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Eighteen Groups Announce Opposition to Campus Accountability and Safety Act

Contact: Mac Walter
Email: info@saveservices.org
Phone: 301-525-2279

Eighteen Groups Announce Opposition to Campus Accountability and Safety Act

WASHINGTON / September 10, 2014 – Eighteen organizations are today announcing their opposition to the proposed Campus Accountability and Safety Act (CASA), S. 2692 and H.R. 5354. The 18 groups represent a broad coalition including victim advocacy groups, gender-specific organizations, college trade entities, and media outlets.

Their opposition to CASA arises from the fact the bill does nothing to address the documented inadequacies of campus committees to conduct investigations, hold hearings, and impose appropriate sanctions. Ironically, the Campus Accountability and Safety Act contains no requirements to increase police presence, promote thorough investigations, or strengthen prosecutorial actions.

Under existing Department of Education policies, campus committees are required to adjudicate allegations of sexual assault, but can only expel a person found guilty of sexual assault.

As a result, numerous complaints have been filed by victims of sexual assault alleging the university did not take the allegation seriously.

In addition, over 40 students accused of sexual assault have filed lawsuits claiming due process violations. Last week the U.S. Department of Education notified Brandeis University that it was opening an investigation on behalf of an accused student who was found guilty of sexual misconduct last Spring.

The 18 groups voicing their opposition to CASA include the American Council on Education, Beyond the Registry, Community of the Wrongly Accused, ifeminists.com, National Association of Scholars, Stop Abusive and Violent Environments, Voice for Male Students, Women for Men, and others.
A complete list of opposing groups can be seen here: www.saveservices.org/camp/campus-justice-coalition/

The Duke University Chronicle recently editorialized that the current campus system “has the potential for real, human cost, where innocent students are convicted and guilty ones set free.” The editorial boards of both USA Today and the Los Angeles Times have also come out against universities’ reliance on campus committees to adjudicate felony sexual assault cases.

“The current system represents second-class justice for both victims and the accused,” charges Campus Justice Coalition spokesperson Sheryle Hutter. “CASA is a perfect example of a bill that is full of symbolism but woefully lacking in substance.”

Over 300 editorials have been published this year disputing the notion of “rape-culture” and critiquing proposed legislative approaches: www.accusingu.org .

The Campus Justice Coalition is working to promote effective and fair solutions to the problem of campus sexual assault.

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Bills Campus Press Release Sexual Assault

PR: Turning the Criminal Justice System into an After-Thought: SAVE Announces Opposition to Campus Accountability and Safety Act

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

Turning the Criminal Justice System into an After-Thought:

SAVE Announces Opposition to Campus Accountability and Safety Act

WASHINGTON / August 5, 2014 – Today Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE) is announcing its opposition to the Campus Accountability and Safety Act. The CASA bill was introduced last week by Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri.

By limiting the involvement of the criminal justice system, the bill would make it harder for thorough investigations to be completed, fair trials to be conducted, and appropriate sanctions to be imposed. The bill impairs the deployment of criminal justice resources in three ways:

1. The Act would not require campus rapes to be reported to law enforcement, thus thwarting the ability of trained investigators to collect evidence.

2. Campus security programs do not possess the legal authority to search FBI DNA and fingerprint databases. A match can prevent a future rape, and allow a previous crime to be solved, as well.

3. The law would preclude the local prosecutor’s office from filing charges unless and until the victim gave permission.

Over 200 editorials have criticized the existing system of campus disciplinary committees for failing to appropriately respond to victims’ needs and conducting shoddy investigations: www.accusingu.org . Even if the accused is found guilty, the most severe punishment is expulsion, a sanction that is woefully inadequate, most say.

The CASA bill has been sharply criticized for ignoring due process protections, as well. Charlotte Hays at the Independent Women’s Forum highlighted concerns about the “erosion of due process for the accused.” Diana Furchtgott-Roth of the Manhattan Institute charged the bill would encourage colleges to “throw out due process.”

“The CASA bill says the way to stop rape is to turn the criminal justice system into an administrative after-thought,” notes SAVE spokesperson Sheryle Hutter. “Rape victims are outraged by this misguided attempt to handcuff the involvement of police, detectives, and prosecutors.”

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments—SAVE—is a victim-advocacy organization working for evidence-based solutions to domestic violence and sexual assault: www.saveservices.org

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Campus Civil Rights Sexual Assault Wrongful Convictions

PR: Campus Justice Coalition Seeks to Restore Fairness in Campus Sex Cases

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

Campus Justice Coalition Seeks to Restore Fairness in Campus Sex Cases

WASHINGTON / July 30, 2014 – Representatives of sexual assault victims, the accused, and universities have come together to establish the Campus Justice Coalition. The Coalition will seek to achieve legislative change to assure the proper handling of sexual assault cases on college campuses.

