Harvard Law Professors Assert That Campus Sexual Assault Rules Are "One-Sided"

http://www.npr.org/2014/09/29/351534164/hbcus-move-to-address-campus-sexual-assaults-but-is-it-enough

"Just a few months after Harvard University announced a new, tougher policy against campus sexual assault, a group of Harvard law professors is blasting the rules as unfair.
Harvard announced its new policy this summer, after the school came under federal investigation for being too soft on sexual assault. The group of 28 law professors say Harvard has overreacted with rules that are "overwhelmingly stacked against the accused" and "starkly one sided."
"The Harvard policy goes so far that it's pretty shocking," says Harvard Law professor Janet Halley.
She says Harvard's process, at its core, is biased, because it is run by a single Title IX compliance office that's under pressure to show the government results.
"It's the charging agent like the prosecutor, it's the investigator — they're the judge, and they're the [people] who hears the appeal from all those decisions," she says. "So they're not neutral. They're there to increase the number of persons held responsible....."

Visit www.cavnet.org

Two More NFL Players Placed On 'Exempt List' Over Domestic Violence

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/09/17/349374061/two-more-nfl-players-placed-on-exempt-list-over-domestic-violence

"Two more players were benched by NFL teams on Wednesday over allegations of domestic violence. First, the Carolina Panthers placed their star defensive end Greg Hardy on the exempt list and then the Arizona Cardinals deactivated running back Jonathan Dwyer....

Both Hardy and Dwyer will receive full pay while they wait for their cases to work their way through the justice system."

Domestic Violence Protections Still Resonate 20 Years After Crime Bill

September 13, 2014

http://www.npr.org/2014/09/13/348016597/domestic-violence-protections-still-resonate-20-years-after-crime-bill

“Twenty years ago today, former President Bill Clinton signed a massive crime-control bill that funded shelters for battered women and helped train police to investigate attacks. The anniversary of the law falls on a week when violence against women is front and center in the national conversation.
First, the Baltimore Ravens fired player Ray Rice after TMZ released a video where he knocked his then-fiancee unconscious. Then, a South African judge convicted sprinter Oscar Pistorius of negligently killing his girlfriend.
A key part of that 1994 law, known as the Violence Against Women Act, redefined wife beating as a crime rather than a joke. It's hard to believe now, but for years, that was a source of humor in TV sitcoms….”

Visit www.cavnet.org

In Death, Florida Family Reveals a Spiral of Domestic Abuse

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/20/us/in-death-florida-family-reveals-a-sad-spiral-of-domestic-violence.html?_r=0

In Death, Florida Family Reveals a Spiral of Domestic Abuse

“BELL, Fla. — Sarah L. Spirit was 22 years old and eight months pregnant with her fourth child when she called the police in desperation: Her father was violent, she was afraid of him, and she had nowhere to go.
“He pushed me against the refrigerator really hard then closed his hands really hard on my face and caused me pain,” she wrote in the summer of 2008, when she went to a Gilchrist County Court to seek a domestic violence injunction against her father, Don C. Spirit. “I am very scared of him. I know what he is capable of.”
Ms. Spirit wrote that her father threatened to make her life “hell” if she called the authorities. She did go to the police. Although she did not follow up on her request for a restraining order, online court records show he was later sentenced to six months in jail on a battery charge that arose that same week.

On Thursday, the police said Mr. Spirit killed his daughter, now 28; her six children; and then himself, making the case the seventh domestic-related multiple homicide in Florida this year….”

