RADAR Alert: Our Lobbying Team in Washington Needs Your Help and Support

Let's be realistic. After 30 years of the one-party gender system, it's going to take awhile to reform all the unjust laws that discriminate against men. The Violence Against Women Act is one example of these unfair laws.

We have to work for the changes that will do the most to reduce bias against men, and have a good chance of success.

Click "Read more..." for more.

Fortunately, our movement has now assembled a savvy lobbying team that is working the halls of Congress on our behalf. This team knows the players and understands what we can realistically achieve, given the current political climate. This team has also established a broad coalition of groups of both sexes and all political stripes, also working to reform VAWA.

This team works in close consultation with RADAR representatives and other allies in our movement. At this point in time, the two most important things we are pushing for are:

1. Add language to the bill that clearly indicates that services for male victims qualify for funding. (It's important to ask that "services that focus on male victims qualify for funding" rather than just asking that male victims qualify for services, because many VAWA proponents claim that men are already eligible to request help from women's shelters.)
2. Divide the VAWA funds equitably so that 36% of the funds for victim services go to programs that focus on male victims. (Why 36%? Because according to the Department of Justice, 835,000 men are victims of partner assault each year - that's 36% of the total number. [See p.7, exhibit 7 of http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles/172837.pdf] And why not push for a higher number, like 50%? Because in the current thinking on Capital Hill, that request would lack credibility.)

If we want to reform VAWA, we have to be smart.

Our lobbyists are saying that August is a critical opportunity to get our message out - SO LET'S GO!

In previous Alerts we asked you to contact your Senator and Representative about adding male-inclusive language. (If you haven't done so yet, please do so ASAP. Click here for instructions.)

Now we need to push the issue of equitable allocation of funds. This is the message we are asking you to get out for the rest of August:

“Please add language to VAWA that specifies 36% of funding for victim services go to programs that focus on male victims.”

You may also want to explain that under the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), 40% of funds are designated for family violence programs, so using percentage allocations has been done before in DV programs.

Because we want to strongly emphasize the 36% funding issue, it's not necessary to bring up the issue of changing the name of VAWA at this time.

Remember that during August, our opponents are making phone calls, sending letters, and holding face-to-face meetings with our elected officials. We must match their efforts -- in fact, we must surpass them.

If you haven't scheduled an appointment already, do it today:

1. Get the phone number of the Washington office of your Representative (available at http://www.house.gov/)
2. Call your Representative's office and request to speak with the Scheduler.
3. When you speak to the Scheduler, state that you are a constituent and you wish to meet with the Representative during the August recess. If it is too late to schedule a meeting with the Representative, ask to meet with the legislative director (L.D.).
4. If you are asked what organization you are with, state "RADAR" (or any other appropriate group you are involved with).
5. The Scheduler may ask you to fax a written request indicating the topic you want to discuss, along with a couple of preferred meeting dates. Simply state that you want to discuss "VAWA reauthorization".
6. Make a note of the Scheduler's name, in case you need to follow-up.
7. Try to find 1-2 other interested persons from your District to join you at the meeting.
8. If you're feeling ambitious, do the same for your two Senators! You can find their phone numbers at http://www.senate.gov/.

Let's do it!

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Date of RADAR Release: August 7, 2005

To track the current status of VAWA, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/ and enter the bill number: Senate bill S. 1197; House of Representatives bill H.R. 3402.

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.

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http://news.mensactivism.org/articles/05/08/08/0222224.shtml