I enjoy Spring, the season of new beginnings and hope. My hope is that we give domestic violence law a new beginning, starting with the reform of VAWA (S.1925) to protect civil rights.

Easter break has passed, and the Senate is back in session. As of this writing, there has not been a vote on VAWA. Word has it the delay is due to some Senators behind the scenes demanding amendments to S.1925 in return for their vote. This is great news for us!

I hope you realize that your calls give these senators the motivation and strength to speak out on your behalf. Please don't let them down now, not when they need your support the most. Let's do another round of phone calls today.

Please contact your two senators and ask them to be sure the new VAWA respects civil rights, esp. the requirement of the 4th Amendment to have probable cause before a person can be arrested.

Article here. Excerpt:

'It is hoped the new treatment, which involves heating only the tumours with a highly focused ultrasound, will mean men can be treated without an overnight stay in hospital and avoiding the distressing side effects associated with current therapies.

A study has found that focal HIFU, high-intensity focused ultrasound, provides the 'perfect' outcome of no major side effects and free of cancer 12 months after treatment, in nine out of ten cases.

Traditional surgery or radiotherapy can only provide the perfect outcome in half of cases currently.

Experts have said the results are 'very encouraging' and were a 'paradigm' shift in treatment of the disease.'

Article here. Excerpt:

Article here. Excerpt:

'The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a US non-profit organisation dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry, has named men’s rights activists (MRAs) as a hate group in its latest quarterly publication.

In an issue entitled The Year in Hate and Extremism, the SPLC, based in Montgomery, Alabama, explores how MRAs spread false claims about women:

Misogynists in the men’s and fathers’ rights movements have developed a set of claims about women to support their depictions of them as violent liars and manipulators of men.

Some suggest that women attack men, even sexually, just as much as men attack women. Others claim that vast numbers of reported rapes of women, as much as half or even more, are fabrications designed to destroy men they don’t like or to gain the upper hand in contested custody cases.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Women make less money than men for the same work. It's a proven fact.

Or is it?

Tuesday is Equal Pay Day, designed to highlight the gap between men's and women's wages. The idea is to point out that the average woman would have to work through all of 2011 and into early 2012 -- through Tuesday -- to earn what the average man took home just in 2011.

The wage gap has the attention of Nevada's congressional delegation. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., pushed the Paycheck Fairness Act, which aims to close the gap, to a Senate vote in 2010, but a Republican filibuster blocked it.

The act has since languished, likely because supporters see little chance of passage with a Republican majority in the House, said Michele Leber, chairwoman of the National Committee on Pay Equity, the Virginia advocacy group behind Equal Pay Day.'

Article here. Excerpt:

Story here. Courts botch cases and it can pay to know your rights. Excerpt:

'WASHINGTON — Albert Holland Jr., a death row inmate in Florida, has no legal training and seems to be suffering from a mental illness — “perhaps a disorder involving paranoia or delusional thoughts,” a federal judge wrote recently.

But he turns out to be a pretty good lawyer. Two years ago, in allowing Mr. Holland a fresh chance to make his case after his court-appointed lawyer blew a crucial deadline, the Supreme Court praised Mr. Holland’s legal acumen. Indeed, Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote, Mr. Holland had had a better understanding of the complicated time limits for challenging death sentences in federal court than his lawyer had.

Mr. Holland made good use of the opportunity the Supreme Court gave him. A couple of weeks ago, he won a decision granting him a new trial. In the process, he opened a window on the astoundingly spotty quality of court-appointed counsel in capital cases.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'I have just had the privilege of taking my 9 year old son and 7 year old nephew to a carnival in Sydney, Australia.
...
To my utter despair, on a very cold autumn day in Sydney which required winter clothing for me and the boys, one of the earliest sites we saw while waiting in the queue for our tickets was countless young girls, aged between eight years up to their mid-teens, with skimpy-sized, ‘Daisy Duke’ cut-off jeans, not only exposing the length of their legs, but their buttocks too.
...
I was left asking ‘in a society that prioritised above everything else the protection of children against sexual influence of any kind, what kind of social pressures, or perhaps social incentives, really do exist in our society that compels young girls to expose themselves in such cold weather, in such a sexually affronting manner?’

