Recently I attended a domestic violence conference hosted by a church in my community. “The Church’s Role in Addressing Domestic Violence in the Faith Community,†the glossy brochure explained.
The program featured a Proclamation by President Barack Obama filled with heart-rending language about the “devastating impact†of domestic violence on women and children. The conference included a workshop a dramatic presentation of The Yellow Dress, a play based on stories of women who were victims of dating violence.
I opted to screen a video called “Defending our Lives,†featuring the accounts of five women incarcerated for murdering their partners. All insisted their lethal actions were taken solely in self-defense.
But from the beginning, it was clear an ideologically-fueled agenda was lurking in the background. Because research shows, over and over, that women are equally likely to aggress against their intimate partners.
The video commenced with a stark warning; “There is a war against women in this country.â€Â
Oh, really?
The video then claimed domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women. That myth has been debunked by persons like professor Richard Gelles of the University of Pennsylvania who derides such claims “factoids from nowhere.†(The actual causes of female death are accidental falls, motor vehicle accidents, and over-exertion.)
And then the coup de grace: “Battered women who kill have longer sentences than serial rapists.â€Â
The source of that outrageous factoid? Well, nobody seemed to know — and no one really cared. After all, we’ve got an epidemic of domestic violence on our hands, so any make-believe statistic will do.
The effect of the conference was to teach women to distrust and fear the men in their lives as latent, if not actual abusers. Husbands, boyfriends, brothers, even teenage sons – all are now suspect.
Also attending the conference were a State’s Attorney and an aide to a federal Congressman. Realizing that women outnumber men in elections, politicians have become sympathetic to women’s concerns these days.
As a result, almost every state in the country has domestic violence laws on the books that represent a flagrant suspension of American civil liberties. All a Scream Queen needs to do is play the abuse card, conjuring up a creative allegation that she knows may never require proof.
Two years ago a man in Stamford, Conn. was arrested for allegedly kicking his wife and throwing her down a flight of stairs. But it turned out to be a bogus accusation – the woman filed the charge hoping the restraining order would give her a leg-up in an impending divorce and custody hearing.
Not only did she file the spurious accusation, but then Superior Court Judge James Bingham denied the man’s request for an evidentiary hearing.
Obviously there are fundamental Constitutional issues at stake. Doesn’t the Fourth Amendment require probable cause before an arrest is made? Don’t Fourteenth Amendment due process protections apply? Isn’t stealing a man’s children with the blessing of the family courts a form of “cruel and unusual punishment�
So this past week, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled the man should have been granted an evidentiary hearing based on the preponderance of evidence standard.
Amazingly, the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, which receives $2.4 million federal funding each year, argued against the Supreme Court ruling, saying it would have a “chilling effect†on victims. In truth, the ruling will have a chilling effect — on false accusers who should be stoutly punished for their scurrilous deeds.
Each year, over two million domestic violence restraining orders are issued in the United States. Half of them are based on not even an allegation of physical aggression, according to a study by the Massachusetts Trial Court. Dads are stigmatized as abusers, families dissolved, and kids thrown into single-parent households.
Eventually word gets out. Men get wind that marriage is a raw deal. Lose your kids, your home, and your assets, thanks to a baseless accusation.
Men begin to distrust and fear women.
That’s the bitter fruit of our nation’s $4 billion domestic violence industry.