Campus sex committees have been criticized for being poorly trained, under-resourced, and lacking the legal authority to impose meaningful sanctions. Rape is a crime, but the campus boards possess legal authority to only expel, not imprison the perpetrator.

The current system was established by a 2011 Department of Education regulation which shifted the resolution process to campus disciplinary panels, and eliminated a number of due process safeguards. Under current policies, neither the identified victim or the accused person are allowed to be represented by an attorney.

Following imposition of the federal mandate, numerous complaints and lawsuits have been filed by victims, and by men claiming they were wrongfully expelled: http://www.saveservices.org/wp-content/uploads/Campus-Sexual-Assault-Lawsuits.pdf

Basketball star Dez Wells was expelled from Xavier University in Ohio on allegations of non-consensual sex. The County prosecutor termed the expulsion “fundamentally unfair” and “seriously flawed.” In April the University paid an undisclosed amount, likely exceeding $1 million, to the former student: http://mynorthwest.com/33/2506222/Basketball-star-Wells-settles-suit-against-Xavier

Two weeks ago the University of Connecticut agreed to pay $900,000 to a student who was raped in August 2011. Despite the existence of the new federal policy, the university mishandled her complaint, and the alleged rapist never faced criminal charges: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/07/21/u-connecticut-pay-13-million-settle-sexual-assault-lawsuit#sthash.xJR5NBcw.dpbs

“The shadow-system of justice has betrayed victims and the accused, and has put universities in an impossible situation,” notes Campus Justice Coalition spokesperson Sheryle Hutter. “Sexual assault cases require the full resources of the criminal justice system, not a sorry replay of vigilante justice meted out by untrained amateurs.”

More information on the Campus Justice Coalition can be seen here: http://www.saveservices.org/camp/campus-justice-coalition/

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Bills Campus Civil Rights DED Sexual Assault Directive Innocence Law Enforcement Press Release Sexual Assault

Safety of Our Students: SAVE Calls on Congress to Fix Broken System of Campus Rape Panels

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

Safety of Our Students: SAVE Calls on Congress to Fix Broken System of Campus Rape Panels

WASHINGTON / May 21, 2014 – Based on growing complaints by victims and accused students, Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE) is calling on Congress to fix the current system of campus disciplinary committees. A 2011 federal policy mandated that these panels adjudicate claims of campus sexual assault. Over 350 editorials to date have sharply criticized the boards both for shortchanging victims and violating the rights of the accused: www.accusingu.org

SAVE is proposing enactment of a new law entitled “SOS: Safety of Our Students.” The law would require that all allegations of campus criminal sexual assault be referred to local criminal justice authorities for investigation and adjudication. The full text of the bill can be seen here: http://www.saveservices.org/camp/campus-rape-courts

In 2011 the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights issued a “Dear Colleague” letter that shifted responsibility for campus rape cases to the committees that handle cheating and plagiarism cases. These panels lack legal authority to subpoena witnesses, conduct in-depth investigations, or impose criminal sanctions.

On May 1, 2014 the Department of Education announced it was launching investigations of 55 universities for “possible violations of federal law over the handling of sexual violence and harassment complaints.” The probe underscores federal concerns over the turmoil and confusion that the current system is now experiencing.

Five days later a USA Today Editorial Board column charged the current approach is “failing” because the “strongest punishment schools can deliver is to expel a rapist from campus.” A May 13 editorial by the Los Angeles Times Board echoed similar concerns.

“Despite the best of intentions by its proponents, the current system represents second-class justice to victims and third-world justice for the accused,” charges SAVE spokesperson Sheryle Hutter. “We call on Congress to act promptly to respond to the growing crisis in handling campus rape cases.”

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments—SAVE—is a victim-advocacy organization working for evidence-based solutions to domestic violence and sexual assault: www.saveservices.org

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Accusing U. Campus Innocence Press Release Rape-Culture Hysteria Sexual Assault

PR: SAVE Deplores Orwellian Claims Surrounding California Campus Sex Bill

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

SAVE Deplores Orwellian Claims Surrounding California Campus Sex Bill

WASHINGTON / March 25, 2014 – Senate Bill 967, which would impose an “affirmative consent” standard on sexual activities at California colleges, has attracted national attention. SAVE believes that campus sexual assault is a problem that deserves greater attention. Since its inception, however, the controversial California bill has been surrounded by exaggerated and inflammatory claims that bear little relationship to the truth, SAVE says.

