Monthly Archives: September 2009

It’s time to take allegations of abuse seriously

Yet another article on ignoring or disbelieving allegations of abuse. This time there are 5 victims, including a six year old boy.

Oak Bay murder-suicide ‘not inevitable’: children’s watchdog report

Social workers, medical staff, officers from three different police departments, Crown counsel, therapists and lawyers were among those who knew of Sunny Park’s fears. She warned that her estranged husband might kill the boy and pleaded for protection.

Domestic violence was a part of Christian Lee’s all-too-short life. He watched as his father punched his mother in the face and threatened her with a knife.

His mother reached out for help: to police, lawyers, social workers and therapists.

By the time six-year-old Christian’s father slaughtered the boy and his family in September, 2007, there were dozens of professionals who might have recognized the danger – had they only talked to each other.

“Christian’s murder was not inevitable,” concluded Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, B.C.’s Representative for Children and Youth.

Ms. Turpel-Lafond Thursday released the first report on the Oak Bay murder-suicide that left five dead. She found a safety net with gaping holes and blamed not the many individuals who were connected with the case, but a provincial government that has not co-ordinated domestic violence programs or given teeth to family law.

Is it a crime to protect your children?

Apparently, it is. In this case, a mother flees the state to protect her 7-year-old son. Her crime? Violating a visitation order. Her reason? Escalating harassment from her ex-husband. Her punishment? Possible jail time, which could mean the ex-husband winds up with custody.

Recently my friend’s niece fled the state with an infant as she and her baby were threatened to be killed by the father. She went to stay with her family in another state. I warned them that abusers can allege kidnapping, abduction and desertion, depending on what state/family court you go to.  Many parents end up in a geographical prison, bound by courts to appease the ones that abused and threatened them.

Something’s got to change.

Read about the case here: Mom who fled Iowa, ex-spouse risks jail on return

Find out how you can take action here: Stop Family Violence

Work place violence or gender-based violence?

I swear that Raymond Clark would never have killed a male colleague in that lab department – this case is not work place violence, it’s gender-based violence:

Chief: Police may never know Yale killing motive

A law enforcement official who talked to the AP on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing and many details remained sealed said Thursday that co-workers called Clark a “control freak” who was territorial about the mice whose cages he cleaned. Authorities are investigating whether that attitude might have set off a clash between Clark and Le.

The guy had a history of being controlling with women -

Neighbor: Raymond Clark ‘very controlling’ of girlfriend

At Clark’s previous residence at a New Haven apartment where he and Hromadka lived until spring, downstairs neighbor Annmarie Goodwin had nothing but bad things to say about Clark.

She said Clark was “very controlling” of his girlfriend, and that he once screamed at her 17-year-old son and unleashed a curse-laden tirade at him.

This is another girlfriend -

Anne Le case: Ex-girlfriend of Raymond Clark says he forced her to have sex 

 

An ex-girlfriend of Raymond Clark filed a police report in 2003 regarding a high school dispute between the two, according to a police report uncovered by the New Haven Independent.

He has a past that involves controlling and harassing women and the media stress this is work place violence. I don’t buy it.

Media frenzy

Here’s a recent article in the Christian Science Monitor about the media frenzy over the murder of the Yale University student. I agree that sensationalized stories get more attention, especially when they involve a pretty woman – the question would be then, why are we so fascinated about the murder of beautiful young girls? They’re often the mainstay of cable tv shows, as well.  

Media frenzy over Yale murder draws criticism

As national media have descended on New Haven to report on the death of an attractive Ivy League student, some are asking why her murder draws more attention than others’ in New Haven. A columnist in The Connecticut Post writes:

What gets all of us about Le’s tragic slaying is that it involves not just any university student, but an Ivy Leaguer. Translation: Someone who might earn beaucoup bucks. Someone who possesses sky’s-the-limit potential. Vivacious and attractive, too. Someone even the most critical parent would be hard-pressed not to like…. Nobody in the Elm City’s ‘hoods has that kind of cachet. Are they worth less? Why don’t their disappearances merit day-in, day-out coverage like Le’s? …

The folks in the ‘hood don’t begrudge the attention Le’s homicide is getting. They just wish somebody’d pay the same attention when their kids disappear, get shot or killed.

Matt Kelley, the criminal justice editor for change.org and a communications manager at the Innocence Project, writes in a blog post that the drama of Le’s case should not be allowed to overshadow other murders:

The intense media coverage of this case is also worth noting. The media focuses on sensational stories, with as much drama as possible – because that’s what we, the news consumers, demand. Le’s story is heartwrenching and dramatic – her body was found on what would have been her wedding day. It’s hard to ignore a tragic story like this, and we shouldn’t ignore it. But the front-page national frenzy around this case shouldn’t obscure the other cases just because they lack the drama.

Media Matters

Here’s an interesting organization called Media Matters -

Media Matters

Here’s their “about us” page:

Media Matters for America is a Web-based, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.

Launched in May 2004, Media Matters for America put in place, for the first time, the means to systematically monitor a cross section of print, broadcast, cable, radio, and Internet media outlets for conservative misinformation — news or commentary that is not accurate, reliable, or credible and that forwards the conservative agenda — every day, in real time.

Using the website mediamatters.org as the principal vehicle for disseminating research and information, Media Matters posts rapid-response items as well as longer research and analytic reports documenting conservative misinformation throughout the media. Additionally, Media Matters works daily to notify activists, journalists, pundits, and the general public about instances of misinformation, providing them with the resources to rebut false claims and to take direct action against offending media institutions.

Bias overlooked

I recently posted an article regarding bias in arresting women for domestic violence. The study that’s cited is from a university in the UK:

Women three times more likely to be arrested for domestic violence

Here’s a recent article in a UK paper that states there’s a rise in women committing domestic violence, without mention of why it’s happening other than being ‘fueled by the use of alcohol’ -

Sharp rise in number of women guilty of domestic violence

“It is tragic to see that women now also get very drunk and we are seeing the sort of behaviour (by men) that was always looked down on now with the other gender.

“The most important point is that the aggression that is around, whether it is video games or violent film, is not gender specific and is permeating our culture.”

A total of 2,968 women were convicted of domestic violence in 2008/09, a 268 per cent rise on the 806 guilty in 2004/05.

Convictions for men over the same period increased by 144 per cent but men remain, by far, the main offenders, with numbers increasing from 18,659 to 45,484.

There is a growing concern that women are becoming increasingly violent, fuelled predominantly by increased alcohol abuse.

 Apparently, this writer didn’t see the study.

Do you trust the media?

The public’s assessment of the accuracy of news stories is now at its lowest level in more than two decades of Pew Research surveys, and Americans’ views of media bias and independence now match previous lows.

Just 29% of Americans say that news organizations generally get the facts straight, while 63% say that news stories are often inaccurate. In the initial survey in this series about the news media’s performance in 1985, 55% said news stories were accurate while 34% said they were inaccurate. That percentage had fallen sharply by the late 1990s and has remained low over the last decade.

Source: Pew Research Center

Misogyny in the media

Feminist Peace Network points out Bill Mahler’s misogyny, which targets a reality show star. Sorry, Bill, but “choke the bitch’ is sexist language that, in other circumstances, would be sparking heated discussions about inciting violence. 

The producer of The Bachelor, referrring to the same story, then calls most female reality stars “skanks.” Gee, and the men are princes? Like the one that murdered the ex-model? Where are the female reporters when you need them – you know the ones that will hold up ONE male to represent “most” with foul words?  

But this particular girl is typical of the random skanks who populate most reality TV shows (not mine, of course).

Source: Tequila, Silver and Lights Out