Email Newsletter icon, E-mail Newsletter icon, Email List icon, E-mail List iconNo fear, no compromise, & no surrender: Occupy the Alliance Mailing List!
Follow @ThePDXAlliance Contact us: Click Here!
About Us | Subscribe | Contact & Submission info | Volunteer

Speaking
Truth to Power Since 1981!

Navigation:
FrontPage / Activism /
BlogPortal
Interactive Calendar /
Donate/ Flyer/
Pictures on Picasso:
picasaweb.google.com/
theportlandalliance
/
Poster / Subscribe /
Place Ad / Ad Rates
Online Ads /
Advertising /
Twitter / News! /
Previous Issues /
Blog/ Myspace /
Facebook1 / Facebook2
Waterfront Blues Fest
Alliance on YouTube:

youtube.com/theportlandalliance

Features:  
Joe Anybody!
Active Community /
A Few Words /
Arts & Culture /
Book Reviews! /
Breaking News /
Cartoons /
Community Calendar /
Cover The Real News! /
Jobs / Labor History /
Letters /
Music / NewsBytes /
Poetry/
Mike Hastie Poetics

Progressive Directory /
Secret Society /
  Viewpoints & Commentary

Columns:
  William Beeman /
Ellen Brown /
Shamus Cooke /
Tom Engelhardt /

Kucinich / Munk /
Myers / William Reed /
Mark Schwebke /
Norman Solomon /
Vorpahl / Wittner


Partners:
AFD / AFL-CIO
Alliance for Democracy
AMA /
BMediaCollective  Bread&Roses /
CIO / CAUSA/
CLG / Code Pink
Common Dreams /
CWA / DIA / FSP /ISO /
Jobs w\ Justice /
KBOO /Labor Radio /
LGBTQ / MRG / Milagro /
Mosaic / Move-On /
NWLaborPress
OccupyOEA /
Occupy PDX /
White Feather Peace House /
Peace worker /
PCASC / PPRC /
Right 2 Dream Too /
Street Roots / Skanner / SocialistWorker.org /
The Nation / TruthOut /
The 99%
Urban League /
VFP / Voz
Witness for Peace /
Topics: A-F
AIPAC / Beatles /
Bradley Manning
Civil Rights / Coal /
Death Penalty / Drones /
Economic Justice /
Education /
Election 2012 /
Fair Trade / F-29 /
Environment /
Film /
Foreclosure /
Topics:  G-R
Health / Homeless / Iraq
J-Street / Jill Stein /
Justice Party /
Middle East /
Occupy Blog / Peace /
Persian / Police /
Post Office
Topics: S-Z
STRIKE! /
The Pongo Fund
  Tri-MetUnion /
Unionresource /
VDay /
Voices in Action
War & Peace /
Women / Writing /
WritingResource

http://www.ThePortlandAlliance.org/women


Your Abuse Is Not Appreciated

by Laura Finley

Much has been written in the last several weeks about men’s physical abuse of women. Former Baltimore Raven Ray Rice’s videotaped knockout of his girlfriend and the initial two-game suspension he received from the NFL prompted both outrage and, of course, an outpouring of fan support for the abuser. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell seemed to realize the gravity of the situation and changed league policy to include harsher sanctions for convicted abusers. Then, when TMZ released footage of the actual knockout punch earlier this week, which the league claims not to have seen, it seemed like even die-hard professional football fans could no longer defend the league for its still weak approach to the serious issue of domestic violence. The Ravens did suspend Rice indefinitely, but at the same time, the situation ignited the victim blamers, who focused on the fact that Rice’s girlfriend, Janay Palmer, stayed with him after the attack and the two have since married. Rather than focusing on why men like Rice abuse the women they proclaim to love, the social media universe was on fire with discussion of “why she stays.”

None of this now ubiquitous dialogue gets at the societal factors that set the stage for domestic violence. As with the abuse, we minimize the daily harassment women endure when some men feel it is their birthright to discipline our bodies while we are in public. From sexual harassment at work and schools to the near routine cat calls women endure when simply walking in public, we are told that our bodies are titillating or inadequate and afforded the approval or disdain of harassers.  And, like domestic violence, we are told it is our fault that these men can’t control their need to yell out at us. We are, like the guests and hosts of the new Fox News show Outnumbered explained, supposed to be flattered by the attention and to let “men be men.” As if vocal cord control resides only in women. Of course, also like domestic violence, some women have heard such a steady diet of this mantra that they, too, start to believe they deserve, even enjoy, such attention.