When Sen. de Leon introduced his affirmative consent bill on February 10, he highlighted reports in the Los Angeles Times that Occidental College had withheld 27 sexual assault cases from its Clery Act reports: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/02/10/6146048/california-bill-would-set-affirmative.html

But a March 14 LAT editorial retracted the newspaper’s prior claims, noting that the 27 unreported incidents “did not fall under the law’s disclosure requirements:” http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-editors-note-20140315,0,1134632.story#axzz2wHq5eFQN

De Leon has insisted his bill would reduce the number of campus sexual assaults. But his bill would not require assault cases to be reported to law enforcement authorities, meaning many rapists would be expelled from college, but not imprisoned. SAVE believes mere expulsion to be a woefully inadequate punishment for rape.

Dramatically expanding the definition of sexual assault would result in many more cases being processed by campus disciplinary boards. As a result, real victims will encounter longer delays and greater skepticism from university investigators, SAVE predicts.

Without offering evidence, de Leon claimed that current campus culture “stigmatizes survivors, not the perpetrators.” Given that media accounts typically name the accused but not the accuser, SAVE believes most stigma is placed on the accused, whether or not he is actually guilty of the alleged assault.

“The measure will change the equation so the system is not stacked against the survivors,” de Leon claimed, apparently unaware of the irony that civil rights experts say his bill would create a “vicious double standard” against the accused: http://fff.org/explore-freedom/article/making-men-rapists

“The California bill was inspired by a policy that was tried at Antioch College in the 1990s. Student enrollments declined, and Antioch was forced to close its doors,” notes SAVE spokesperson Sheryle Hutter. “We can only imagine what would happen if a similar misguided policy is imposed on California colleges.”

See SAVE’s Ten Steps to Turn Any Student into a Sex Offender: http://www.saveservices.org/camp/affirmative-consent

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments—SAVE—is a victim-advocacy organization working for evidence-based solutions to domestic violence and sexual assault: www.saveservices.org

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Accusing U. Bills Campus Innocence Press Release Sexual Assault

PR: Commentators Ridicule Campus Sex Bill, SAVE Says It Will Harm Victims

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

Commentators Ridicule Campus Sex Bill, SAVE Says It Will Harm Victims

WASHINGTON / March 11, 2014 – Editorial writers are criticizing Senate Bill 967 for removing due process protections and encouraging false allegations. Stop Abusive and Violent Environments, a victim advocacy group, says the bill’s broad definitions would serve to dissipate scarce resources and make it harder for victims to be believed.

SB 967 would require students contemplating any form of “sexual activity” to express their prior consent through “clear, unambiguous actions.” SB 967 also encourages partners to reaffirm consent on a continuing basis throughout the sex act.

National columnist Cathy Young reveals the notion of mandating verbal consent to sex has been “widely ridiculed as political correctness gone mad.” “With the California bill, we now have a state legislature effectively mandating how people—at least college students—should behave during sex,” Young notes. “Whatever happened to getting the government out of the bedroom?” http://www.mindingthecampus.com/originals/2014/02/want_to_have_sex_sign_this_con.html

Civil rights expert KC Johnson believes SB 967 embodies a clear “hostility to due process” by mandating the “preponderance-of-evidence threshold in branding a student a rapist.” http://www.mindingthecampus.com/forum/2014/02/a_deceptive_california_bill_on.html

By expanding the definition of sexual assault, the number of persons charged with sexual offenses would be likely to increase exponentially. Columnist Hans Bader asks, “How will classifying most consensual sex as rape help rape victims?” http://libertyunyielding.com/2014/03/09/california-activists-seek-redefine-quiet-consensual-sex-rape/

“The California bill would flood the system with students falsely accused of sexual assault,” notes SAVE spokesperson Sheryle Hutter. “This would make investigators more skeptical of persons claiming to be raped, and leave real victims less likely to report the crime. Who in their right mind would want that?”

For more information, see SAVE’s Ten Steps to Turn Any Student into a Sex Offender: http://www.saveservices.org/camp/affirmative-consent/

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

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Dating Violence Domestic Violence Press Release Research VAWA Inclusion Mandate Violence

PR: White House Dating Violence Proclamation Mocks the Truth, SAVE Charges

PRESS RELEASE

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

White House Dating Violence Proclamation Mocks the Truth, SAVE Charges

WASHINGTON / February 21, 2014 – A leading victim-advocacy group charges a recent White House Proclamation provides a misleading and dishonest portrayal of the dating violence problem. Stop Abusive and Violent Environments calls on the Obama Administration to revise its flawed Proclamation and reaffirm its commitment to evidence-based policies.

