Re: domestic violence laws and teens

Linda Purrington (lpurring@earthlink.net)
Mon, 20 Jul 1998 16:23:46 -0700


Sure--the new domestic violence laws now being passed around the country
take the burden off the victim to get relief in domestic violence, by
mandating arrest of the primary aggressor.
This means that the more vulnerable person is no longer in the position
of either charging or not charging the crime--it is the job of the
police to arrest, an arrest must be made, and the aggressor must be
removed. So the (usually) girl or woman cannot be threatened to keep
quiet and not charge the aggressor.
Domestic violence is, of course, not just an "at the home" law, but
concerns criminal violence against a partner or ex-partner in a
relationship, also at the workplace or in school. So girls who have
broken up with their boyfriends, yet must go to school with them, are
often fighting for their lives and their education at the same time, in
the same place.
Under the new state domestic violence laws, the schools must call the
police, the victim is not the one who charges the aggressor, the cops do
have to take the aggressor away, --and under Title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972, the girls have a right to a nonhostile environment
in which to get an education.
In the old days, principals "invited" the victim to go on home study;
today, it is increasingly seen as only fair that the aggressors be asked
to leave.
In California, recent amendments to the state education code make it
possible to expel aggressors down to the fourth-grade level.
And anti-stalking laws can also be applied to prevent the constant
harassment and death threats to ex-girlfriends that we as advocates have
witnessed occurring as young as fourth grade (sexual maturity and
socialization occurs at a younger age now than in previous
generations--a change with which school administration has not caught
up).
So there is a whole new set of laws that can be used to deal with teen
violence. Some cities that have managed these domestic violence training
programs best are, as noted, Quincy, Boston, and San Diego. Although
Gebser v. Lago Vista may encourage some administrators and educators to
evade their Title IX responsibilities for knowing what goes on at their
schools, they may increasingly be required by other, criminal
legislation and public pressure to rise to the standard of
responsibility that is afforded adults in the workplace.

Linda Purrington
Title IX Advocates
lpurring@earthlink.net

marylin hulme wrote:
>
> i am interested in what you have tio say about domestic violence laws being
> applicable to gendered violence in the schools in california, could you be
> a bit more specific?
>
> thanks,
> marylin a. hulme
> equity assistance center, rutgers university
> hulme@rci.rutgers.edu
>
> At 12:02 PM 7/11/98 -0700, you wrote:
> >Ted, the problem with parsing your agenda is with your "in some form"
> >waffling. In fact the researchers do say the women participate in
> >domestic violence; they also say that women are the ones usually
> >hospitalized, and who suffer the greatest damage. If you throw a cup of
> >hot coffee at your husband over some argument, and he breaks your ribs,
> >leg, arm, skull, and gives you two black eyes and you miscarry--did you
> >both engage in domestic violence? Did you in fact engage in the same
> >amount of domestic violence? Researchers are getting more savvy, and
> >therefore so are the laws and the police--the one who gets arrested in a
> >fracas is the one who has the least damage; the other one goes to the
> >hospital first.
> > This research is also beginning to filter down into school settings.
If
> >a girl and a boy trade slaps, teachers are beginning to look at who has
> >more brawn to fling. What you are looking for is not a primitive tally
> >stick count of incidents, but a more sophisticated approach to
> >preventing a widespread social problem. Domestic violence lasws such as
> >have been passed in California are also now applicable to teen violence
> >in schools; and of course Title IX is intended to cover the school
> >handling such incidents so as not to discriminate against either gender.
> >
> >Linda Purrington, Title IX Advocates, lpurring@earthlink.net
> >
> >
> >[Ted wrote, re women and men in domestic violence, that wome insitgate
> >as much violence as men....snip...]
> >> The assertions are serious, and in some form, they are held by
> >> researchers who've performed the largest surveys of victims.
> >>
> >> -Robert Weverka <weverka@optivision.com>
> >
> >


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