Article here. Excerpt:

'Gender equity laws and limited funding together confine SF State’s athletic program, leaving the school without a men’s track and field team.

These constraints have fragmented who can participate in the school’s sports teams, inhibiting potential athletes from competing.

Many students often wonder why SF State only has certain teams, but in addition to scarce athletic funding, balancing the number of athletic teams for men and women due to Title IX, which sets standards for gender equality in sports, is part of the reason.

This stems from a lawsuit the California State University system settled with a women’s group over the inclusion of women in school sports, making compliance with the act more explicit. The lawsuit stated that the ratio of male to female athletes should be reflective of the student population’s gender ratio.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday he believes the right’s “war on women is real” and could be particularly salient during the multiple Supreme Court appointments he expects to come during the next president’s term.

“I think the war on women is real,” Biden said in an interview he sat for with MSNBC’s Ed Schultz as part of a campaign trip to New Hampshire to talk up the Buffett rule. “And, look, I tell you where it’s going to intensify: the next president of the United States is going to get to name one and possibly two or more members of the Supreme Court.”'

Article here. Excerpt:

Article here. Excerpt:

'A congresswoman, a former Giants player, and a packed room of political and social activists pledged Thursday afternoon at a San Francisco nonprofit office to end violence against women by starting with educating men and boys.

The national daylong summit, "The Y Factor: Men Leading by Example," held at the nonprofit Futures Without Violence headquarters in San Francisco's Presidio in conjunction with the Waitt Institute for Violence Prevention spent the day highlighting men who are leading the anti-domestic violence movement.
...
In videotaped remarks, Biden said when he first pushed to pass VAWA nearly 20 years ago he was told domestic violence was a "private matter and not OK to talk about."

The vice president said, "The solution lies in the hands of boys and men. Every man needs to know that no means no...no matter what circumstances."'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Local agencies are teaming up this weekend to host a free program for all coaches throughout southeastern North Carolina, in an effort to prevent sexual assault and violence against women.

Wilmington’s Verizon Wireless is partnering with the UNCW Athletics department and Domestic Violence Shelter and Services to hold “A Call to Coaches” on Sunday, April 15 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at UNCW’s Trask Coliseum.

“Well-meaning men are generally unaware how their everyday attitudes, beliefs and language create a culture that empowers men -- at a great cost to women,” said Rick Houston, prevention specialist with the Domestic Violence Shelter and Services. “While they don’t personally perpetrate violence against women and girls, many accommodate and accept male domination in small ways every day and in so doing, support a culture in which unhealthy relationships and violence against women thrive."'

Article here. Seems that Australia has at least one barrister willing to advocate for men in a court of law. Excerpt:

'Mario Licha (Barrister at Law) is setting up a new AVO advice service for Australian men.

Mario Licha is a New South Wales Barrister who practises out of Ada Evans Chambers in Sydney, New South Wales. This Sydney Barrister practises in the areas of Criminal and Family Law.
...
On 17 April 2012 Mario Licha will be giving a talk about AVOs.

Michael Michalak, Student-at-Law assistant will also be giving a small talk about how he became interested and involved law. Michael has prior experience as a self represented litigant in the Family Court.

The location of this talk is: Talk to Men at Men construction zone (Men & Court) Inspire Church, Corner Hoxton Park Road & Illaroo Road Hoxton Park NSW 2171'

June is False Allegations Awareness Month, and we hope you'll be attending our second annual False Allegations Awareness conference, Connecting for Change.

Have you been falsely accused of domestic violence? Would you like to speak at our event? If so, send us a short proposal to participate in a panel of persons falsely accused.

You don't have to wait until June 29-30 to address this growing and devastating issue. You can educate others all month long. Why not start making your plans now?

Whether you set up a booth at a local event, call a radio talk show or write a letter to your editor, every effort helps. Visit the SAVE website for more ideas and information: http://www.saveservices.org/dvlp/campaigns/faam-resources

To register for the conference, or to submit a proposal, email info-at-saveservices.org.

If not us, who?

Sincerely,