Tag Archives: domestic violence

As if I needed one more reason to follow Capt. Picard into the black.

Posted on February 6, 2012 by | 13 Comments

Patrick Stewart, aka Captain Picard, has just given us yet another reason to love him:

I grew up in a home darkened by domestic violence – which I wrote about two years ago. My father was an angry and unhappy man who was not able to control his emotions, or his hands. I witnessed violence against my mother and felt powerless to stop it. When Refuge, the national domestic violence charity, asked me to become a patron, I accepted without hesitation. I accepted for my mother. As a child, there was little I could do to help her. But now I can give support and encouragement to women who live in the same sort of fear that she did.

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Posted in Respect, War on Women

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Major win for rape victims – Obama admin updates definition of rape

Posted on January 6, 2012 by | 10 Comments

Just like George W. Bush, only different

Today the Obama administration announced that it is updating the formal definition of rape. This move will help many rape victims who were previously unaccounted for achieve justice against their perpetrators and will more accurately reflect the extent of the problem of sexual crimes in our country.

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced revisions to the Uniform Crime Report’s (UCR) definition of rape, which will lead to a more comprehensive statistical reporting of rape nationwide. The new definition is more inclusive, better reflects state criminal codes and focuses on the various forms of sexual penetration understood to be rape. The new definition of rape is: “The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” The definition is used by the FBI to collect information from local law enforcement agencies about reported rapes.

“Rape is a devastating crime and we can’t solve it unless we know the full extent of it,” said Vice President Biden, a leader in the effort to end violence against women for over 20 years and author of the landmark Violence Against Women Act. “This long-awaited change to the definition of rape is a victory for women and men across the country whose suffering has gone unaccounted for over 80 years.”

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Posted in Body/Health Shenanigans, Eclectablog, Lady Bits, Obama 2012: Yes We Will!, Read Me!, Respect

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Rape Study Connects Some Mighty Scary Dots

Posted on December 15, 2011 by | 6 Comments

The subject of rape has dominated the headlines this year. A research group recently released their findings in time to confirm rape numbers are higher than expected. According to them “more than one in three women have experienced sexual assault, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner during their lifetime.”

One in three. Let that sink in. How many women do you see every day? One in three of them has or will suffer some level of violence or forced sexual contact. Stalking is terrifying. I’ve not experienced it firsthand, but I know one brave woman who has struggled with stalking and invasion of privacy for years. She has spent thousands of dollars, countless hours worrying, and never settled in any place too long all because she caught the attention of the wrong guy. The word stalking is used so much that we can forget how serious and life-altering it can be for the victims. It’s not always celebrities or public figures that have to deal with obsessive psychopaths. There are thousands of people right now who can’t feel comfortable working, sleeping, even eating at a restaurant.

http://omgrey.wordpress.com/

Nobody ever talks about male victims, another shortcoming in our media coverage and social understanding. The CNN article says one in seven men face violence in a relationship. Violence was defined as hit by a hand or fist, hit with a hard object, or slammed into something. I consider myself pretty open-minded and that even dropped my jaw. We have learned how often young men are sexually exploited before age 10: 28%. Look at a playground and try not to cry. A third of those kids have been or will be sexually assaulted. Each case was the decision of the abuser, which means every single case was 100% preventable. Why do we concern ourselves with a rare beast like a serial killer and turn a blind eye to the crimes that are drowning us, destroying entire neighborhoods?
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Posted in Body/Health Shenanigans, Bon the Geek, Criminally Stupid, Do The Right Thing, Lady Bits

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Topeka Reverses Decision That Made Violence Legal

Posted on October 13, 2011 by | 2 Comments

The county didn’t have money to prosecute criminals who beat their partners or spouses, so they dumped them on the city of Topeka. Topeka said they didn’t have the money, so they removed the portion of the law that made domestic violence illegal and left it up to the state. While it was still illegal on a state level, that put a hardship on victims and would have led to a complete lack of enforcement when the state drowned.

This was nothing but a load of BS, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. After an angry response from thousands upon thousands of people, they have reversed this decision and the city government will again do their jobs for the citizens who depend on them.

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Posted in Bon the Geek, Lady Bits, What the Crap!?

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The Price Of Beating A Woman In Topeka Kansas… Hell, It’s FREE

Posted on October 9, 2011 by | 2 Comments

ThinkProgress.org

I’m from the Midwest, so I know how domestic violence works in the Bible Belt. The reality is, while the law says women should not be beaten, culturally allowed gender bias does turn a blind eye to the problem. In what I consider the information age, a time when bright trumps might, we still find ourselves facing domestic violence with a certain trepidation in this region. The central U.S. is about a decade behind the rest of the nation, both in recognizing and correcting the problem.

But decriminalizing domestic violence? You gotta be freaking kidding me. This isn’t a brand new problem, however. The gaps in help for abused women is so poor that the district attorney advises victims not to call in.  Another danger is that domestic violence situations will escalate to regain dominance of the situation. What is often mistaken as retaliation is actually an attempt to assume control over the victim. Not that it matters to the victim. For her, it’s just another beating.  She may have to pay for her medical bills, knowing the man who hurt her won’t have to pay a dime to her or for his crime.  Could it be that jaywalking or owning dangerous dogs will be a worse crime than beating an adult woman?

