How To Join CAVNET

Founded by Marc Dubin, Esq., former Special Counsel to the Justice Department's Office on Violence Against Women, CAVNET (Communities Against Violence Network) serves to bring together experts and advocates addressing violence against women, human rights, suicide, school violence, bullying, and crime victims with disabilities. We are a partner with Lifetime Television's End Violence Against Women Project and a recipient of a Ms. Foundation grant.To join, send a resume or brief bio to Marc Dubin, Esq, Executive Director, at mdubin@pobox.com. Marc may also be contacted by cell phone at 305-896-3000. See http://www.linkedin.com/pub/marc-dubin/4/4a0/180/ Follow Marc on Twitter:@ADAExpertise







Saturday, January 26, 2013

A Message to Other Attorneys About Serving Clients Who Are Deaf



A Message to Other Attorneys About Serving Clients Who Are Deaf – Provide a Sign Language Interpreter, Free of Charge, Or Risk a Civil Penalty of Up to $55,000 for the First Offense, and Up To $110,000 for Each Subsequent Offense, and a Federal Civil Rights Investigation By the Justice Department
    Marc Dubin, Esq. 

Attorneys in private practice are covered by title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and are required to provide the appropriate auxiliary aids and services necessary for effective communication, including qualified sign language interpreters. Even solo practitioners are covered by title III. Using friends and family members as sign language interpreters does not comply with this mandate, nor does lipreading or passing notes back and forth. And the enforcement agency with the big stick? The Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, where I spent 12 years enforcing the ADA on behalf of the United States.
But can’t lawyers choose their clients? Don’t we have the right to refuse to take on certain clients? No.
Not when the client is a member of a protected class, and the reason for refusing to take the client is the client’s disability. Clients with disabilities are protected by federal law from discrimination. Just as you are prohibited from refusing to serve African Americans because of their skin color, you are prohibited from denying your services to a person because of their disability.
Take a look at http://www.ada.gov/tirone.htm. Greg Tirone is an attorney inNew York who entered into a Settlement Agreement with the Justice Department in 2004, in the first case the Justice Department had involving an attorney’s obligations to clients who are deaf. According to the Settlement Agreement:
Mr. Tirone represented Ms. Rozanski in her divorce. The divorce involved allegations of domestic violence, as well as matters of child custody, visitation, and issues relating to a restraining order.

It is alleged that Mr. Tirone failed to provide a qualified sign language interpreter during several meetings with his client.

When meeting with Ms. Rozanski in court, Mr. Tirone used the services of the court’s interpreter. The Court’s interpreter was provided by the Court at the Court’s expense.

At other times, in the absence of a qualified sign language interpreter, Mr. Tirone communicated with Ms. Rozanski by pen and paper, fax, lipreading, and by use of the National Relay Service when communicating by phone. It is alleged that use of these alternatives took longer than would have occurred had a qualified sign language interpreter been used, resulting in higher costs to Ms. Rozanski. In addition, Ms. Rozanski alleges that due to the absence of a qualified sign language interpreter, she did not understand all that was conveyed. Mr. Tirone asserts that he represented Ms. Rozanski adequately and professionally, and that he effectively communicated with her. He further asserts that he believes that Ms. Rozanski understood him at all times.
Mr. Tirone acknowledges that as an attorney in private practice, he is covered by Title III of the ADA as a place of public accommodation and is obligated to ensure effective communication with Ms. Rozanski. Mr. Tirone does not deny that Ms. Rozanski is an individual with a disability and as such, is protected from discrimination under the ADA. See 42 U.S.C. §§ 12182(b)(1)(b)(2)(a). He asserts that he effectively communicated with Ms. Rozanski at all times
The Justice Department made specific findings of fact in the Settlement Agreement:
Use of a family member as a sign language interpreter in a matter involving domestic violence was inappropriate. Because of her relationship as Ms. Rozanski’s sister, the nature of the communications, and because of her emotional and personal involvement with her sister, she was not qualified to serve as an interpreter in this matter. In addition Ms. Rozanki’s sister was not a qualified sign language interpreter, as she has a hearing disability as well, and uses a different sign language than her sister, (signed English), and lipreads. Born with a hearing loss, she has moderate to severe hearing loss in her left ear and severe to profound loss in her right ear. Her doctors have indicated that “with hearing loss of this degree and nature, (she) can be expected to have communication difficulties in all listening situations, especially when competing background noise is present and when speakers are at a distance or not facing her.” She also has had no specialized training in interpreting legal terms.