I was recently the unwanted subject of a man’s attention, a man who felt I would somehow appreciate his loud and aggressive calls about my body. I did not. It made me feel sad, angry and dirty. Not least of which is because he had the gall to yell harassing comments while he was with a woman and had a baby strapped to the front of his body. No, Fox News, I don’t think he “meant it in a nice way.”  I think he meant it to show his social power and because he believes he has the right to say whatever he wants to a woman. Not that far removed from an abuser if you ask me.

Rather than trying to explain why Janay Rice or countless other victims of domestic violence stay with abusers, perhaps we should start having a far more serious discussion about why some men feel as though they are the police of women’s bodies in the first place. Why does a show like Outnumbered, which is supposed to be focused on women, normalize this kind of sexism?  Young men need to be taught how to appreciate and treat women in far healthier ways. I fear that the current focus on victims and whether they “ask for it” continues to minimize the discussion of men, t

—30—

Laura Finley, Ph.D., teaches in the Barry University Department of Sociology & Criminology and is syndicated by PeaceVoice.

heir choices, and societal approval of the degradation of women.

—30—

Laura Finley, Ph.D., teaches in the Barry University Department of Sociology & Criminology and is syndicated by PeaceVoice.

 
A Call to the New Ambassador-At-Large
for Global Women’s Issues

"while the criminal justice system is surely not the only (and sometimes not the best) way to deal with cases of abuse, when victims elect to utilize it is imperative that police afford them the full protection of the law and are held accountable when they do not."

By Laura Finley

Early in his first term, President Obama appointed Melanne Verveer as the first Ambassador-At-Large for Global Women’s Issues. Now, a new appointee will take the lead on the State Department’s global women’s initiatives. It is my hope that Cathy Russell uses her new position to address the continuing problems faced by women seeking legal protection from abusive partners. To date, much of the focus on women’s issues has been external to the U.S. While this is very important, we need to clean up our own backyard as well.

Major changes were recommended in August 2011 by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in the way that the courts provide for, and police enforce, restraining orders. The IACHR heard the case of Jessica Gonzales (now Lenahan), whose three young daughters, ages seven, nine, and ten,were killed when her former husband, Simon Gonzales, violated a permanent restraining order, kidnapped the girls, and brought them into a shoot-out with the Castle Rock, Colorado police on June 22, 1999.

The night that Simon Gonzales took the three girls, Jessica contacted the Castle Rock police multiple times by phone and in person to report his violation of the restraining order and to describe her fear for her daughters’ safety. The police refused to respond, and the result was three dead little girls. Jessica filed suit, and eventually the U.S. Supreme Court heard the case. In a shocking decision, the court announced in 2005 that the Castle Rock police had no duty to enforce the restraining order.

Jessica and her team of attorneys received some vindication through the IACHR’s decision, which noted that domestic violence is a global human rights issue and recommended a thorough investigation into this specific case, more training for police, and more.

Having worked with survivors of abuse for seven years, I continue to see women denied restraining orders for themselves and their children, even when they are in clear danger. I have witnessed police repeatedly fail to arrest abusers for violating restraining orders by threatening their victims through calls, emails, text messages and other means. More than 1,000 people are killed each year—at least three per day—by abusive partners.

President Obama has perhaps done more about this issue than any other president. The Department of Justice has recently announced new funding for 12 communities that are engaging in data-informed efforts to prevent domestic violence homicides. Obama himself, and in particular, Vice President Joe Biden, are vocal advocates of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which was re-authorized by Congress in spring 2013.

More is needed, however, to protect women (and men) who are victims of abuse. Ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which Obama pledged, would be a good start. And, while the criminal justice system is surely not the only (and sometimes not the best) way to deal with cases of abuse, when victims elect to utilize it is imperative that police afford them the full protection of the law and are held accountable when they do not.

Laura Finley, Ph.D.,
teaches in the
Barry University
Department of Sociology & Criminology
and is syndicated by
PeaceVoice.



This is the institution that we are constantly being told
will bring liberation to the women of the middle east.

"A shocking new report by the Pentagon has found that 70 sexual assaults may be taking place within the U.S. military every day. The report estimates there were 26,000 sex crimes committed in 2012, a jump of 37 percent since 2010. Most of the incidents were never reported. The findings were released two days after the head of the Air Force’s sexual assault prevention unit, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski, was arrested for sexual assault. We air highlights from Tuesday’s Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on military sexual assault and speak with Anu Bhagwati, executive director and co-founder of Service Women’s Action Network. "The numbers are outrageous, and I think we’ve reached a tipping point," Bhagwati says. "The American public is furious."