February is National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month. In observance of the event, the White House issued a Proclamation on Dating Violence that states, “girls and young women ages 16 to 24 are at the highest risk” for dating violence. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/01/31/presidential-proclamation-national-teen-dating-violence-awareness-month-

This statement is false. It’s young boys who are at decidedly greater risk, says the Centers for Disease Control. According to the CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey, high school boys were more likely than girls to have experienced dating violence during the past 12 months. This gender disparity was found when the survey was administered in 2007, 2009, and 2011: http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/youthonline/App/Default.aspx

A second CDC-funded study interviewed young adults aged 18 to 28 years. The survey found the sex disparity was even more pronounced in this older group: “women were the perpetrators in more than 70% of the cases,” the researchers concluded: http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2005.079020

The cases of Jodi Arias of Arizona and Crystal Mangum, notorious false accuser in the Duke U. lacrosse case, reveal that female-perpetrated partner violence is a serious problem in the United States. Both Arias and Mangum were convicted in 2013 for the brutal slayings of their intimate partners.

“President Obama promised his Administration would base its policies on science, not ideology,” notes SAVE spokesperson Sheryle Hutter. “But repeatedly, we have seen White House pronouncements on domestic violence that reveal at best a dubious relationship to truth or verifiable fact.”

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

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Domestic Violence Press Release Sexual Assault

PR: SAVE Commends Groups for Debunking Super Bowl Abuse Myths

PRESS RELEASE

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

SAVE Commends Groups for Debunking Super Bowl Abuse Myths

WASHINGTON / February 7, 2014 – A leading victims-rights group is commending groups for speaking out to counter Super Bowl myths. Stop Abusive and Violent Environments – SAVE – believes misleading claims can promote faulty policies and divert scarce resources away from the very victims who need help the most.

SAVE highlights these groups for taking a public stand against Super Bowl abuse myths:

National Network to End Domestic Violence: The claim that Super Bowl Sunday is the “biggest day of the year for violence against women” has surfaced over the years. But NNEDV’s Cindy Southworth flatly dismisses the claim: “The Super Bowl does not cause domestic violence, and it doesn’t increase domestic violence.” http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2014/01/30/super-bowl-2014-myths-facts-legends/#ixzz2sTj7lNnK

Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women: Cindy McCain, wife of the Arizona senator, has labeled the Super Bowl “the largest human-trafficking venue on the planet.” But the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women has examined the record on sex trafficking related to the Super Bowl and other sporting events. The Alliance concludes, “despite massive media attention, law enforcement measures and efforts by prostitution abolitionist groups, there is no empirical evidence that trafficking for prostitution increases around large sporting events.” http://maggiemcneill.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/whats_the_cost_of_a_rumour-gaatw2011.pdf

Abuse myths have real-world consequences. Writing in the New York Times, Kate Mogulescujan explains that misleading the public is harmful “because it creates bad policy. In the days leading up to Sunday’s game, local law enforcement dedicated tremendous resources to targeting everyone engaged in prostitution.” http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/01/opinion/the-super-bowl-of-sex-trafficking.html

Fact Checker Joe Carter, who has also found the sex-trafficking claims to be false, notes, “when we exaggerate the problem it causes people to trivialize it as concern.” http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2014/01/30/factchecker-super-bowl-sex-trafficking-and-other-myths/

Despite these positive efforts, false domestic violence “factoids” are still commonplace. According to research by Dr. Denise Hines presented in the current issue of Partner Abuse, 27% of domestic violence agencies’ fact sheets include this claim: “Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women between the ages of 15 and 44.” But domestic violence does not appear among the top five leading causes of injury for women in this age group: http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/nfilead2000.html

“Abuse is a serious problem,” notes SAVE spokesperson Sheryle Hutter. “But wildly inflating the numbers, stereotyping persons as abusers, and misrepresenting the problem ends up doing a grave disservice to victims.”

A SAVE report documents that domestic violence myths have become widespread: http://www.saveservices.org/downloads/SAVE-DV-Educational-Programs

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

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Abuse Shelter Accountability Domestic Violence Press Release Research VAWA Inclusion Mandate

PR: Many DV Agencies are Spreading False Facts, Research Shows

PRESS RELEASE

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

Many DV Agencies are Spreading False Facts, Research Shows

WASHINGTON / January 31, 2014 – A leading domestic violence researcher has found the online fact sheets of many domestic violence agencies contain misleading and false information. The flawed facts could undermine public confidence in domestic violence services and weaken the effectiveness of abuse-reduction programs.

