Washington Post Launches Pro-VAWA Campaign

Submitted by Matt on Sun, 2004-12-19 05:05

A reader in the DC area who is involved in men's rights work has sent me the following item. This is definitely an activism item for us MANN regulars and for anyone else interested in stopping legislated bigotry and institutionalized judicial inequality.

Please click "Read more..." for the details and, as they say, "follow the directions!"

Washington Post set to launch pro-VAWA campaign – And this time we’re ready!

NEWS FLASH:

According to inside sources, the Washington Post is about to launch its publicity campaign to renew the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). But the Washington Post's coverage of this issue will be biased and will unfairly stereotype men.

BACKGROUND:

Violence between intimate partners is a concern in our society. Research consistently shows that men and women are equally likely to initiate domestic violence [See http://www.csulb.edu/~mfiebert/assault.htm]. Linda Kelly recently analyzed this issue in the Florida State University Law Review, and concluded that feminists frequently present a distorted picture of domestic violence, depicting only women as DV victims [See http://www.papa-help.ch/downloads/kelly.pdf].

The Violence Against Women Act, which first passed in 1996, was written to benefit female victims only. VAWA was renewed in 2001, with a $4 billion price tag. The current VAWA expires in 2005. Renewal legislation for the third cycle will be introduced in the next few months.

The key question this time will be whether VAWA will continue to discriminate against male victims. Gender equity experts say the law should be broadened to include all persons, and the law should be re-named the Violence Against Persons Act.

The National Organization for Women continues to claim that only women suffer from domestic violence. N.O.W. wants to continue to exclude male victims from this legislation, which funnels billions of dollars to women’s shelters and other feminist programs.

The Washington Post is well-known for its pro-feminist stance. This bias affects both its editorial positions and news reporting of gender issues. When Congress was debating VAWA five years ago, the Post ran numerous articles on domestic violence. The articles consistently depicted women as victims.

THE WP STRATEGY:

Beginning Sunday, December 19, 2004, the Washington Post will be running a three-part series on Maternal Homicide. This is the publication schedule:

Sunday, December 19: Many New or Expectant Mothers Die Violent Deaths

Monday, December 20: The Victims

Tuesday, December 21: The Legacy

As this series unfolds, we will see media bias at work. We will see that statistics are presented in a misleading manner, that misleading logic is used, that false headlines are employed, and that male victims are excluded from consideration.

By giving front-page coverage to this emotion-laden issue, the Post is attempting to pre-empt discussion on whether VAWA should become gender-inclusive.

OUR STRATEGY:

In the past, men have had to simply tolerate the false stereotypes as abusers and women as victims. But this time we're ready.

Set a bookmark to http://www.washingtonpost.com/

and make note of these key contacts:

1. Letters to the Editor: letters@washpost.com

2. Ombudsman:


Michael Getler

E-mail: ombudsman@washpost.com

Telephone: 202-334-7582

Over the next three days we plan to ask the Washington Post editors why their coverage of this issue repeatedly does violence to the journalistic principles of objectivity, fairness, and balance.

Stay tuned for more!

NOTICE: This story was migrated from the old software that used to run Mensactivism.org. Unfortunately, user comments did not get included in the migration. However, you may view a copy of the original story, with comments, at the following link:

http://news.mensactivism.org/articles/04/12/19/0019245.shtml

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