Caller ID Spoofing

Last week, a press release was issued by the makers of SpoofEm implying that Women's Resource Center and three other Georgia dv shelters endorse their telephone spoofing technology and use it in our safehouses. This is not true. Neither WRC nor the contacts we spoke with at any of the other shelters named use SpoofEm or any other telephone spoofing technology, and we have asked that they immediately cease the use of our name in their marketing.

Call spoofing technology can be extremely dangerous for women being stalked and, after a violent relationship ends, many women find that their former partners continue to harass them. When women attempt to screen their calls, call spoofing technology helps stalkers get through anyway by disguising the number. When women hope to file a Stalking Protective Order or criminal charges for harassment, call spoofing technology makes it harder because the women have no print record of constant calls from a number they can identify with their harasser. Call spoofing technology also makes it easier for stalkers to harass their victim at work, because it looks as if she is receiving calls from many different phone numbers. Some services even include voice change technology that can alter the voice, even helping male callers sound like women and vice versa.

In some circumstances, this technology could be useful for women on the run from their partners who are worried that family and friends may have their phones tapped, but those technologically savvy batterers are much more rare than those taking advantage of these products to harass and intimidate.

When It's a Belly, Not a Bruise

Last week, Alternet published a great article examining the sexual and reproductive violence that takes place in many abusive teen relationships.

But even as a growing body of research underscores the role male partners play in condom use and negotiation, no suggestion was made that those stats might include some girls who are forgoing condoms against their will, even those bolstered by condom-friendlier sex ed.

"The person you're 'negotiating' condom use with may not be interested in negotiation," says Miller.

"The picture out there is 'just get women birth control,' " adds Esta Soler, president of the Family Violence Prevention Fund, which has launched a public awareness campaign about reproductive abuse in relationships. "But, because of coercion or sabotage, they may not have control over whether they use it."

And it's not just about pregnancy. Dr. Anne Teitelman, Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania, is an expert on partner abuse and HIV risk. In her published review on this link among adolescent girls, she found six studies identified an association between intimate partner violence and increased risk for HIV (as in condom non-use). Among adolescent girls, survivors of partner abuse are significantly more likely than others to be diagnosed with an STD.

Dr. Teitelman's research findings also indicate that verbal abuse, as well as physical abuse, is linked with increased HIV risk among adolescent girls.

Teitelman, who is also a Family Nurse Practitioner, observed this association firsthand, before studies began to confirm the link.

"We're giving teens all this information about prevention in the clinic, and yet I see them back all the time for STI testing," she says. So, she began to ask, " 'What's not working on our end? What are the obstacles in their lives that are making this difficult for them?' I was not a partner-abuse researcher before, but I became one because that was one of the major answers."

What drives young men to abuse in this way?

"It's clearly out-and-out control of a woman's body. Control for control's sake," says Miller. It's an urge that stems, experts say, from an inability to manage their own fears and insecurities.

In one 2007 study, some boys acknowledged outright that they insisted on condomless sex as a way to establish power over female partners. (There is evidence of analogous male-on-male sexual violence, but it hasn't been studied in depth.)

Other research found that some men took a woman's request for a condom as an accusation of cheating, or an admission that she had slept around or strayed. And for some, yes, the goal is fatherhood -- but not so much of the "involved" variety; rather, it's a desire to mark one woman as "mine" forever. Or, according to Patti Giggans, young men in gangs say, "I'm not gonna be around forever. I've gotta leave my legacy."

This issue has been discussed here before (18% of Young US Women Have Been Raped, Forced Pregnancy as Abuse ), and is one that we hear about regularly from women using our programs. It isn't just teens, but sexual and reproductive violence often starts in the teenage years and continues as the relationship continues. Some women are victimized in this way by multiple men over time. It is just one of many ways abusers try to assert power and control over their partners, but it is one of the most impacting. Bruises heal, but a child is always there, and the more children you have, the harder it is to get free.

Farrah Fawcett, Death of an Advocate

Probably best know for an iconic pin-up and her time on Charlie's Angels, Farah Fawcett was well know in the women's community as well as an advocate against domestic violence.

Fawcett starred in "The Burning Bed," a 1984 made-for-TV movie focused on the true story of Francine Hughes and her struggle for survival against an abusive husband. The abuse culminated on March 9, 1977 when Hughes set fire to her husband’s bed while he was sleeping. She took her children, drove to the police station and gave a full confession. At trial, Hughes was found not guilty by reason of insanity. It was the first successful use of "battered woman's syndrome" in a court case.

Farrah’s portrayal in The Burning Bed, brought light to the hidden factors that battered women aren’t only physically abused but emotionally abused as well. It was easy to understand that a woman might kill her husband during an argument, or as self defense during an argument, but the Burning Bed showcased the loss of self-esteem and emotional abuse that victims of domestic violence suffer. For the first time, on screen, it was clearly and accurately portrayed that victims of domestic violence possess scars much deeper than those that are easily hid by cosmetics. The inner scars aren’t easy to hide; they rob a woman of her self-worth and will destroy her if she never escapes.

The Burning Bed also drew light to another topic that wasn’t openly discussed in society: spousal rape. The movie depicts Farrah Fawcett setting her husband on fire after he raped her, a topic that many felt was taboo, or even impossible. Many at the time felt that if you were married, even separated, you could not be raped by your spouse. This misperception was tackled head on in the film.

