Monthly Archives: June 2010

Bad news

Here’s some bad news for domestic violence advocates:

Herb Titus, counsel for Gun Owners of America, agrees. He sees challenges, as well, to registration and licensing restrictions, to age restrictions for gun ownership, and to limits on the number of guns that can be bought at one time. But first in the pipeline of challenges, he says, will be challenges to laws banning guns for those convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors.

High court extends gun owners’ rights nationwide

PAS doesn’t make manual

There are always lobbyists for parental alienation syndrome, but they did not win out this time either.
PAS is not making it into the DSM-5, according to an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Great news for Protective Parents!!
PAS, or parental alienation syndrome, is the idea that one parent (usually the mother) poisons the mind of the child(ren) against the other parent. It was created by Richard Gardner who blamed “hysterical” women for making false allegations of child sexual abuse against fathers. He was misogynist, didn’t publish in a peer-review journal, defended child molesters, and this mental health expert stabbed himself in the chest, committing suicide.
The biggest concern about PAS is that it masks child abuse (see work by Jay Silverman at Harvard). Is the parent “alienating” the child or has the other parent abused the kid, creating hostility and fear? It also serves to scapegoat women. Children experiencing divorce can be depressed or angry for many reasons – not just because Mom tells them bad things about Dad. Then, there are the “reunification centers” where they reunite children with the estranged parent (potential abuser) and cut off ties with the parent that had the closer relationship.
Now, why is it that PAS – if it’s truly a mental health condition – works on changing children’s attitudes and not the parent’s? Wouldn’t that be working on changing the “cause” of the problem? And, is PAS a mental health condition or a legal strategy for gaining access or custody?
I refer to PAS as Pedophile Acting as Scientist. There’s no doubt in my mind that this so-called syndrome is in the best interest of the abuser. It also fails to meet scientific standards. I have no doubt parents bad-mouth each other, but it is not a mental health disorder. It is not a blanket cause for relationship break-downs or failures – sometimes, it’s because the parent can’t or won’t take accountability for their past or current actions. Sometimes it’s because there’s been abuse and it’s more common for abusers to deny abuse than it is for people to make false allegations.  

Custody catastrophes

In the Custody Catastrophes department, we have a father convicted of child sexual abuse. I’m sure if this story involved a mother, it would have made national news. The father got visitation rights (which indicates the mother must have made allegations if he didn’t get shared parenting). He sexually abused the baby girl the first visitation he got. He dumped the baby in the woods and reported that she was snatched while he wasn’t looking. Luckily, she was found and taken to a hospital. This story could have had a worse ending – and all because women’s claims are not taken seriously – and abuse could have been prevented in the first place – if she was believed and he was given supervised visitation.  

Clark gets 50 years to life for attempted murder, sexual assault on his child
Cory Clarke was sentenced to 50 years to life Friday for sexually abusing his 7-month old daughter and then leaving her in the woods to die on July 4.

Clark was convicted in March of attempted murder, first-degree predatory sexual abuse on a child, incest and other first-degree felony sex crimes.

Clarke reported the baby missing to a Walmart employee. He maintained that the baby was snatched while he was changing her brother in a bathroom.

In Australia, they’re having the same problems in their Family Court system. Women’s claims of abuse go unheeded. Here is an article about a recent study from Sydney University called “No way to Live.” The study interviews 22 women.

Act aids abusive fathers, imperils children

Here’s the report, No Way to Live

And to give you an example of the misogynist Fathers Righters, here’s a link I got when I searched for the report. I’m unable to open it though.

Malicious mothers demanding changes to Australia’s Shared …

Jun 24, 2010 … The study, No Way to Live, will add pressure to the federal Attorney-General, … Blog Directory for Sydney, New South Wales …
http://www.fathers4equality-australia.org/…/law-fails-children-exposed-to-harm?… – Australia – Cached

The anti-rape condom

While it doesn’t hurt to have more options for preventing sexual assault, I’m not sure how I feel about this anti-rape condom. I would love to be able to walk on some trails in my neighborhood – by myself – but I’m not sure I would put on this condom in order to do so. Personally, I’d like something more convenient – like something that could fit into my hand or pocket.

New anti-rape female condom, Rape-axe, debuts at South Africa’s World Cup

Dr. Sonnet Ehlers has invented Rape-axe, a female device with jagged hooks that latch onto a man’s penis during penetration.

The doctor is distributing 30,000 of these condoms in South Africa during this year’s World Cup.

