gained the exclusive hashtag #MMIW, in which W (for Women) replaces P (for People). Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women locks out any mention that males are victims of the same problem.

Panel members plead their case that we need to “build systems of justice that help us all;” “we are all responsible to each other;” “how do we not harm each other further;” and “we are all on the same team.” That hint at inclusivity, however, was destroyed with phrases like “holding men who are abusers accountable in our community,” and “we have to look at these men and what’s wrong with them.” No mention was made of the men and boys who are victims of the exact same problems, let alone to a greater extent.

Pushing the hot button of blaming men for a problem that actually affects males at a much higher rate runs contrary to finding solutions based on facts. Wouldn’t the process of solving this common problem work better by including every indigenous victim, rather than ignoring the existence of the majority of them? Native American women and girls deserve truth in this process, too. Every fact must be included to arrive at true solutions when it comes to Native Americans, as a whole, suffering from this murdered and missing epidemic.