The role earned her an Emmy nomination. Via

She later became a board member of the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Even in her death, Farrah showed her commitment to the cause by donating a portion of her estate to domestic violence work. Rest in peace, Farrah.

White House Appoints DV Advisor

From ABC News:

Vice President Biden announced today that Lynn Rosenthal will be the White House adviser on Violence Against Women, a new position created to work with the president and vice president on domestic violence and sexual assault issues.

Joining Biden for the announcement was Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor and assistant to the president for Intergovernmental Relations and Public Engagement.

Rosenthal most recently served as the executive director of the New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence and has focused on domestic violence issues like housing, state and local coordinated community response, federal policy, and survivor-centered advocacy.

From 2000-2006, she served as the executive director of the National Network to End Domestic Violence and played a key role in the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2000 and 2005.

Biden called the work Rosenthal will do in this new position "incredibly consequential” and joked that he had already given her an assignment on her first day.

“And Valerie looked at me and was like, give her a break!” he said to laughter from the assembled audience of advocates against domestic violence.

The vice president said that when he and President Obama discussed who they wanted to take on this role, they said it had to be someone who would "literally, not figuratively" go to bed every night thinking about what can be done to protect women from violence.

Biden said there are 48 million reported cases of violence done by an intimate partner and said that while there's no count on how many are unreported, more women are coming out of the shadows.

"The worst imprisonment in the whole world is to be imprisoned in your own home," the vice president said. "The most vicious of all crimes are domestic crimes."

Augusta Man Kills Wife, Self

From the Augusta Chronicle:

Police said Tuesday they think an Augusta man took his own life at an interstate rest stop after killing his estranged wife last weekend, placing her body in the trunk of her car, then driving to Alabama.

Sheriff's deputies in Conecuh County, south of Montgomery, said they were called to a rest stop off Interstate 65 about 8 a.m. to investigate a possible suicide. They found the body of Scottie Murphy, of Augusta, in the vehicle's front seat and the body of his wife, Jessica Murphy, in the trunk.

Ms. Murphy, 30, an employee of The Augusta Chronicle advertising department, was reported missing Saturday after she did not come to work.

"All her Chronicle co-workers will miss Jessica, who was a loyal and conscientious employee," said President Don Bailey. "She always talked about how the work at the newspaper meant so much to her. I will say her attitude and performance meant just as much to us. Our hearts go out to her family."

Local investigators said they suspect Ms. Murphy was killed Saturday after dropping by the Tubman Street apartment where she had lived with Mr. Murphy. Police are awaiting autopsy results to determine the cause of her death.

Richmond County sheriff's Investigator James Kelly said Mr. Murphy appeared to have died of a self-inflicted gunshot to the head.

Police said they don't know why he drove to Alabama.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ms. Murphy's family and friends.

Chris Brown Pleads Guilty - No Jail Time

According to CNN, Chris Brown accepted a deal with prosecutors in which he pled guilty to one count of assault with the intent of doing great bodily injury. In exchange for the guilty plea, Brown was sentenced to five years of probation and must serve 180 days in jail or the equivalent - about 1,400 hours - in "labor-oriented service." He must also undergo a year-long domestic-violence counseling class. The judge also issued a "stay away" order, requiring Brown to stay at least 50 yards away from Rihanna at all times - 10 yards if the two are at the same "industry event."

Some women's groups are outraged, while others are angry but not surprised.

"I was very surprised that he will get no jail time. Paris Hilton got jail time for heaven's sake. This man beat Rihanna to a bloody pulp and he's not going to spend a day in jail," said Kim Gandy, President of the National Organization of Women. It really tells you about the way that judges look at violence against women."

"The level of assault wasn't met with the same level of consequence," says Rita Smith, Executive Director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. "It's not that Chris Brown didn't get more serious consequences. Most batterers don't get more serious consequences."

Smith feels it's reactions to first time offenses, like Brown's, that encourage repeat offenses. "The first time they show up in the justice system you don't say, 'This is a really horrible thing you've done and you have to stop it, this is not acceptable behavior.' We don't say it strongly enough."

Landmark Decision: Domestic Violence is a Human Rights Violation

Via Feminist Law Professors:

In a landmark decision, the European Court of Human Rights has unanimously found that a state violated the human rights of the applicant and her mother in failing to protect them against domestic violence. In Opuz v Turkey, the applicant alleged that the state bore responsibility under the European Convention on Human Rights for its failure to take action against her violent husband who repeatedly attacked her and killed her mother.

The European Court had previously found state responsibility in a domestic violence case in Bevacqua v. Bulgaria (2008), grounding its decision in article 8 (right to respect for family life) of the European Convention. In Opuz v Turkey, however, the Court found state responsibility for violations of the right to life (art. 2), the prohibition of torture (art. 3), and — significantly — the right to non-discrimination on the basis of sex (art. 14).

Regarding the latter, Court found that “the violence suffered by the applicant and her mother may be regarded as gender-based violence which is a form of discrimination against women.”

You can read more about the case and view links to the Court’s judgment and a video of the Court’s hearing here.