“It hurts,” Ehlers told CNN. “He cannot pee and walk when it’s on. If he tries to remove it, it will clasp even tighter.”

South Africa has one of the highest rape rates in the world, according to Human Rights Watch. It is also believed that 16 percent of the population is living with HIV.

Rape-axe is inserted like a tampon and when embedded to a man the device can only be removed by a doctor.

Here is another story from the NY Times on the increase of violence against women, particularly rape, in Haiti.
Since the earthquake, international relief groups have expressed concerns about violence against women, especially in the camps under their watch. Poor or nonexistent lighting, unlockable latrines, adjacent men’s and women’s showers and inadequate police protection have all been problems.

The glorification and whorification

I’ve often thought, in a very general sense, we glorify men (fathers, soldiers, even serial killers) and whorify women (by hypersexualizing women and girls). That probably stems from gender roles that expect men to be strong and agressive and women to be pretty and sexy – but the media, to me, really exagerates these roles. In particular, they can treat violent men with fanfare, whether it’s the “nice guy” that kills his wife and kids (the most common serial killing) or the serial killer that tortures and kills unrelated women (but is not treated as gender-based violence). Here’s an interesting article in Salon about why women fall for serial killers – they are, afterall, treated like heroes in the media, often with super hero names like Green River Killer – argh! – or BTK (he named himself, actually) – or the Eastside killer.

Here’s a thesis about serial killers portrayed in the NY Times: 

Serial killers as heroes in the media’s storybook of murder

Read the piece in Salon here.

Where is the outrage?

In the “Where is the outrage?” department, we have a story that has received very little attention let alone signs of outrage. A man, intent on killing his wife, also targeted women. He injured three women and killed another three. He also killed his wife and took his own life.

Haven’t heard of this story? I’m not surprised. The question is, Why? If a person specifically targeted 3 Blacks or Hispanics or gay individuals, this would have made national news and we’d be having debates in all kinds of media about racism in America. Kill 4 women? Heck, that’s not so interesting, is it? Amazing… 

The link between domestic violence and animal abuse

Interesting article in the New York Times Magazine, which discusses the link between domestic violence and animal abuse:

The animal-cruelty syndrome

 Excerpts:

“It really has only been in recent years that there’s been more free and accurate reporting with respect to animal cruelty, just like 30 years ago domestic violence was not something that was commonly reported,” she said. “Clearly every act of violence committed against an animal is not a sign that somebody is going to hurt a person. But when there’s a pattern of abusive behavior in a family scenario, then everyone from animal-control to family advocates to the court system needs to consider all vulnerable victims, including animals, and understand that violence is violence.”
====
Whatever the particular intimidation tactics used, their effectiveness is indisputable. In an often-cited 1997 survey of 48 of the largest shelters in the United States for victims of domestic violence and child abuse, more than 85 percent of the shelters said that women who came in reported incidents of animal abuse; 63 percent of the shelters said that children who came in reported the same. In a separate study, a quarter of battered women reported that they had delayed leaving abusive relationships for the shelter out of fear for the well-being of the family pet. In response, a number of shelters across the country have developed “safe haven” programs that offer refuges for abused pets as well as people, in order that both can be freed from the cycle of intimidation and violence.

And here’s an ominous article about things to come in Baltimore:

Two children arrested for beating death of puppy

False allegations land grieving mother in jail

If you follow my blog, you’ll know that I try to counter the propaganda that women make false allegations. First, this is a myth, a lie and a stereotype.  Research (see: Bala & Schumann) finds that men make more false allegations in family court than women and that the majority of claims women make in court are made in good faith. Second, you rarely read about men’s false allegations – even this article ignores the issue. Third, as a result of this lie, women and children are denied justice and can be further harmed or killed.

Here is an article about a mother jailed for killing her infant (blunt force trauma, torn intestines, vaginal damage, etc.). The judge bashes her and throws her into jail. A few years later, the lawyer admits that her then-boyfriend admitted HE DENIED the assault and falsely accused her instead…

Eight years later, new evidence surfaces in R.I.’s toddler’s murder 

Children as property?

Whew, this headline is straight out 0f the 1800s when children were considered property of their father:

Mom Who Took Dad’s 2 Kids to S. Korea Jailed in NJ

She gave birth to them. Furthermore, both Mom & Dad agreed to move to South Korea – she didn’t take them anywhere by herself. He then moved back to NJ voluntarily – to make more money, he alleges. She alleges HE sexually abused their child  – yet SHE is in jail. Another he said/she said situation where he is believed and she is not – without even investigating the charges.