Category: Sexual Harassment

SAVE Calls on Sen. Hirono to Withdraw and Apologize for Sexist ‘Shut-Up’ Remarks

Post author By saveadmin
Post date September 21, 2018

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Rebecca Stewart

SAVE Calls on Sen. Hirono to Withdraw and Apologize for Sexist ‘Shut-Up’ Remarks

WASHINGTON / September 21, 2018 – During a Tuesday press conference, Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii made remarks that have stirred controversy about the diminished importance of free speech and due process in America. Commenting on a possible FBI investigation of allegations of sexual misconduct against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Hirono declared, “Not only do women like Dr. Ford, who bravely comes forward, need to be heard, but they need to be believed… I just want to say to the men in this country — just shut up and step up!.” [emphasis added] (1)

A recent YouGov poll confirms a different picture. The poll found only one-quarter of Americans believe the sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh to be credible. When asked: “Do you think that the allegation of sexual assault against Brett Kavanaugh generally is or is not credible?” 28% of men said it was credible, while 25% of women gave the same response (2).

Patrice Lee Onwuka of the Independent Women’s Forum emphasizes, “We cannot abandon the presumption of innocence because assuming he’s ‘probably guilty’ serves certain political motives…. it’s wrong to jump to conclusions or use unsubstantiated allegations for political purposes. Not only is that unfair to the accused but it sets up a harmful precedent for the future.” (3)

Writing in the Boston Globe, Jennifer Braceras wrote, “The she-said/he-said nature of the allegations; Ford’s failure to mention the event to anyone for decades; and her inability to provide key details such the location or specific time frame of the alleged assault raise reasonable questions about her credibility.” (4)

One of the strongest critics of Hirono’s remarks was Fox News host Tucker Carlson. During his September 19 monologue, Carlson commented on the meaning of Hirono’s statement:

“It’s not just Brett Kavanaugh that’s guilty, but ‘the men of this country,’ every single one of them, Carlson said, because they’re men. Tucker also said liberals recently ignored a woman who accused Keith Ellison of sexual assault, which occurred within the last year, not 36 years ago.

“That’s a command from the United States senator,” Carlson said of Hirono’s call for men to shut up. “It’s not optional, it’s mandatory. So repeat after Mazie Hirono: Men always lie, women never do. One sex is evil, the other is holy. That’s the Catechism of the Church of Late-Stage Feminism.” (5)

Seldom has an elected official instructed a class of Americans to “shut up,” or to accept the veracity of a sexual assault allegation without corroboration. The First Amendment guarantees the right to express opinions and beliefs. The presumption of innocence is a key element of due process, which is guaranteed by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.

SAVE believes justice is best served when Constitutional guarantees of due process are respected, not when lawmakers engage in a politically calculated rush to judgement.

Citations:

SAVE — Stop Abusive and Violent Environments — is working for effective and fair solutions to domestic violence and sexual assault: www.saveservices.org

False Allegations Sexual Assault Sexual Harassment Wrongful Convictions

Recent Exoneration of Joshua Horner, Wrongfully Convicted of Sex Abuse, Spotlights Widespread Problem of False Allegations

Post author By saveadmin
Post date September 12, 2018

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Rebecca Stewart

Email: info@saveservices.org

Recent Exoneration of Joshua Horner, Wrongfully Convicted of Sex Abuse, Spotlights Widespread Problem of False Allegations

WASHINGTON / September 12, 2018 – This past Monday, Deschutes County Judge Michael Adler overturned a 50-year sentence against Joshua Horner of Redmond, Oregon. Horner had been convicted on April 12, 2017 of sexual abuse of a minor. In the trial, the complainant testified that Horner shot and killed her dog as a warning that she not bring her sexual molestation claim to the police. https://www.opb.org/news/article/redmond-oregon-innocence-project-exonoration-josh-horner/

With the assistance of the Oregon Innocence Project, the dog was recently found alive and well in another city, casting significant doubt on the truthfulness of the accuser. It was the first exoneration for the Oregon Innocence Project, launched in 2014 to exonerate the wrongfully convicted and promote legal reforms.

