RADAR ALERT: Stop the Civil Rights Abuses; Prepare for Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Have you, or a person you know, ever been falsely accused of domestic violence? Targeted with a restraining order? Put in jail?

Each year over one million Americans are hit with a false or trivial accusation of partner abuse. It's now reached the point that domestic violence laws represent the largest roll-back in Americans' civil rights since the Jim Crow era!

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and the theme is "Restore Civil Rights to the Violence Against Women Act." DV Awareness Month is our opportunity to get word out that our nation's domestic violence laws have gone too far, harming innocent citizens and diverting scarce resources away from the true victims.

We are asking each and every person who reads this Alert to participate in DV Awareness Month. You can attend one of the events sponsored by your state domestic violence coalition - see listing of coalitions at http://www.usdoj.gov/ovw/statedomestic.htm.

Or you can set up your own event, whether it's an information table at a local library, presentation to local police, press release, radio interview, or whatever!

To assist your efforts, we've developed:

* A 2-page Analysis of the Issues: http://www.mediaradar.org/docs/RADARflyer-DVAM2009-issues.pdf
* A 1-page flyer: http://www.mediaradar.org/docs/RADARflyer-DVAM2009.pdf

At the national level, several columnists have agreed to write articles on the issue, and we will be holding a major lobbying event in Washington DC.

RADAR would like to have DV Awareness Month activities in every state around the country. After you have your activity, event, or program, please send us an email and let us know how it went: dvam2009-at-mediaradar.org

As we approach the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2010, it's critical that every American hear the message, "Restore Civil Rights to the Violence Against Women Act."

"A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." – Margaret Mead

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Date of RADAR Release: September 20, 2009

R.A.D.A.R. – Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting – is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's approach to solving domestic violence. http://www.mediaradar.org/