Category: Domestic Violence

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Dating Violence Domestic Violence False Allegations Press Release

11% Falsely Accused of Abuse, Survey Shows

11% Falsely Accused of Abuse, Survey Shows

WASHINGTON / June 2, 2011 – A national survey of 10,000 Americans reveals 11% report they have been falsely accused of abuse. The first-ever survey of its type probed persons’ first-hand experiences with false allegations of child abuse, domestic violence, and sexual abuse. The study was commissioned by Stop Abusive and Violent Environments.

The survey results headlined a False Allegations Summit, which was held today at the Fairfax Hotel in Washington, DC.

Conducted May 2-4, 2011, the survey also found 15% of respondents personally knew someone who has been falsely accused of abuse. In 81% of the cases the falsely accused person was a male, and in 70% of cases the false alleger was a female. Twenty-six percent of the wrongful accusations were made in the context of a child custody dispute.

“This survey shows tens of millions of Americans have been falsely accused of abuse,” explains SAVE spokesperson Natasha Spivack, “These persons were stamped with the scarlet Abuser label, leaving them to wonder whatever happened to the notion of ‘innocent until proven guilty’.”

The Summit featured statements by leading stakeholder organizations, including the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Home School Legal Defense Association, American Coalition for Fathers and Children, National Coalition for Men, and Encounters International.

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers statement spotlighted the “immense, often irreparable harm caused to our clients by false allegations, not only to reputation and personal relationships, but often to the accused individual’s livelihood and even heath.”

The Summit also included the emotion-wrought testimonies by four victims of false allegations of abuse.

The False Allegations Summit is being held in the wake of a recent Washington Post front-page article about Sean Lanigan, a local school teacher who was falsely accused of sexual molestation by a 12-year-old student. The article triggered editorial commentaries and citizens’ expressions of disbelief and outrage.

The full survey results can be viewed here: http://www.saveservices.org/false-allegations-awareness-month/survey-results/. The False Allegations Summit is the kick-off to False Allegations Awareness Month in June. More information on the observance can be found here: http://www.saveservices.org/false-allegations-awareness-month/.

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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Domestic Violence Press Release Sexual Assault Victims Violence

NFL Must Tackle Super Bowl Abuse Myth

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

WASHINGTON / February 4, 2011 – A victim rights group is calling on the National Football League to denounce the myth that Super Bowl Sunday is a “day of dread” for victims of abuse. Stop Abusive and Violent Environments – SAVE – believes such claims foster hysteria and trivialize the problem of domestic violence.

The myth dates back to 1993 when a group of activists charged Super Bowl Sunday was “biggest day of the year for violence against women.” The myth was later refuted by the Washington Post: http://www.snopes.com/crime/statistics/superbowl.asp

Still, groups like the Crisis Control Center in Texas are using the falsehood to promote its fund-raising efforts. According to a recent Crisis Control Center statement, Super Bowl weekend has “one of the highest incidences of domestic violence and sexual assault than any other weekend during the year.”

But Christina Hoff Sommers of the American Enterprise Institute doubts that view. “Women who are at risk for domestic violence are going to be helped by state of the art research and good information. They are not going to be helped by hyperbole and manufactured data,” she explained in a recent interview with The Daily Caller.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has recently joined the 15th anniversary team of the National Domestic Violence Hotline, along with other sports figures.

“While we appreciate Commissioner Goodell’s efforts to bring attention to the issue of domestic violence, he should also refuse to allow this persistent lie to stereotype NFL players as abusers or to tarnish the family appeal of the annual Super Bowl event,” according to SAVE spokesman Philip Cook. “We call on Mr. Goodell to repudiate the Super Bowl Myth as a spurious and blatant distortion of the truth.”

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments has recently released a video, “Seven Key Facts about Domestic Violence,” that documents how partner abuse is an equal opportunity problem of men and women: http://www.saveservices.org/key-facts/ . SAVE sponsors the TEPA (Training, Education, and Public Awareness) Accreditation program, a quality-assurance initiative: http://www.saveservices.org/service-providers/ .