Related Stories:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/23/us/father-had-a-history-of-child-abuse-before-killings.html?action=click&contentCollection=U.S.&module=RelatedCoverage&region=Marginalia&pgtype=article

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/19/us/florida-man-fatally-shoots-daughter-and-6-grandchildren.html?action=click&contentCollection=U.S.&module=RelatedCoverage&region=Marginalia&pgtype=article

Visit www.cavnet.org

Firearms & Domestic Violence - Assessing the Risk

Please see http://www.ncdsv.org/images/CVI_Assessing-the-Risk-of-IPV_1-2010.pdf: 

"Campbell, et al. (2003) found that women who were threatened or assaulted with a gun or other weapon were 20 times more likely than other women to be murdered. Women whose partners threatened them with murder were 15 times more likely than other women to be killed. When a gun was in the house, an abused woman was six times more likely than other abused women to be killed. Although drug abuse or serious alcohol abuse is related to an increased risk to a woman’s safety, threats to kill, extreme jealousy, attempts to choke, and forced sex present a higher risk (Sharps, Campbell, Campbell, Gary, & Webster, 2001). Any past attempt to strangle or choke a woman is a risk factor for severe or fatal violence. Other risk factors include when a couple separates, jealousy/possessiveness on the part of the abuser, and threats to kill the victim (Websdale, 2000)."

  

Visit www.cavnet.org

Effects of Strangulation - Problems Not Always Immediately Obvious

"...In a National Family Justice Center study in which 300 victims reported a strangulation assault, only three victims sought any medical help at the time of the assault. According to chapters regarding medical evidence written by Dr. William Green and Forensic Pathologist Dean Hawley in the CDAA’s (California District Attorneys Association), manual for “The Investigation and Prosecution of Strangulation Cases”, without a continuous supply of oxygen brain cells quickly malfunction and die. Some die immediately, others can take weeks, causing the delayed death of the assault victim.
 Even minimal force may cause bleeding and/or swelling inside the neck. The great risk is that both bleeding and swelling can progress (often slowly) and not cause obvious problems until the airway is blocked or a vascular disaster occurs.Anywhere from 5.5 to 22 pounds of pressure can damage the carotid arteries which compromises blood flow to the brain. Delayed findings may include bleeding and damage to the inside of the artery.

 As the body tries to heal, blood clots may form inside the artery and block blood flow or break off and travel to the brain, resulting in clinical findings similar to those of a stroke. Only 4.4 pounds of pressure on the jugular veins may cause a back up of oxygen-deficient blood in the brain, resulting in the rupture of internal blood vessels and lack of oxygen to the brain.

 Compression of the carotid body, a neurologic structure located in the back of the neck, can result in the slowing of the pulse and progress to cardiac arrest. Strangulation may cause fluid overload in the lungs, (pulmonary edema), up to two weeks after the assault. During the assault, vomit may end up in the victims lungs. The digestive fluids in the vomit may begin to “digest” the victim’s lungs causing pneumonitis.

 Other neurologic signs and symptoms may include vision changes, ringing in the ears, facial or eyelids drooping, one-sided weakness, incontinence and miscarriage. Weeks to months after an assault, a victim may have problems sleeping, and experience impairment in memory and concentration.
 Mental health problems can include anxiety, depression and dementia. In up to 50 percent of cases, there are no visible bruises.

“Victims really do underestimate the danger of the situation,” said Randi Breager, Domestic Violence/Assault Coordinator for the Alaska State Troopers. Breager gives 20 to 30 domestic violence trainings per year for troopers and police throughout Alaska...."

http://www.strangulationtraininginstitute.com/index.php/news/177-health-issues-result-from-strangulation.html

Visit www.cavnet.org

DV and Strangulation - "800 times more likely to become a homicide victim"

"...Gwinn cited a study that said women who are strangled by an intimate partner at least once are 800 times more likely to become a homicide victim, making strangulation a prime indicator of how lethal a perpetrator is likely to be.

The health risks of losing oxygen during an assault can span years after the strangulation as well, he said.

Gwinn has also conducted studies that show a correlation between men who strangled women and men who shoot and kill police officers.

“The men are not strangling women to kill them,” Gwinn said, noting that most women who are later killed by a partner are shot to death. “They are letting them know they can kill them anytime they want.”..."

http://www.strangulationtraininginstitute.com/index.php/news/181-experts-strangulation-assaults-often-mishandled-.html

Visit www.cavnet.org