According to research by Dr. Denise Hines of Clark University, 27% of agencies’ fact sheets feature this factoid: “Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women between the ages of 15 and 44.” But domestic violence does not appear among the top five leading causes of injury for women in this age group, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control: http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/nfilead2000.html

Some claims are grossly inaccurate. While 21% of agencies make the claim that “95% of victims of domestic violence are women who were abused by their partner,” the CDC National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey found that women represented only 47% of domestic violence victims.

Claims are often worded in an inflammatory manner, such as “battering knows no color other than black and blue” (13% of fact sheets). Other claims simply defy belief, such as “women who kill their batterers receive longer prison sentences than men who kill their partners” (1.2%).

Researchers have suggested that domestic violence advocates present false claims due to ideological bias. The research is reported in the current issue of the Partner Abuse journal.

“Domestic violence is a serious problem,” notes SAVE spokesperson Sheryle Hutter. “DV agencies that twist the truth to serve an ideological agenda are doing a grave disservice to the victims who most need our help. This is shameful.”

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

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Press Release Sexual Harassment Uncategorized

PR: White House Report Downplays False Allegations of Rape, Artificially Inflates the Numbers, SAVE Asserts

PRESS RELEASE

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

White House Report Downplays False Allegations of Rape, Artificially Inflates the Numbers, SAVE Asserts

WASHINGTON / January 24, 2014 – A leading victim-advocacy group is charging the recent White House report, Rape and Sexual Assault: A Renewed Call to Action (1), ignores the growing problem of false allegations and relies on inflated rape statistics. Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE) calls on the Obama Administration to fulfill its promise of policymaking based on science, not ideological persuasion.

Three peer-reviewed studies have found the rate of false accusations of rape ranges from 41% to 60% (2). A recent study of prisoners convicted on sexual assault charges found 15% of the cases lacked a DNA match to the victim (3).

Ironically, the White House report was released just days after a Michigan judge sentenced Sarah Ylen to five years in prison for falsely accusing two men of raping her, labeling Ylen’s actions “diabolical” (4).

But the problem of false allegations is ignored by the White House report.

The report makes the claim that one in five women has been raped during her lifetime. But a fine-print footnote reveals many of these women were actually subjected to “attempted,” not “completed” rapes. The category of “attempted” rapes is particularly susceptible to the problem of false allegations, SAVE believes.

More worrisome is the fact that nearly half of the “rape” victims were involved in what the report terms “alcohol/drug facilitated completed penetration.” This broad category encompasses consensual intercourse following a carefree New Year’s Eve celebration, and could even apply to a newly married couple consummating their vows. With such broad definitions, most American adults could become classified as a “rapist” or “rape victim,” SAVE worries.

These elastic definitions can be traced to a 2011 Centers for Disease Control project called the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NIPSVS). The survey has been the focus of repeated criticism.

Columnist Christina Hoff-Sommers has charged the NIPSVS exemplifies “advocacy research” that can lead to “recklessly misguided” conclusions (5). SAVE sent a 12-page complaint to the Centers for Disease Control in 2012, saying the report was riddled with “biases, misrepresentations, and other flaws.” (6).

Knowing that half of the cases in the CDC report do not meet any common-sense definition of rape, and about half of all rape allegations turn out to be false, the actual incidence of rape is closer to 5%, not 20%.

Five percent is an unacceptably high number, SAVE believes, and calls on all sectors of society to respond to the problem. But the White House 20% figure defies reason and undermines the credibility of the nation’s efforts to end rape, SAVE asserts.

“No woman should have to fear rape, and no man should have to live in fear of a false accusation of rape,” notes SAVE spokesperson Sheryle Hutter. “But ignoring the problem of false allegations and inflating the numbers only invite ridicule, confusion, and doubt.”

(1) http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/sexual_assault_report_1-21-14.pdf
(2) http://www.mediaradar.org/research_on_false_rape_allegations.php
(3) http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/412589-Post-Conviction-DNA-Testing-and-Wrongful-Conviction.pdf
(4) http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20140117/NEWS01/301170023/False-rape-claims-diabolical-judge-says?nclick_check=1
(5) http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/cdc-study-on-sexual-violence-in-the-us-overstates-the-problem/2012/01/25/gIQAHRKPWQ_story.html
(6) http://www.saveservices.org/wp-content/uploads/CDC-Ltr.1.4.2012-1.doc

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