RADAR Alert: Washington Post Ignores Battered Justice For Male Victims

On December 16, 2003 Georgia beauty queen Sharron Nicole Redmond rolled down the window of her car and shot boyfriend Kevin Shorter. Three days later, Shorter bled to death.

Even though Shorter did not have a gun with him, and even though Redmond easily could have driven away in her car, Redmond later testified that she killed Shorter in self-defense. This past week the jury in Savannah found Miss Redmond not guilty of murder.

A case of battered justice for a male victim of domestic violence.

Click "Read more..." for more.

Three days after the jury verdict, the Washington Post ran an editorial about Battered Justice in domestic violence cases. The article did not mention anything about Kevin Shorter. The article did not say anything about Ray Blumhorst, a battered man who was turned away by a local domestic violence shelter. The article did not refer to male victims at all.

Written by law professor Joan Meier, the essay tells the tragic story of Jessica Gonzalez. Finding her daughters missing from the house, she called the police for help, who did not respond to her appeal. The daughters were later found dead.

In her editorial, Joan Meier ignores the cold indifference that meets male DV victims, instead claiming that “too many have continued to be indifferent and sometimes hostile to women’s calls for help.”

Meier rightfully refers to “protecting battered women and children,” but fails to point out that women are equally likely to commit DV as men, and that mothers are more likely to physically abuse children than fathers.

Contact the Washington Post and tell them the following:

1. Joan Meier’s editorial on “Battered Justice for Battered Women” is biased and unfair.


2. Editorialists who make claims about “protecting battered women and children” should be expected to provide evidence to back such one-sided statements.


3. The Washington Post should run an article about “Battered Justice for Battered Men,” and highlight the recent tragic case of Kevin Shorter.

Here’s the contact information at the Washington Post:

Michael Getler, Ombudsman:

E-mail: ombudsman-at-washpost.com

Telephone: 202-334-7582

Leonard Downie, Executive Editor:

Telephone: 202-334-7512

Letters to the Editor (remember to keep your letter courteous and concise):

The Washington Post

1150 15th Street, NW

Washington, D.C. 20071

E-mail: letters-at-washpost.com

If you are really bothered by this blatant example of media bias, contact the writer directly:

Joan Meier

George Washington University Law School

2000 H Street, N.W.

Washington, DC 20052

E-mail: jmeier-at-law.gwu.edu

Telephone: 202-994-2278

The Washington Post has never run a major article that highlights DV against men. With the re-introduction of VAWA coming any day now, we need to generate at least 1,000 e-mails, phone calls, and letters about this unfair editorial.

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Date of RADAR Release: March 20, 2005

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. More information can be found at: http://www.mediaradar.org/

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http://news.mensactivism.org/articles/05/03/21/0250244.shtml