Off The Battlefield, Military Women Face Risks From Male Troops
Dora Hernandez gave a decade of her life to the U.S. Navy and the Army National Guard, but some of the dangers surprised her.

"The worst thing for me is that you don't have to worry about the enemy, you have to worry about your own soldiers," she says.

Sitting in a circle, a group of women nod in agreement. All are veterans, most have spent time in Iraq and Afghanistan, but they're also survivors of another war. According to the Pentagon's own research, more than 1 in 4 women who join the military will be sexually assaulted during their careers.
 link to www.npr.org

News
U.S.
National Security
America's Woman Warriors

Off The Battlefield, Military Women Face Risks From Male Troops

Quil Lawrence and Marisa Peñaloza
March 20, 2013 3:08 AM

Listen to the Story

Morning Edition
7 min 46 sec
1033 NW 16th Ave, Portland, Oregon 97209



Find upcoming programs at historyofsocialjustice.wordpress.com and
www.facebook.com/historyofsocialjustice

Thank you for taking the time to read this press release. Here at the Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence,
we are very excited to support this state-wide fund-raiser. Please help us spread the word, together we can support our local businesses and community.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Contact: Debbie Fox, MSW

Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence,

Development Director

(503) 230-1951

Debbie@ocadsv.org


For domestic violence services, please call the Statewide Hotline Number: 1-888-235-5333

Nosh4Non-violence logos available upon request

###

1737 NE Alberta Street, Suite 205 * Portland, OR  97211

Office 503.230.1951 * Fax: 503.230.1973

 

 


AlternativeNewsResource.org/  Behind the Headlines...  Oregon News Links     


   TPA Community Meetings: theportlandalliance.org/communitymeetings  

Shannon Wheeler's Too Much Coffee Man Portal at The Portland AllianceToo Much Coffee Man


Stay Connected: Join the Alliance Mailing List!

NW Alliance for Alt. Media & Education

(NAAME) dba The Portland Alliance:

Questions, comments, or suggestions: editor@theportlandalliance.org

We Speak Truth to Power for the 99%

http://wordsmithcollection.blogspot.com/

Navigation: FrontPage / Activism / Interactive Calendar / Donate / Flyer / YouTube / Poster / Subscribe / Place Ad / Ad Rates /
Online Ads / Advertising / Twitter / News! / Previous Issues / Blog/ Myspace / Facebook1 / Facebook2
Features:   Active Community / A Few Words /Arts & Culture / Breaking News / Jobs /  / Labor History / MusicNewsBytes /
Progressive Directory / Cartoons / Community CalendarLetters / Poetry / Viewpoints & Commentary
ColumnsBeeman, Brown, Engelhardt / Kucinich / Munk / Myers / William Reed / Schwebke / Norman Solomon / Vorpahl / Wittner
Partners: AFD / AMA / Bread&Roses / CAUSA/ CLG/ Common Dreams / CWA / DIA / FSP /ISO / Jobs w\ Justice / KBOO / Labor Radio / LGBTQMRG / Milagro / Mosaic / Move-On / NWLaborPress / OccupyOEA / Occupy PDX /
Peace House / The 99% / Peace worker / PCASC / PPRC / Right 2 Dream Too / Street Roots / Skanner /
The Nation / TruthOut / Urban League / VFP / Voz /
Topics: A-F AIPAC / Civil Rights / Coal / Death Penalty / Education / Election 2012 / Fair Trade / F-29 / Environment /
Foreclosure /
 Topics:  G-R Health / Homeless / J-Street / Middle East / Occupy Blog / Peace / Persian / Police / Post Office
Topics: S-Z STRIKE! /  Tri-MetUnion / VDay / War & Peace / Women / Waterfront Blues Festival /
Writing / WritingResource
Coming Soon: Service Directory / Editing / Flyers / Ground View / Flying Focus / Literacy / Rashad


The Portland Alliance: P.O. Box 14162 / Portland, OR 97293-0162
Phone: (503) 327-8377 Fax (503) 327-8949  Cell (503)-697-1670
Production office:  5926 N. Albina Ave. / Portland, Oregon / 97217-2210 (Archives on S.E. Alder.)
Questions, comments, or suggestions: editor@theportlandalliance.org or ThePortlandAlliance@gmail.com
© 1981-2012 NAAME Northwest Alliance for Alternative Media & Education, dba The Portland Alliance:
All Rights Reserved.  A 501C3 Oregon Non-profit Corporation for Public Benefit

Support local media:
The Asian Reporter | Kboo | The Oregon Peaceworker | Portland.Indymedia.org | The Skanner