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Posted in Bon the Geek, Criminally Stupid, What the Crap!?

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Questions and answers: Misogyny and violence edition.

Posted on August 16, 2011 by | 4 Comments

Live in Ohio? Please work to get this man recalled and/or arrested.

Please note update with helpful information for people living with abuse, below.

Q: Who said “She got a little upset. Girls do that,” when his wife called 911 after he got drunk and attacked her?

A: Ohio State Senator Kris Jordan.

Q: What is the State of Ohio doing about it?

A: Exactly nothing.

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Posted in Emily L. Hauser, Lady Bits, Legal Shenanigans, Miscellany, Political Shenanigans, What the Crap!?

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I’ll take any good news you got.

Posted on August 3, 2011 by | 2 Comments

In the Sometimes- Good-News-Comes-in-Tiny-Increments-But-It’s-Still-Good-News-Department (aka: The Department of SGNCITIBISGN):

1) Judge blocks Kan. law stripping Planned Parenthood of fed. funding, says law unlikely to last

An incredulous federal judge on Monday rejected the state’s claim that a new Kansas statute that denied Planned Parenthood federal funding did not target the group, ruling that the law unconstitutionally intended to punish Planned Parenthood for advocating for abortion rights and would likely be overturned.

(My favorite word here is mos def “incredulous.”)

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Posted in Emily L. Hauser, Lady Bits, Legal Shenanigans, LGBTQ Shenanigans

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Chris Brown Cried Like a Damn Fool at the BET Awards

Posted on June 28, 2010 by | Leave a comment

The “WTF!?” look on John Legend’s face said it all.

Somebody call a wahmbulance!

I watched the BET Awards last night.  It was 3 hours of Negro shenanigans hosted by Queen Latifah who felt the need to change into every costume she’s ever worn in any movie.  I half expected her to drive up on stage in a taxi cab with Jimmy Fallon riding shotgun.

There were a couple touching moments.  John Legend got the Humanitarian Award.  He’s fantastic.  That’s all I have to say about that.  Don’t believe me?  Check after the jump for video proof of his WIN.

Prince got a Lifetime Achievement Award.  During his speech, he had some words of advice; he said that he was wild in his younger days (Ya think?) and that you (meaning YOU, CHRIS BROWN!) don’t have to take the same path.  Then he thanked Jehovah and continued to try to convince us that Darling Nikki never happened.

Patti LaBelle belting out Purple Rain, kicking her shoes off into the crowd, and Prince grabbing one and holding it up high in a sign of victory, was pretty awesome.  I practically expected him to raise up the shoe and say “PRINCE!” à la “STEVE HOLT!”

Chris Brown did a tribute to Michael Jackson that was pretty decent up until it got rick-dickulous.  His moves were just aight; they aren’t as sharp as MJ’s, but really, whose are?  Except for Janet’s.  Frankly, I was hoping that Janet would walk up on stage and show us how shit really is done.  But, I reckon she had the sense to stay home and away from all the Negro Nonsense.***

And then the ridiculous happened:  He started to sing Man in the Mirror, but was, seemingly, so overcome with “Hot damn, I really wish I hadn’t beaten the crap out of Rihanna last year, so lemme weep and sing/talk about ‘take a look in the mirror and make  a change!’ and maybe if I fall to my knees and really dial those tears up to eleven, all the people who now think I’m a misogynistic dick will forgive me.”

Um.  No.

I’m not buying your crocodile tears, asshat.  Next time just don’t hit a woman, and then you won’t have to act the fool on stage in front of Biebs**** and everybody.

Rihanna didn’t show up.  I would have loved to see her face while he was up there crying like a jackass.

[video after the jump]

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Posted in Celebrity Shenanigans, Please Die in a Fire

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In Defense of Jenna Jameson

Posted on April 27, 2010 by | Leave a comment

I’m Not a Fan, Just a Feminist

When the news broke that Jenna Jameson was pressing charges of domestic abuse against her boyfriend and father of her children, Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Tito Ortiz, the Twitter-scape exploded with tweets.

Now the story has become a he-said, she-said incident where Ortiz’s camp is claiming Jenna is addicted to drugs, fell down, and for some reason decided to blame her injuries on her boyfriend.

I don’t care about the he-said/she-said. Most likely Ortiz did in fact beat up Jenna. Most likely she is addicted to drugs. Most likely the accusations and drama will continue to escalate. What I care about are the reactions to the news online, and the attitudes they portray.

The tweets about the subject, outside those that just shared links to the story, tended to trend as follows:

Those who couldn’t resist a good pounding pun:

Honore_et_Amore: Tito Ortiz arrested this morning after domesticabuse charges from Jenna Jameson. First time she’s gotten pounded and didn’t like it.


mxdveggies: Tito Ortiz arrested for pounding on Jenna Jameson? He pounds for a living, she gets pounded for a living. I don’t see the problem


Or a “shots to the face” reference:

ZlataThoughts: Tito Ortiz was arrested for domestic abuse. JennaJameson is ok though. She’s taken many clean shots to the face and never been KO’d!


MikeClemente: Tito Ortiz gave Jenna Jameson a new shot to the face. #DontDropTheSoap

Or slamming Tito’s skill as a fighter (or lack thereof):

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Posted in Culture Critic, Guest Contributors, Lady Bits, Please Die in a Fire

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