The Department of Justice has investigated the allegation that Mr. Tirone failed to provide Ms. Rozanski with effective communication and finds the allegation meritorious. Mr. Tirone acknowledges a single violation of the ADA and agrees to the terms set forth below as a resolution of the investigation. In exchange, the United States agrees to terminate its investigation of this matter, without resorting to litigation.
The Settlement Agreement is worth reading, in its entirety. It sets forth the law quite clearly.
Section 36.303 of the ADA regulation provides that a public accommodation:
(S)hall take those steps that may be necessary to ensure that no individual with a disability is excluded, denied services, segregated or otherwise treated differently than other individuals because of the absence of auxiliary aids and services, unless the public accommodation can demonstrate that taking those steps would fundamentally alter the nature of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations being offered or would result in an undue burden, i.e., significant difficulty or expense.
§ 36.303(a).
Attorneys are considered a public accommodation and must provide sign language interpreters when necessary to provide effective communication, which is the case when the client uses sign language as his or her primary means of communication. The commentary to the title III regulation points out:
It is not difficult to imagine a wide range of communications involving areas such as health, legal matters, and finances that would be sufficiently lengthy or complex to require an interpreter for effective communication (emphasis added).
Commentary to § 36.303
The public accommodation must:
(F)urnish appropriate auxiliary aids and services where necessary to ensure effective communication with individuals with disabilities.
§ 36.303(4)(c).
Auxiliary aids and services include but are not limited to “qualified interpreters”. § 36.303(b)(1).
A “qualified interpreter” is one who:
(I)s able to interpret effectively, accurately and impartially both receptively and expressively, using any necessary specialized vocabulary. (Emphasis added). §36.104
There are several different sign language systems used by persons who use sign language. (The most common systems of sign language are American Sign Language and signed English.) Individuals who use a particular system may not communicate effectively through an interpreter who uses another system. When an interpreter is required, the public accommodation should provide a qualified interpreter, that is, an interpreter who is able to sign to the individual who is deaf what is being said by the hearing person and who can voice to the hearing person what is being signed by the individual who is deaf. This communication must be conveyed effectively, accurately, and impartially, through the use of any necessary specialized vocabulary.

Signing and interpreting are not the same thing. Being able to sign does not mean that a person can process spoken communication into the proper signs, nor does it mean that he or she possesses the proper skills to observe someone signing and change their signed or fingerspelled communication into spoken words. The interpreter must be able to interpret both receptively and expressively.

Family members, friends, and close associates are not qualified interpreters in most cases, and generally should not be used to interpret. The commentary to the Title III regulation makes clear:
...(P)ublic accommodations have at times asked persons who are deaf to provide family members or friends to interpret. In certain circumstances, notwithstanding that the family member or friend is able to interpret or is a certified interpreter, the family member or friend may not be qualified to render the necessary interpretation because of factors such as emotional or personal involvement or considerations of confidentiality that may adversely affect the ability to interpret “effectively, accurately, and impartially.” (Emphasis added). Commentary to §36.303.
Please feel free to contact me directly, at mdubin@pobox.com if you have any questions. I wrote and signed the Settlement Agreement on behalf of theUnited States.
Sincerely.
Marc Dubin, Esq.
Director of Advocacy, Center for Independent Living of South Florida
305-896-3000 mobile
Former Senior Trial AttorneyUS Department of Justice, Disability Rights Section, Civil Rights Division, 1993-2005




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Domestic Violence Shelters and the ADA

http://www.ncdsv.org/images/DVSheltersADA.pdf

"It is widely believed that women with disabilities are disproportionately at risk of intimate partner violence
2,yet they rarely seek the services of a shelter. It is the purpose of this Paper to raise the consciousness of providers of domestic violence services about how tobetter serve women3 with disabilities, and to enhance the ability of programs servingsurvivors to reach out to survivors with disabilities4.

