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Domestic Violence: Is the VAWA Legislation Fair to Men?

Since the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) passed Congress over ten years ago, domestic violence and sexual assault are “crimes” - and for the first time the federal government provided communities across the country resources to encourage a coordinated community response to domestic violence. This law has indeed helped many women, children, and families as many legislators say, yet there is another group of people negatively affected that is not discussed and dealt with effectively. That group consists of men who are taken advantage of by women - in the home and in the courts. No evidence is found that VAWA is used to protect men or their children from abusive women. Furthermore, there is evidence of women producing false reports in court.

1.) After signing a proclamation recognizing October as Domestic Violence Month, President George W. Bush shakes hands with young artist who designed the Stop the Violence postage stamp. (2003 White House photo by Tina Hager) 2.) According to StopFamilyViolence.org, judges are awarding child custody to batterers, child abusers and pedophiles while issuing gag orders and even jailing the protective parents who try to stop them.

According to Debby Fellows - Founder and President of the New York Civil Rights Council, Secretary of the Coalition of Fathers and Families of New York, and Former member and lobbyist for the National Organization of Women – “They refuse to use current data because it shows decreases of violence against women by men and increases of violence against men by women.”

NY Assemblyman Adam Bradley (D-89), a member of the Children & Families Committee, recognizes that there are abuses of VAWA, most often in Family Court cases. The Assemblyman said, “Women have taken what has meant to be a shield and turned it into a sword!”

In 2005, New York State spent over $103 million dollars in government and private revenue on services for victims of domestic violence and their children. Records show that several agencies such as the Office of Children and Family Services, Crime Victims Board, Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, Department of Health and others disseminated millions of dollars in funding to communities in support of domestic violence and sexual assault efforts.

Ms. Fellows told The Informed Constituent that one way they justify the need for increased funding every year is by lowering the standard for ‘What is abuse?’ “People laugh when I tell them a man can be evicted from his home, his assets confiscated, his children abducted, and his life ruined by giving an ‘intimidating look’.”

Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY), a sponsor of VAWA, was asked why it does not address victims of both sexes. Her office responded in writing, “The President proposed reducing funding for VAWA in 2007 from $565.7 million in 2006 to $546.2 million in 2007.” Unfortunately, the question was not answered. Some believe lowering the funds actually helps because lowering the funds would take the pressure off the innocent males.

Our society and elective officials need to accept that this is not a gender-specific issue, before there can be reform. The prejudice is that men are assumed to be the abuser. Perhaps it’s not surprising to witness the stereotype within our own state legislature, an elected official who sits on the Children & Families Committee. In an elevator full of people, a New York State Judge asked the Assemblywoman, “If both parents are loving and fit - absent of any abuse - why can’t both parent their children? She responded “As long as men beat women they will never be fit parents!”

Records show many cases of false allegations. During Family Court litigation, women sometimes commit perjury to gain a strategic foothold on controlling the outcome of a custody battle. Men often lose their children, lose their jobs, and are left homeless before there is any chance to disprove the allegations in Criminal Court.

According to two doctors from the Family Research Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire—Murray Straus Ph.D. and Richard Gelles, Ph.D who conducted a nationally represented survey of married and cohabiting couples regarding Domestic Violence—It’s difficult for men to connect with resources to combat being a victim of abuse and domestic violence because there is a serious lack of assistance for men.

While language was added in 2005 when VAWA was reauthorized, the stereotype that men are typically the abuser is still very strong. Part of the solution is increasing awareness of the fact that many men are abused by women, and are taken advantage of in courtrooms across America.

VAWA is due for reauthorization in 2010. To see a copy of VAWA and get more information, go to www.usdoj.gov/ovw or call the Office of Violence Against Women in Washington D.C. at (202) 307-6026.

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