RADAR Alert: D.V. Providers Who Violate The Law Must Not Be Granted A Monopoly

The House and the Senate have now passed bills to reauthorize VAWA for another 5 years. Both versions of the reauthorization bill acknowledge that male victims of DV need help too, however the language needs to be strengthened.

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As the bills now stand, existing domestic violence programs are granted a monopoly, and any new programs must partner with an existing program. Unfortunately the majority of existing programs make male victims and their children sit at the back of the bus, if they even allow them on the bus at all. Most established domestic violence service providers find males so toxic that if a woman has a son over 12 years of age, they'll sooner send the woman back to her abuser than permit the son to accompany his mother into the shelter.

Sen. Joseph Biden, who calls the bill "his baby," claims that VAWA-funded shelters are already required to provide help to male victims. If Biden's claim is correct, then shelters that regularly violate the law are being rewarded with $5 billion federal tax-dollars for thumbing their noses at the very concept of equal treatment for all. Ten of the largest recipients of VAWA funds in Los Angeles recently went to court to defend their right to discriminate against male victims (http://www.menshealthnetwork.org/library/Blumhorstbrief.pdf).

The next legislative step for VAWA 2005 is for both versions of the bill to be reconciled in conference committee. This will be the last chance to make this legislation truly fair, equal, and just. At this point, nobody knows who will be on the conference committee. This week we need to make certain that likely members of the conference committee understand that male victims of domestic violence need help from sympathetic providers, just as female victims do. VAWA funding must be made available to new programs whose primary focus is on male victims of domestic violence.

Please call or fax the following legislators:

Tell them:

The VAWA conference committee must make sure that new programs with a primary focus on male victims of domestic violence must be eligible to receive funding without having to partner with the established male-hostile domestic violence providers.

As always, be sure to be polite and respectful.

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Date of RADAR Release: October 9, 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.

Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting (RADAR) is a coalition of men and women working to assure balance in the domestic violence issue: http://www.mediaradar.org/.

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