This paper is not intended to be a criticism of shelters. To the contrary, I have a great deal of respect for the commitment shelters have to serving survivors, and of the sacrifices theymake to do so. Through my workwith the victim.s rights community and the disability rightscommunity, however, I am also aware of thegreat number of women across the countrywith disabilities who stay in abusive relationships because their local shelter is either not incompliance with federal law or has failed to adequately let the community know of itscompliance and desire to serve these women.Consider the words of Kimberly Black Wiseman, a woman who is a quadriplegic as aresult of a car accident when she was 16, who stayed in a violent relationshipwhichalmost resulted in her death:
"Looking back on my experiences of abuse, during the battering relationship in 1990 I did not perceive a shelter as an option because of my need for physicalaccessibility and attendant care. Back in 1990, basic community services, evenrestaurants, were generally not accessible to me because that was just after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. During the battering relationship, ifI had had information on safety planning, education, and domestic violence, andhad an accessible shelter available, I would have been better able to protectmyself . to get out of the relationship before I was severely beaten and before
the hospital and the police had to become involved to get me out.
5"


For how many women with disabilities is this statement still true?
6 What can be done toimprove the situation? The Center for Research on Women with DisabilitiesBaylor College of MedicineWomen, atBaylor College of Medicine, has done excellentwork on the issue of women with disabilities and domestic violencefor years, and offers some excellent observations and recommendations.

7...

Article continued at
http://www.ncdsv.org/images/DVSheltersADA.pdf

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Comment from Survivor, About CAVNET

“CAVNET has been the most valuable resource of information for me throughout the last few years. As a victim of domestic violence including emotional and financial abuse and other abuses including child kidnapping, CAVNET has provided moral support and legal education, and has guided me to otherwise hard to find legal resources. In addition, CAVNET has put me in contact with specialists in domestic violence, and supportive and knowledgeable advocates. CAVNET has put together Advisory Committees providing excellent information which guided me while representing myself in court in a custody battle. I am most grateful for the help and empowerment that CAVNET has given me.”
– Survivor



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Lyn Bates Vice President, AWARE, About CAVNET

"When I got a request from a person trying to help a young woman in Ecuador who is being stalked, I knew just where to turn: CAVNET. Within a day, several members sent me the names of nearly two dozen Ecuadorian organizations that may be able to help her! Without CAVNET, I would have had nothing to offer her in her language near her home. The CAVNET members are professional, knowledgeable, and very willing to share their expertise."
– Lyn Bates Vice President, AWARE




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Diana Riehm, Victim Advocate, Counseling Services MCB, Camp Pendleton

“I recently retired after 25 years in law enforcement. I am now a victim advocate at Camp Pendleton MCB in California. Typically in law enforcement, training is offered only when legal mandates exist. Resources are few. Investigator's resources are determined by the size of their Rolodexes, which are carefully guarded. When CAVNET opened, a tremendous network opened and instantly began to vibrate with exchanges, resources, discussions, and (those nasty, dangerous thoughts known as) IDEAS. I've used the resources from CAVNET many, many times. And for every resource I have used, lives have been changed, and presumably some have been saved. Multiply my experience by the number of CAVNET members, and imagine how the world has been changed.”
– Diana Riehm, Victim Advocate, Counseling Services MCB, Camp Pendleton



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Dr. Walter DeKeseredy, Ph.D, Ohio University, About CAVNET

"I have never had an electronic resource as useful as CAVNET. In addition to providing people with many opportunities to exchange ideas and information, CAVNET helps facilitate new friendships and promotes a high level of collegiality."
– Dr. Walter DeKeseredy, Ph.D, Ohio University



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Reporter, CNN Radio, About CAVNET

“I turned to CAVNET recently for help for a young woman whose boyfriend was stalking and making inappropriate visits to her workplace. As a result I have received some great materials to share with her, including a check list of behaviors that would give one cause for concern”.
– Reporter, CNN Radio



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The Honorable Roderick Kennedy, Judge, NM Court of Appeals, About CAVNET

"CAVNET is a true asset to the community.... I handled about 5,000 DV cases as a metropolitan judge in Albuquerque.... By sharing information and approaches to the problem of violence, and problems resulting from violence in our society, you provide a valuable clearing house for information and ideas."
– The Honorable Roderick Kennedy, Judge, NM Court of Appeals



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Profile of a CAVNET Member: Leigh Goodmark

 Leigh Goodmark is an Assistant Professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law, where she teaches in the Family Law Clinic. Previously, Professor Goodmark served as the Director of the Children and Domestic Violence Project at the ABA Center on Children and the Law, and represented battered women and children in restraining order, divorce, and custody cases. Professor Goodmark is the author of "From Property to Personhood: What the Legal System Should Do for Children in Domestic Violence Cases," which discusses the failure to fully implement provisions intended to protect victims of domestic violence and their children in custody and visitation cases. Professor Goodmark has spoken on these issues throughout the country, most notably through NCADV's symposia on child custody. Professor Goodmark also helped to establish the D.C. Superior Court's Supervised Visitation Center and the D.C. Bar's guardian ad litem program for children in domestic relations cases involving domestic violence. Professor Goodmark is a member of CAVNET's Advisory Committee on Custody.

