AFC's letter to select Massachusetts Senators regarding H-5845, a bill to require supervised visitation on mere allegations of domestic violence.Please send letters to the Senators named, on your organization's letterhead regarding this pending bill and send an e-mail copy to Professor Tom Rettberg
Senator Bruce Tarr
State House - Room 507
Boston, Massachusetts 02133
Senator Robert Hedlund
State House - Room 413-E
Boston, Massachusetts 02133
Senator Edward Clancy, Jr.
State House - Room 410
Boston, Massachusetts 02133
May 25, 1996
RE: H-5845 - Penalizing fathers and children because of domestic violence allegations
Dear Senator:
I am writing to ask that you strongly oppose any legislation- and specifically H-5845-that causes individuals, specifically fathers, to be guilty until proven innocent. The language of H-5845 will do just that. Even worse, it will substantively interfere with fathers' rights to the care, custody and nurture of their own children. [See: Doe v. Irwin, 441 F Supp 1247; U.S. D.C. of Michigan, (1985). "The rights of parents to the care, custody and nurture of their children is of such character that it cannot be denied without violating those fundamental principles of liberty and justice which lie at the base of all our civil and political institutions, and such right is a fundamental right protected by this amendment (First) and Amendments 5, 9, and 14."]
It is understandable that we all want and need to address the issue of domestic violence, but this bill and others like it, which have been introduced (and died) in legislatures throughout the country, are inappropriate, knee-jerk reactions to a very important and troubling issue.
We cannot simply obviate substantive due process rights in the name of "saving women and children", no matter how well-intentioned our motives are. Further, there is much that has been misrepresented regarding domestic violence and child safety. As a result, the application of laws addressing domestic violence have been unequally enforced and applied. Knowing this, and the data that substantiates this fact, makes support of H-5845 an unconscionable act and correspondingly, an act of conscious disregard for the rights and interests of the citizens of Massachusetts.
Our position is not to discount men's violence against women, it is bring attention to the violence perpetrated by women-against-men, which is laughed at, cheered, ignored and discounted. It should not be, regardless of the percentages of occurrence. Domestic violence is tragic when it occurs. It is the responsibility of the professional, legal and legislative communities to view domestic violence objectively and try to develop methods for identifying and preventing familial violence and treating both the victims and the perpetrators, when domestic violence does occur.
However, the following data suggest that we have not looked at this issue in an equitable and realistic manner, but have relied on anecdotal and questionable evidence:
| Victimization, Crime & Time | Male | Female |
| % of murder victims in domestic violence | 55.5 | 44.5 |
| % of spouses acquitted for murder of a spouse | 01.4 | 12.9 |
| % of spouses who receive probation for murdering a spouse | 01.6 | 16.0 |
| Average sentence (in years) for murdering a spouse | 17.0 | 06.0 |
When children are murdered 61% of the time it is by the mother. "Source: Murder in Families" - Dept. of Justice, July 1994. NCJ-143498 (61% is from compilations that were done at the request of Alan Dershowitz which appeared in his syndicated column and do not appear in the original report).
In 1975 and again in 1985, Murray A. Strauss and Richard J. Gelles and others conducted one of the largest and most respected studies in family violence ever done. What they found, confounded conventional wisdom on the subject: Not only are men just as likely to be the victims of domestic violence as women, the study showed that between 1975 and 1985, the overall rate of domestic violence by men against women decreased, while women's violence against men increased. Responding to accusations of gender bias, Strauss re-computed the assault rates based solely on the responses of the women in the 1985 study and confirmed that even according to women, men are the ones more likely to be assaulted by their partner.
There is no question that while men on average are bigger and stronger than women, they can do more damage in a fistfight. However according to Professors R.L. McNeely and Cormae Richey Mann, "the average man's size and strength are neutralized by guns and knives, boiling water, bricks, fireplace pokers and baseball bats."
A 1984 study of 6,200 cases found that 86% of female-on-male violence involved weapons, contrasted with 25% in cases of male-on-female violence. McLeod, Justice Quarterly (2) 1984 pp. 171-193.
Of every 100 families, 3.8 experience severe husband-to-wife violence, but 4.5 experience severe wife-to-husband violence. Strauss, Gelles, Steinmetz, Behind Closed Doors: Violence in American Families (1980).
A 1985 study of Texas University students, Breen found that 18% of men and 14% of women reported a violent act by a romantic partner. In the same study, 28% of married men reported that their wives had slapped, punched or kicked them. Shupe, Stacey & Hazlewood. Violent Men, Violent Couples (1986) Chapter 3.
In another study, 15.5% of men and 11.3% of women reported having hit a spouse while 18.6% of men and 12% of women reported having been struck by a spouse. Nisnoff & Bitman, Victimology 4, (1979), pp. 131-140.
A survey of couples in Calgary, Canada found that the rate of severe husband-to- wife violence was 4.8%, while severe wife-to-husband violence was 10%. Brinkerhoff & Lupri, Canadian Journal of Sociology, 13:4 (1988).
Equally important is the fact that the issue of who is really abusing children, has been lost in the political smoke that has accompanied the presentation and reaction to one-sided, biased studies that show only "women and children at risk" because of men's violence. H-5845 is purportedly designed to protect children from abusive parents, but if implemented is likely to place children in a situation where their unchecked risk for abuse, is greatest.
The Children's Rights Coalition, in Austin, Texas, performed a study in 1994, of each state's child protective services agency and found that when the abuser of children is a parent, the mother is approximately twice as likely as the father to be the abuser. Unfortunately, most states note only that the abuser is a "parent" or "other caretaker" and do not identify whether the abuser is a mother or a father, when the children are abused by parents. Even more remarkable is the fact that until 1994, some states, such as Maryland, only kept data on how many children were abused-without any data on the perpetrator. However, in the states which do collect data on the familial relationship of the perpetrator-overwhelmingly it is the mother, when the perpetrator is a biological parent. In North Dakota, when "natural mother alone" is compared with "natural father alone" (often people abuse children in concert with others), the mother is the abuser in 90.3% of the cases and the father in 9.7%.
In Minnesota, if the abuser is a parent, the abuser is the mother in 61.6% of the cases; in Ohio, 68.4%; in Oregon, 65%, in Texas, 68.5%; in Utah, 63.4%; and in Virginia, 67.3%. In Massachusetts the abuser is the mother in 64% of the cases.
These are staggering statistics. But, legislation such as H-5845 and "family preservation" policies employed by child-protective services will keep children in the mother-abusive home, rather than transferring the children to the non-abusive father. Men are rarely awarded protective orders and domestic violence diversion programs for women are practically non-existent. In light of the data, this is indeed, a strange wonder.
If 60% - 70% of confirmed child abusers were biological fathers, it is unlikely that legislation would pass that would allow them to exclude the other parent from the unfettered access to their children, based on mere allegations, be they true or false. Both parents, not only provide checks and balances for their children, but they provide checks and balances on each others behavior with regard to the parenting and safety of their children. Legislation, such as H-5845, which will be used primarily by mothers to keep fathers from performing this valuable "check and balance" function, must not be allowed to become law. Your opposition to this, and all such legislation, is called for and will be greatly appreciated.
If you have any further questions, are in need of any of the research cited herein, or wish me to testify before any of your legislative committees, please feel free to contact me directly.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I remain, Sincerely, Stuart A. Miller, Senior Legislative Analyst, American Fathers Coalition