Horner’s exoneration highlights the problem of false allegations in criminal cases. According to the National Registry of Exonerations, false allegations/perjury are the most common contributing factors for wrongful convictions, representing 57% of all exonerations. False allegations/perjury are especially common in child sex abuse cases (85% of exonerations) and homicide cases (69% of exonerations). http://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/ExonerationsContribFactorsByCrime.aspx

Nearly one in 10 persons – 9.7% — of respondents to a national survey said they had been falsely accused of sexual assault, domestic violence, or child abuse. Three-quarters of persons claiming to be falsely accused were male. http://www.saveservices.org/dv/falsely-accused/survey/

On college campuses, false allegations of sexual misconduct are believed to be commonplace. In over 100 lawsuits against universities, judges have sided with the accused student. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1CsFhy86oxh26SgTkTq9GV_BBrv5NAA5z9cv178Fjk3o/edit#gid=0 At one university, the training materials openly justify false allegations of sexual assault, claiming that verified “lies” of accusers “should be considered a side effect of an assault.” https://www.thecollegefix.com/post/47631/

False allegations are not a victimless crime. Nikki Yovino, 18, was recently convicted and sentenced to one year in jail for false reporting of an alleged campus rape in Connecticut. At the sentencing hearing, Malik St. Hilaire, victim of her false accusation, explained, “I went from being a college student, to sitting at home being expelled with no way to clear my name.”

September is False Allegations Awareness Month. http://www.saveservices.org/camp/faam-2018/

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments works to end sexual assault and domestic violence.

#MeToo Sexual Harassment

Women Around the World Warn of the Excesses of the #MeToo Movement

Post author By saveadmin
Post date January 29, 2018

PRESS RELEASE

Email: info@saveservices.org

Women Around the World Warn of the Excesses of the #MeToo Movement

WASHINGTON / January 29, 2018 – Numerous leading women around the world – including media personalities, professors, and commentators – have spoken out against the excesses of the #MeToo movement. Stop Abusive and Violent Environments (SAVE) has compiled these statements for the benefit of lawmakers who may be considering legislation designed to address workplace sexual harassment (1).

These women come from all points on the political spectrum. Harvard Law School professor Elizabeth Bartholet commented, for example, “My fairness concerns with the #MeToo phenomenon include the ready acceptance in many cases of anonymous complaints, and of claims made by women over conflicting claims by men, to terminate careers without any investigation of the facts.” (2)

Following are a few of the many statements critical of #MeToo:

Julia Hartley-Brewer: The #MeToo “hashtag claims to be about empowering women to speak out when actually it is turning women into perpetual victims.”
Wendy Kaminer: “#MeToo is the unthinking woman’s anti-harassment crusade.”
Faith Moore: #MeToo “is a betrayal of the women who’ve actually been raped or assaulted.”

Women from other countries have expressed their concerns in even stronger terms. These are a few examples:

Rita Panahi, Australia: “My greatest concern is that the #MeToo phenomenon creates a toxic narrative that casts every male as a potential predator and every female as a perpetual victim.”
Margaret Atwood, Canada: “In times of extremes, extremists win. Their ideology becomes a religion, anyone who doesn’t puppet their views is seen as an apostate, a heretic or a traitor, and moderates in the middle are annihilated.”
Nathalie Rothschild, Sweden: The #MeToo is “normalizing the kind of mob behavior that is the most negative aspect of internet culture, and how it is eroding the presumption of innocence.”

SAVE emphasizes that victims of sexual misconduct should feel free to speak out, they should be treated respectfully, and their claims should be investigated objectively and thoroughly (3). But #MeToo should not be allowed to turn into a modern-day vigilante movement that ignores due process and eradicates the presumption of innocence.

Citations:

SAVE (Stop Abusive and Violent Environments) is working for effective and fair solutions to sexual assault, sexual harassment, and domestic violence: www.saveservices.org

Accountability Department of Justice Innocence Press Release Sexual Assault Sexual Harassment Wrongful Convictions

PR: Georgia Tech Reinstatement is Evidence of Growing Public Alarm over Due Process and Free Speech on Campus

Post author By saveadmin
Post date January 6, 2016

Contact: Gina Lauterio
Telephone: 301-801-0608

Georgia Tech Reinstatement is Evidence of Growing Public Alarm over Due Process and Free Speech on Campus

WASHINGTON / January 6, 2016 – The recent decision to reinstate a Georgia Tech student expelled for an alleged sexual offense marks a growing wave of popular concern over the erosion of due process protections and free speech rights on college campuses.

Earlier this week the Georgia Tech Board of Regents overrode the decision by a school administrator who had recommended the expulsion of a student accused of sexual assault. The Board reinstated the student when it learned that the investigator failed to interview witnesses provided by the defendant and gave him only one hour to review a 13-page, single spaced summary of the investigation (1).

Numerous other judicial decisions or legal settlements in recent months have overturned the findings of campus sex tribunals for due process violations. The decisions involved the University of California-San Diego, University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, Washington and Lee University, University of Southern California, and Middlebury College (2).