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Profile of a CAVNET Member: Don McPherson

A native of West Hempstead, New York, Don McPherson was a two sport college All-American athlete (football and track). He attended Syracuse University from 1983-88. While at Syracuse, he played quarterback and compiled 22 school records. In 1987, he led the nation in passing and Syracuse University to an undefeated record. McPherson is a consensus All-American selection and winner of over 18 national Player of the Year honors, including the McLovell Award (as the nation's top collegiate player), the Dave O'Brien Award, the Johnny Unitas Award (nation's outstanding quarterback), and was runner-up to Tim Brown of Notre Dame in the Heisman Trophy voting.
McPherson spent two seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL. In 1990, he began playing with the Houston Oilers. He also played in Canada for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1991-93) and Ottawa Rough-Riders (1994).

McPherson joined Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society in November of 1995 as Co-Director for the Center's new program "Athletes in Service to America." This program, based at four colleges and universities nationally, addresses violence prevention issues and provides academic tutoring to young people from the elementary level through high school. Athletes in Service employs former student-athletes to provide service to young people in surrounding communities. McPherson is currently the Director of Sport in Society's "Mentors in Violence Prevention Program," MVP, designed to encourage men to take a proactive position in the effort to stop men's violence against women.

McPherson has been a spokesperson for a variety of causes both in Canada and the U.S. He has appeared on the Phil Donahue Show and ABC's Nightline to discuss athletes, domestic violence, and racism in professional football. He also co-hosts "Sports Saturday" on WBZ radio in Boston.

Don is a member of CAVNET's Advisory Board.


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Profile of a CAVNET Member: Jackson Katz

Jackson Katz has long been recognized as one of America's leading anti-sexist male activists. In 1993, he founded the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) Program at Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society. The multiracial, mixed-gender MVP Program is the first large-scale attempt to enlist high school, collegiate and professional athletes in the fight against rape and all forms of men's violence against women. Today MVP is the most widely utilized gender violence prevention program in college athletics.

In 1996, Katz founded MVP Strategies, which he directs. MVP Strategies is an organization that specializes in providing gender violence prevention education and training for men and boys in schools, colleges, the US military, and small and large corporations.

Since 1996, Katz has been directing the first worldwide gender violence prevention program in the history of the United States Marine Corps – the first such program in the United States military. From 2000-2003 he served as a member of the U.S. Secretary of Defense's Task Force on Domestic Violence in the military. Since the Columbine tragedy in 1999, Katz and MVP have been working with several schools in the Jefferson County, Colorado school district, including Columbine High School.

Katz is the creator of award-winning educational videos for college and high school students, including "Tough Guise: Violence, Media, and the Crisis in Masculinity." Tough Guise (2000) was named one of the Top Ten Young Adult Videos for 2000 by the American Library Association. His video Wrestling With Manhood (2002), which examines the gender and sexual politics of professional wrestling, is a collaboration with Sut Jhally. His latest video, Spin the Bottle (due out in Fall 2003), with Jean Kilbourne, looks at gender in the marketing and pop cultural representation of alcohol.

Katz is the author of numerous articles in academic journals and popular newspapers that are widely used in undergraduate and graduate courses. Topics include violent white masculinity in advertising, working with student-athletes in gender violence prevention, men's use of pornography, Eminem, working with adolescent males in juvenile detention, men's leadership in gender violence prevention education K-12, and masculinities in media.

He has appeared on numerous radio and TV programs coast to coast, including the Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, Montel Williams, ABC News 20/20, MSNBC and Lifetime Television.

A former three-sport high school athlete and all-star football player, Katz was the first man at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst to earn a minor in women's studies. He holds a masters degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Since 1990, he has lectured at over 700 colleges, prep schools, high schools, middle schools, professional conferences and military installations in 43 states.

