The Violence Against Women Act Should Outrage Decent People

the VAWA is a oxymoron the woman that vote for it are saying, YES we want our sons to be told that they can't be fathers and our rights to be grandparents to be taken away...

they forget that woman have sons those sons grow to be men and start a family then if they marry a hateful woman the act (law) they voted in will destroy them.. its stupid....

makes me so freaking mad... where the hell is the common since ? don't they know this law the way its set up will destroy the very person who voted for it?

it effects everyone the only true victims here are the sexiest towards men which is discrimination and there kids,

grrr its so pathetic that you all are straight lining this and only seeing a very small picture and not seeing the much bigger picture...

to me it goes to show how much arrogance we have representing the public, don't you see WOMAN are seeing this and are fighting against it that really should be your red flag... thank you for standing up on this issue i admire you common since =) JAN BROWN i thank your a very smart person your right on the money

anthony eggleston of MO 11:56PM March 21, 2012

If the Act was named, "Violence Against Person's Act" and female and male victims were given the same access to the federally funded services supported by the Act then abusers wouldn't have the opportunity to use this law and the services offered to re-victimize victims of IPV.

As a domestic violence advocate I have spoken with tens of thousands of male victims over the years who were still invested in trying to fix their relationship and/or their abusive partner rather than break up the family unit. Unfortunately, their abusive partner would rather blame everyone else for their problems than work on their own abusive behaviors. Often times the victim finally realizes that trying to change the abuser is an exercise in futility and he leaves the relationship thinking that things will be better, she will calm down and put the best interests of the children first.

Abusers are self serving, they rarely if ever put their children's needs first. False allegations usually arise once the victim is determined to leave and the abusive partner knows that she can't stop him. Some batterer's, both male and female (but mostly female), know how to manipulate the system to their advantage to continue to control the victim who left them through using the system set up for victims.

IMHO, it's time to implement a screening tool, similar to the one that many LGBT anti-violence programs use on their hotline, to help determine if the caller is the abuser or the victim. It's not uncommon for abusers to call a hotline pretending to be victims in order to block their victims access to services.

The use an unbiased screening tool on heterosexual victims and abusers would go a long way in preventing false allegations and protecting victims.

I understand that this goes against the grain as it were because as advocates we are taught to believe the [female] victim...for many years women were not believed when they disclosed domestic violence by their husbands/boyfriends. Times have changed, women have more equality today than they did in yesteryear (not total equality but nothing is perfect). Domestic violence victim's services need to reflect the times and not the antiquated notions and beliefs of days gone by.

Jan Brown of ME 9:05PM March 21, 2012

I'm a male & a victim of misused VAWA. Truly oppreesed & batteted women don't get the help they need & mire often than not women use VAWA as a vehicle for free legal representation to gain total cudtodial control & asset control while simultaneously destroying the "father's" reputation & significantly, if not entirely, reduce the "fathet's" ability to provide for himself much less his children. Monetizing the children places a much deeper burden on society but those calculations are never addressed due to the sensitive nature of a judge & politicians being perceived as non-empathetic, especially when a few men do in fact cause harm BUT their sins cast a wide net & snare MANY innocent men.

Travis of NC 6:37PM March 21, 2012

It would be nice to see Joe Biden falsely accused and let him experience the kind of justice he has allowed so many good men go through.

It would be nice to see him prosecuted for putting in place such a criminal law.

Bill Ronan, LICSW of MN 4:36PM March 21, 2012