RADAR Release: VAWA 2005: Time of Decision

This past Thursday Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) introduced the Violence Against Women Act of 2005 in the Senate. A similar bill is expected to be introduced in the House of Representatives in the next few days.

The proposed law, known as VAWA 2005, ignores the hundreds of thousands of men who are victims of domestic violence. This ideologically-loaded bill proposes to expand the previous VAWA legislation by taking the male = batterer, female = victim message and carrying it to children and youth, American Indians, and college students around the country. By our calculations, the bill carries a taxpayer price tag of $842 million a year.

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Since its formation in January 2005, RADAR has made enormous strides in reducing media bias about domestic violence. But if passed in its current form, VAWA 2005 will spawn countless media stories that push the old domestic violence myths.

Worse, VAWA-induced hysteria will be used to thwart proposed fathers rights legislation. And the continued perception of an “epidemic” of domestic violence may well lead to new laws that discriminate against men and fathers.

At this point, Americans face two choices:


1. Simply allow the proposed VAWA law to pass as proposed, OR

2. Become actively involved in the legislative process.

If you are in the second category, please read on.

During the upcoming weeks and months, VAWA 2005 will undergo a number of steps in both the Senate and House of Representatives:

1. Crime Sub-committee

2. Judiciary Committee

3. Vote by the full Senate and House

4. Conference committee to reconcile differences between the Senate and House versions of the bill.

5. Confirmatory vote by both the Senate and House

6. Approval or veto by President Bush

Each of these steps presents an opportunity to influence the direction of VAWA 2005. However, it is usually easier to influence legislation in the early stages of the process.

At this time, it is imperative that every person concerned about gender fairness to decide on your position:

A. VAWA should be defeated, OR

B. VAWA be modified so male victims of DV can receive services.

To help people make this decision, RADAR has posted several articles on its website at www.mediaradar.org, including the following:

1. Promotional piece by VAWA advocates (2 pages):

http://www.mediaradar.org/vawa_info/Two-pagerVAWA6.6.05.doc

2. VAWA factual summary (14 pages):

http://www.mediaradar.org/vawa_info/VAWA Sec 6.6.05.doc


3. VAWA bill (266 pages):

http://www.mediaradar.org/vawa_info/JEN05634_LC.PDF

Also, Phyllis Schlafly’s recent article, What Have Feminists Done to America’s Fathers? makes some provocative comments.

Next week’s Alert will ask you to contact their Senators and express their views on VAWA. If you have not already signed up to receive the RADAR e-lerts, visit our website at http://www.mediaradar.org/.

VAWA is such a far-reaching law that if passed, every American will be affected by its programs. So now, for every one of us, it’s a Time of Decision.

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Date of RADAR Release: June 13, 2005

Join other men’s and father’s rights activists at the Second National Men’s Equality Congress, July 15-16 in Washington DC. The first day of the Congress, July 15, will be devoted to lobbying activities on Capitol Hill. RADAR representatives will be there to orient attendees to the current status of VAWA.

To receive RADAR Alerts, press releases, and other special announcements, sign up for the RADAR E-lert. You can sign up for the E-lert on the RADAR home page at http://www.mediaradar.org/. Your e-mail address will be kept confidential, and will not be shared with any outside organization. It’s fast, easy, and keeps you in the loop.

Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting (RADAR) is a coalition of men and women working to assure media balance and accuracy in coverage of the domestic violence issue.

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/05/06/14/1422223.shtml