Jackson is a member of CAVNET's Advisory Board.


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Profile of a CAVNET Member - Dr. Martin D. Schwartz

 

Dr. Martin D. Schwartz is Professor of Sociology and Presidential Research Scholar at Ohio University, where he served two terms as chair. Working with a variety of co-authors but mainly Walter DeKeseredy, he has written or edited 11 books, more than 60 refereed journal articles and another 40 book chapters, government reports, and essays, and been active in the battered women's shelter movement since the 1970s. With DeKeseredy he wrote Sexual Assault on the College Campus and Woman Abuse on Campus. He also edited Researching Sexual Assault and Race, Gender and Class in Criminology: The Intersections (with Dragan Milovanovic). A former officer of several academic organizations, he received the lifetime achievement award of the American Society of Criminology's Division on Critical Criminology. The co-editor of Criminal Justice: An International Journal of Policy and Practice, he serves on, or has served on the editorial boards or as deputy editor of 11 journals, including the top American criminology journals: Criminology, and Justice Quarterly, and done manuscript reviews for 55 journals and publishers. At Ohio University he has won a variety of teaching and service awards, including Graduate Professor of the Year and Best Arts and Sciences Professor (twice), while being the first social scientist to win the university's research achievement award, the title of Presidential Research Scholar. His Ph.D. is from the University of Kentucky, where he was awarded the 2002 Thomas R. Ford Distinguished Alumni Award.

Dr. Schwartz is a member of CAVNET's Advisory Committee on Campus Violence.

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Kathy Wells, Executive Director, Crisis Services of North Alabama, About CAVNET

Kathy Wells, Executive Director, Crisis Services of North Alabama:

"CAVNET has enabled us to stay up-to-date on this dynamic field with its ever-growing body of research and information. It has also allowed us to gain information about other programs and issues within hours, sometimes even minutes. …We cannot thank you enough for making CAVNET available to those of us on the front lines in this "war" against domestic violence."


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Sasha Walters, Advocate, Quetzal Center, Chicago, Illinois, About CAVNET

“I have used CAVNET as a very important information resource to keep myself and my staff up-to-date on the various issues related to sexual assault. It can be easy to get caught up in local issues and community emphasis, and lose sight of the bigger picture. CAVNET helps me to stay in touch with what is happening on a national level by staying in touch with others that provide services across the country and the world. I also take great comfort in knowing that if I have an issue that is bigger than one that I can handle on my own, I have access to experts in various areas that are available and willing to aid me and the survivors I assist. This is an incredibly valuable resource to me, and my agency.”


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Careline Crisis Intervention, Fairbanks, Alaska, About CAVNET

Kimberlee R. Vanderhoof, Program Director Careline Crisis Intervention, Fairbanks, Alaska:

“CAVNET is a network we dream of modeling for our local community. A  must-have tool for those having any kind of contact with domestic violence victims or their families.”

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Sarah Buel, Esq., About CAVNET

Sarah Buel, Esq.

"CAVNET has been an invaluable resource to my law students and me, allowing us to access experts and materials not available elsewhere. From CAVNET we have gained invaluable materials and contacts on a wide range of issues, from those regarding deaf and physically disabled victims, to state-of-the-art batterer's intervention program options. Repeatedly, I have found recent case decisions, new legislation and sample legal memoranda readily available.. Such materials have saved my colleagues and me countless hours of research and writing time, but more importantly, have allowed me to access information not available elsewhere...."


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Profile of a CAVNET Member: Dr. Walter DeKeseredy, Ph.D

Walter S. DeKeseredy is Professor of Sociology at Ohio University in Athens Ohio. He has published close to 50 refereed journal articles and numerous book chapters on woman abuse, crime in public housing, and criminological theory.

He is also the author of Woman Abuse in Dating Relationships: The Role of Male Peer Support and Women, Crime and the Canadian Criminal Justice System; with Ronald Hinch, coauthor of Woman Abuse: Sociological Perspectives; with Desmond Ellis, coauthor of the second edition of The Wrong Stuff: An Introduction to the Sociological Study of Deviance; with Martin Schwartz, coauthor of Contemporary Criminology, Sexual Assault on the College Campus: The Role of Male Peer Support, and Woman Abuse on Campus: Results from the Canadian National Survey; with Linda MacLeod, Woman Abuse: A Sociological Story; with Shahid Alvi and Desmond Ellis, Contemporary Social Problems in North American Society; and with Shahid Alvi, Martin Schwartz and E. Andreas Tomaszewski, Under Siege: Poverty and Crime in a Public Housing Community.