And SAVE will be holding a conference February 24 in Washington DC. Persons who wish to attend “Hoax: The Continuing Distortions of Domestic Abuse” should pre-register here: tstoddard@saveservices.org .

SAVE is a 501(c)3 victim advocacy organization working for evidence-based solutions to domestic violence: www.saveservices.org .

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Domestic Violence Press Release

Mandatory Arrest Must be Handcuffed, Group Says

PRESS RELEASE

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

WASHINGTON / January 31, 2011 –  Calling mandatory arrest “injurious” and “lethal,” Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE) is today calling on the Senate and House Judiciary Committees to institute a Defective Policy Recall to remove the practice of arresting persons accused of domestic violence without solid evidence or probable cause.

The SAVE letter to the Judiciary Committees cites a 2007 Harvard University study that found mandatory arrest increases partner homicides by nearly 60%. This translates into about 600 persons killed each year. According to Radha Iyengar, author of the Harvard study, the reason mandatory arrest backfires is that such policies “discourage victims from calling for help.”

An earlier study of mandatory arrest in Milwaukee concluded, “mandatory arrest prevents 2,504 acts of violence against primarily white women at the price of 5,409 acts of violence against primarily black women.”

“Although mandatory arrest makes for a good ‘get-tough-on-crime’ sound-bite, the bitter reality for victims is that it places their lives at risk,” explains Claudia Cornell, Psy.D., SAVE spokesperson. “Considering the heavy-handed practice is costing us two deaths a day, there’s no excuse to delay implementing alternatives to arrest for lower level aggression.”

Mandatory prosecution policies are also found to be harmful. According to research by Laura Dugan of the University of Maryland, such “no-drop” policies double white women’s risk of homicide. About two-thirds of prosecutors adhere to mandatory policies for allegations of domestic violence.

Each year the federal government spends $56 million under the Violence Against Women Act to promote mandatory arrest and no-drop prosecution. Even though the federal law removed its endorsement of mandatory arrest in 2005, none of the states with such laws have repealed these policies.

The over-criminalization of partner conflicts detracts from law enforcement efforts. Last November Adyan Sanchez of Bradenton, Fla. was arrested for tossing tamales at her boyfriend. In May, 73-year-old Theresa Collier of Largo, Fla. spent 24 hours in jail for slapping her foul-mouthed granddaughter on the face.

SAVE is a victim advocacy organization working for evidence-based solutions to domestic violence: www.saveservices.org .

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Domestic Violence Press Release

TEPA Accreditation Program Promotes Evidence-Based Policy and Practice

PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Teri Stoddard, 301-801-0608, tstoddard@saveservices.org

WASHINGTON / December 28, 2010 — Our nation’s decades-long effort to curb domestic violence rests on the three-legged stool of criminal justice programs, shelter services, and training, education, and public awareness. Criminal justice programs and shelters are already monitored by a variety of regulatory and professional oversight bodies.

But how do we know that abuse information that is disseminated to police officers, judges, and the general public is accurate, unbiased, and up-to-date? Philip Cook, author of Abused Men, believes “there is more false, falsely framed, or disingenuously deceptive information about domestic violence than any other significant public and social issue.”

To address this need, Stop Abusive and Violent Environments – SAVE – has established the TEPA (Training, Education, and Public Awareness) Accreditation Program. The program provides a Good Housekeeping-type “Seal of Approval” to educational programs offered by professional and trade organizations, state domestic violence coalitions, abuse shelters, and governmental entities. SAVE expects the accreditation program will promote evidence-based policies and more effective abuse-reduction programs.

For more information about the TEPA Accreditation Program, see: http://www.saveservices.org/policymakers/

SAVE is a 501c3 organization devoted to ending domestic violence.