Concerns over the loss of free speech rights are being voiced, as well. President Obama has twice called for the restoration of open debate on campuses, first at a town hall meeting on September 15 and more recently during a November 15 interview with George Stephanopoulos (3).

Legislators have also taken up the cause of restoring free speech. On June 2, 2015 the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on the Constitution held a hearing on the state of free speech on college campuses (4).

In Missouri more than 100 members of the state Legislature signed a letter to the University of Missouri’s board of curators demanding the “immediate firing” of a professor who attempted to have a reporter forcibly removed during a student protest (5).

The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri likewise urged the University of Missouri to not compromise the right to free expression in its efforts to fight racism, saying, “Mistakenly addressing symptoms — instead of causes — and doing it in a way that runs counter to the First Amendment is not the wise or appropriate response.” (6)

“Due process and free speech are part of the American DNA,” notes SAVE spokesperson Sheryle Hutter. “Lawmakers should not shrink from the challenge of restoring constitutionally-rooted rights and protections to college campuses.”

1. http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/expelled-georgia-tech-student-reinstated/article/2579610
2. http://www.saveservices.org/2015/09/pr-due-process-gains-momentum-moves-to-center-stage-in-campus-sexual-assault-debate/
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PlcALRh6Og
4. http://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU10/20150602/103548/HHRG-114-JU10-20150602-SD003.pdf
5. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/01/05/missouri-lawmakers-flex-muscles-in-call-for-professors-firing.html?intcmp=hpbt2
6. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/11/12/aclu-urges-university-missouri-to-better-protect-students-free-speech.html

Accusing U. Affirmative Consent Campus Press Release Rape-Culture Hysteria Sexual Assault Sexual Harassment

Campus Anti-Rape Efforts Go Silly

Post author By saveadmin
Post date October 3, 2014

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments
October 7, 2014

Three percent of women are victims of rape during their college years. And that number appears to be declining. But that hasn’t stopped campus activists from declaring that a sexual assault “epidemic” is sweeping our campuses and advocating for rape prevention programs that are downright silly, if not absurd.

These are 5 recent examples around the country:

1. Crazy-Making at Michigan
The new University of Michigan policy provides several examples of sexual violence. One type of “violence” listed in its policy is “withholding sex and affection.”

That’s right, U of M no longer believes that “no means no.” Columnist Susan Kruth recently wrote: “This is utterly unconscionable, and, frankly, insane. It is the absolute last message we should be sending to college students.”

2. Taco Runs at ASU
Arizona State University has come up with a novel solution to rape: having by-standers suggest that intoxicated men go out and grab some tacos.

If that doesn’t work, an intoxicated male should be persuaded that the girl he is talking to is “ugly” and “not worth sleeping with,” according to the student group Always Get Consent.

3. Whistles for Rapists
At the University of Colorado, campus activists claim that encouraging women to take common-sense protective measures like carrying a rape whistle constitutes “blaming the victim.”

So the Student Health Center is now distributing flyers to men instructing them that the “only use for a rape whistle is: If you are about to rape someone, warn them. Blow the whistle.”

4. Big Sister at Clemson
At Clemson University in South Carolina, students were required to complete a survey asking detailed questions such as:
• “How many times have you had sex (including oral) in the last 3 months?”
• “With how many different people have you had sex (including oral) in the last 3 months?”

Failure to complete the questionnaire was deemed to be a violation of the Student Code of Conduct and subject to disciplinary action.

5. Sex Week in New Mexico
Last week the University of New Mexico Women’s Resource Center co-sponsored Sex Week. The week included lectures on topics such as “How to be a Gentleman AND Get Laid,” “Reid’s Negotiating Successful Threesomes,” and “O-Face Oral.”

According to the media account, “The events are designed to prevent sexual assault, but organizers have taken a new approach…Instead of teaching students how not to get hurt, they’re teaching them how to have safer and better sex.”
We’re hoping the event organizers will explain how escalating the already hyper-sexualized environment of college campuses will serve to deter sexual assault.

Time to Get Serious About Rape

Let’s state the obvious: Rape is a crime.

Stopping rape requires improved police reporting, professional investigations, and vigorous prosecutions.

Rape cases should be handled by the criminal justice system, not by ill-equipped campus Kangaroo Courts.