In 1995, he received the Critical Criminologist of the Year Award from the American Society of Criminology’s Division on Critical Criminology. In 1993, he received Carleton University’s Research Achievement Award. Currently he serves on the Editorial Boards of Criminal Justice, Women & Criminal Justice, Violence Against Women: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal, and Crime and Delinquency.

Together with colleagues, he conducted the first Canadian national survey on woman abuse in university/college dating and has devoted over 15 years to studying the ways in which patriarchal male peer groups perpetuate and legitimate male-to-female victimization on campus.

Funded by the National Institute of Justice, Dr. DeKeseredy is currently conducting an exploratory study of sexual assault during and after separation/divorce in three rural Ohio communities.

Dr.DeKeseredy is a member of CAVNET's Advisory Committee on Campus Violence.


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CAVNET and Crime Victims With Disabilities

Put The Expertise of CAVNET To Work For You

In addition to addressing violence against women, CAVNET has also sought to bring together expertise and information on crime victims with disabilities.  Experts and advocates participating in CAVNET include practitioners specializing in crime victims with disabilities, as well as disability rights advocates, and they are available for consultation with other members.

Please visit www.cavnet.org and apply for membership today.


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A Quiz about Crime Victims with Disabilities

http://www.ncdsv.org/images/Dubin_A%20Quiz%20about%20Crime%20Victims%20with%20Disabilities.pdf

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Men As Victims of Intimate Violence

http://www.ncdsv.org/images/MenAsVictimsofIntimateViolence.pdf

An article by Marc Dubin, Esq., Executive Director, CAVNET

There have been a series of articles published recently in major newspapers addressing the question of
the degree to which men are victims of intimate violence. (Cathy Young , “In Abuse, Men Are
Victims, Too”, published in the Boston Globe, June 16, 2003, and Karen S. Peterson, “Studies Shatter
Myth About Abuse”, published in USA TODAY, June 24, 2003). As a man who has prosecuted domestic violence, served as Special Counsel to the Violence Against Women Office at the Justice Department, and serves as Executive Director of CAVNET (Communities Against Violence Network (www.cavnet.org), a nonprofit that networks experts and advocates nationwide and provides a comprehensive online database
on the subject, I want to try to respond tosome of the issues raised in these articles....

"....According to the Justice Department, which oughta know, 85% of intimate violence is committed against women. Only 5-15% of intimate violence is committed against men...."


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Friday, January 25, 2013

Domestic Violence Coordinator,Massachusetts Department of Corrections, About CAVNET

"CAVNET has saved me an enormous amount of time in researching a variety of information I would normally have spent hours doing on the web. ... It keeps me informed of the newest "trends" in resources, research, news coverage, and the thoughts of those working in the field....(T)his site gives me insight and prompts me to think. It also keeps me on the right track.”
– Heather Hall, Domestic Violence Coordinator, Massachusetts Department of Corrections

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Cambridge Women's Commission, About CAVNET

"CAVNET gives me a wide variety of viewpoints from activist to academic to government as well as a rich treasure trove of ideas for enhancing or creating projects to reduce violence against women....The single most useful reference point for domestic violence and sexual assault.... I deeply appreciate the vision and commitment that underlie its creation."
– Nancy M. Ryan, Executive Director,Cambridge Women's Commission, Cambridge, MA



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Colm Dempsey, Police Officer, Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland, About CAVNET

"CAVNET has been a resource of unmeasurable knowledge. When you become a " CAVNETer ", you join a family of people committed and focused on knowledge sharing and where job description or status has no barrier. Its is quite simply the "think-tank" to refer to at all times. When you put out a question to CAVNETers, you can be confident that the response is quick, informative and accurate. It's people helping people..."
– Colm Dempsey, Police Officer, Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland

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Crisis Services of North Alabama, About CAVNET

"CAVNET is a valuable asset to this and to many organizations and individuals across the country. We are not able to travel the country and to stay in touch with what is going on in the field as often as we would like and run the day to day operations of this $1.5 million agency. CAVNET has enabled us to stay up-to-date on this dynamic field with its ever-growing body of research and information. It has also allowed us to gain information about other programs and issues within hours, sometimes even minutes. This is information that previously would have taken weeks to obtain. It lets us share information about our programs and other programs in Alabama with people and organizations we probably would not otherwise have had contact with. We cannot thank you enough for making CAVNET available to those of us on the front lines in this "war" against domestic violence."
– Kathy Wells, Executive Director, Crisis Services of North Alabama



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District Attorney, Oakland, California, About CAVNET

"Through the incredible level of networking, including the support and participation of people from around the country, CAVNET has become the premier listserv on violence against women issues.

Through CAVNET, expeditious legal research is extensive and broad based. Important social and political dialogue is fostered, which allows us to continue to examine what we as a country, we in the different states and local communities are doing to respond to violence against women. These social and political conversations have empowered those of us working in this field, as well as those experiencing violence as part of their lives, to implement effective change with the hope and belief that some day, we will bring an end violence against women.

Without CAVNET, these national conversations simply would not occur. CAVNET has brought together such a powerful, broad and eclectic group who, by a touch of the keyboard, can be current with the issues and have a national voice. It is those individuals participating in CAVNET who can and will create a world free of violence against women.”
– Nancy E. O'Malley,  District Attorney, Alameda County District Attorney's Office Oakland, California


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Gavin de Becker & Associates, About CAVNET

"In addition to the volumes of material available and the networking, CAVNET also provides access to many of the world's leading experts who offer their advice and counsel..... There are many consultants, advisors, psychologists, psychiatrists, etc., on this list who charge hundreds of dollars an hour for the same advice you can get via CAVNET."
– Robert J. Martin, Vice President & Managing Principal, MOSAIC Threat Assessment Systems, Gavin de Becker & Associates


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Amnesty International USA's Women's Human Rights Program, About CAVNET

"Amnesty International USA's Women's Human Rights Program has found CAVNET to be an invaluable resource as we learn about the longstanding and current work of US organizations and lawyers working to stop violence against women and also as a way to communicate with this network about what AI and AIUSA are doing on violence against women as a human rights violation.”
– Sheila Dauer, Director Women's Human Rights Program Amnesty International USA



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Former Director of the Office on Violence Against Women, About CAVNET

"CAVNET has shown itself to be the premier online networking tool concerning violence against women.... Not only does CAVNET provide timely and substantive research online, it does so in a way that saves time and resources. The busier you are, the more valuable it is. It's like having a research team of experts, available night and day... As former Director of the Office on Violence Against Women  at the Justice Department, I'm proud to be on CAVNET's Board of Directors, and grateful for the resource."
– Bonnie Campbell, Former Director of the  Office On Violence Against Women ,U.S. Department of Justice


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Ms. Foundation, About CAVNET

"CAVNET...allows experts and advocates to debate issues related to violence...., providing subscribers with a way to collaboratively address violence against women and children. Through its work, CAVNET positions groups nationally and globally to receive information and respond instantaneously."
– Ms. Foundation


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American Institute on Domestic Violence, About CAVNET

"CAVNET is an irreplaceable tool. It allows us to keep current with the violence prevention leaders in America and "brainstorm" through other's perceptions and opinions. "

Coleen Widell
President
American Institute on Domestic Violence
Lake Havasu City, AZ

The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, About CAVNET

 The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center:

"Timely and accurate information is crucial to violence prevention, and in our effort to educate about the relatively invisible topic of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) domestic violence, there is no better  listserv than CAVNET. We rely on CAVNET to bring us valuable information and to disseminate our work to experts, advocates, and the public in a way no one else can. We are proud to be part of CAVNET's international network of participants, and recommend it without hesitation."

Welcome to CAVNET's Blog

CAVNET (Communities Against Violence Network) serves to bring together experts and advocates addressing violence against women, human rights, suicide, school violence, bullying, and crime victims with disabilities.  We are a partner with Lifetime Television's End Violence Against Women Project and a recipient of a Ms. Foundation grant.

To join, send a resume to Marc Dubin, Esq, Executive Director, at mdubin@pobox.com. Marc may also be contacted by cell phone at 305-896-3000. See http://www.linkedin.com/pub/marc-dubin/4/4a0/180/