Press Release Sexual Harassment Uncategorized

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

Post author By saveadmin
Post date January 24, 2014

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

Accusing U. CAMP Campus DED Sexual Assault Directive Innocence Press Release Sexual Assault Sexual Harassment

PR: Honor Independence Day by Demanding Govt. Bureaucrats Restore Freedom of Speech on College Campuses, SAVE Says

Post author By saveadmin
Post date July 1, 2013

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

Honor Independence Day by Demanding Govt. Bureaucrats Restore Freedom of Speech on College Campuses, SAVE Says

WASHINGTON / July 1, 2013 – During the days leading up to our annual Independence Day festivities, the non-profit group SAVE is calling on Americans to demand the U.S. Department of Justice to restore freedom of speech on college campuses.

On May 9, 2013 the U.S. Department of Justice reached a Settlement Agreement with the University of Montana. The Agreement expands the definition of sexual harassment to encompass any unwelcome conduct, including speech, of a sexual nature. “Unwelcome” would now be judged by a student’s subjective feelings, not by an objective “reasonable person” standard.

The Agreement specifies that its broad new definitions and procedures are intended to be used as a “blueprint” by other colleges. The policy thus applies to all faculty members and the 21 million undergraduate and graduate students at all universities receiving federal funding, and represents a national campus speech code, SAVE believes.

The May 9 policy has triggered controversy and spirited protest. To date, over 100 editorials have been published opposing the federal mandate: http://www.saveservices.org/camp/ded-directive/ded-editorials/.

Elected officials have expressed reservations, as well. In a June 26 letter to the Department of Justice, Arizona senator John McCain charged the DOJ’s new policy threatens free speech and raises “great concerns about the security of constitutional rights.” http://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressOffice.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=818fd6f0-b009-240c-b963-7b7bb47f03fb

The McCain letter highlights examples how the DOJ directive could impair First Amendment rights: A student asking another student on a date; a professor assigning an English literature book that contains sexual allusions; or a student listening to music that contains content of a sexual nature overheard by others.

“Independence Day is about recalling and recommitting ourselves to the Founding Principles of our nation,” explains SAVE spokesperson Sheryle Hutter. “If Americans don’t speak out now in defense of freedom of speech on campus, then how will our freedoms be protected the next time a clueless government bureaucrat comes along?”

The May 9 policy comes on top of a controversial 2011 Dept. of Education mandate requiring colleges to use the weakest preponderance-of-evidence standard in handling allegations of sexual assault and curtail other due process protections. More information on the effort to restore free speech on college campuses can be seen here: http://www.saveservices.org/camp/free-speech/

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

Accusing U. Campus Civil Rights DED Sexual Assault Directive Press Release Sexual Assault Sexual Harassment

PR: Accusing U. Launches Radio Campaign to Protect Free Speech on Campus

Post author By saveadmin
Post date June 14, 2013

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

Accusing U. Launches Radio Campaign to Protect Free Speech on Campus

WASHINGTON / June 14, 2013 – The non-profit Accusing U. is launching a nationwide radio campaign designed to highlight how the recent Obama Administration’s sexual harassment mandate represents an unprecedented threat to free speech. The campaign will consist of radio interviews featuring Christina Hoff Sommers, well-known author, columnist, and resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

On May 9, the U.S. Department of Education and Department of Justice unveiled a new campus policy that classifies speech as a form of sexual harassment, enlarges its scope to include any speech that is deemed “unwelcome,” and eliminates the reasonable person standard.

The policy applies to all faculty members and over 21 million undergraduate and graduate students at colleges receiving Department of Education funding.

The federal decision has proven to be controversial. Last week the Women’s Committee of the American Association of University Professors released a letter expressing concerns about the policy: http://www.saveservices.org/falsely-accused/sex-assault/accusing-u/complaints/

To date, over 85 editorials have been written opposing the decision: http://www.saveservices.org/camp/ded-directive/ded-editorials/ Columnists believe the policy will effectively ban discussion on controversial topics such as AIDS prevention and gay rights, and may require removal of sex-themed classical works from English literature courses.

“The federal policy represents a radical assault on the First Amendment rights of faculty and students alike,” explains Accusing U. spokesman Mike Thompson. “And what will happen if a student makes an unwelcome request for a date – will that be construed as sexual harassment?”

The May 9 policy comes on top of a divisive 2011 Dept. of Education mandate requiring colleges to use the weakest preponderance-of-evidence standard in handling allegations of sexual assault. The standard makes false allegations more likely, harming the credibility of victims.

Accusing U. — www.accusingu.org — is a project of Stop Abusive and Violent Environments, a victim-advocacy organization working for evidence-based solutions to domestic violence and sexual assault.