~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE WASH RAG published by Women Against Sexual Harassment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Available on-line ASAP at http://www.washrag.org/ along with earlier issues ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ P. O. Box 164 Canton, SD 57013 Phone: (605) 987-5070 Fax: (605) 987-5070 -- call ahead, this is a one-liner Email: washragezine(bleep)yahoo.com ISSN: 1068-2449 Free Newsletter: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WomenAgainstSexualHarassmentNational Chat room: http://www.chatzy.com/133047284228 Want a print copy of the current W.A.S.H. Rag? Go to http://www.washrag.org/WASH/page27.html and follow the instructions. Hint: to find a specific item, if you are using Microsoft Notepad to view this, highlight and copy the title and then paste it in edit/find. Use View/word wrap to shorten line length ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Issue 14, Number 4 November, 2006 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Contents ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ford Motor Company Sued in Sexual Harassment Case Sexual Assault Associated With The Military Another Connection to ADD and a Friend's Betrayal Perjury: a very serious crime In the Media Definition of Perjury New Yorkers 'stalk' victims in city-wide game The Agenda of Abusers A Pressing Need for an 800 Number JOIN IN HELPING VICTIMS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND STALKING ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ford Motor Company Sued in Sexual Harassment Case ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ October 19, 11AM Daniel Bennett, a superintendent at Ford’s Wixom Assembly Plant, has exposed his penis to, assaulted, stalked, forcibly kissed, offered money for sex, and otherwise severely harassed six women at the plant. Ford has ignored Bennett's abuse. Not only has it never disciplined him-before being sued, it never even investigated the women's charges! Justine Maldonado and three of the other women who were victimized by Bennett were brave enough to step forward. They filed lawsuits against Ford, spoke out to the media, and organized pickets at the plant and at Ford headquarters. But in every case the trial court found an excuse to dismiss the charges. In Justine's case the excuse was truly ridiculous. The judge said Justine and her attorneys had spoken to the media too much. There was no gag order restricting Justine and the lawyers. In fact, Ford had asked for one and the judge had refused! But later, he still dismissed her entire case because of public statements that she and others had made. This outrageous decision was reversed by the Court of Appeals. The Michigan Supreme Court then threw out a ruling of the appellate court. The US Supreme Court is being asked to consider the case. It will be several months before the US Supreme Court will decide whether it will hear the case or not. Justine’s case is one of the most important sexual harassment and free speech cases in years. It is vital that we win it-- and we can only do so if the judges know that a large section of the public regards the rulings as outrageous. Women have a right to go to work without being abused and harassed, a right to speak out publicly about that harassment, and a right to a fair hearing in the courts. Chronology Of Sexual Harassment by Daniel Bennett Known to Ford Motor Company 1995 August Daniel Bennett, a superintendent at Wixom Assembly, uses a Ford production vehicle that he is test driving to stalk and expose himself to three young women on I-275. Police report to Ford. No action taken. August 1995 Daniel Bennett exposes himself to Ford employee Lula Elezovic in the railyard at Wixom Assembly 1997 May Daniel Bennett forcibly attempts to kiss a woman employee in her father’s office at the Wixom Plant 1998 January Woman employee reports to supervision at Wixom that Bennett had exposed himself to her in August 1995. No action taken. 1998 January Daniel Bennett exposes himself on two separate days to Justine Maldonado at night in a remote area of the Wixom grounds where he had directed her to take a vehicle. 1998 June Daniel Bennett follows Justine Maldonado and exposes himself to her in a parking lot while demanding sexual relations. 1998 October Justine Maldonado reports three incidents of exposure and continuing sexual harassment by Bennett to Production Manager at Wixom. No action taken. 1998 November Daniel Bennett attempts to forcibly kiss cafeteria Milissa McClements at Ford Wixom Plant 1998 November Justine Maldonado reports sexual harassment to Labor Relations. No action taken. 1999 March Justine Maldonado reports sexual harassment to production manager. No action taken 1999 June Justine Maldonado reports sexual harassment to UAW Committeeperson, who reports to Ford. No action taken. 1999 August Daniel Bennett offers money and exposes himself to employee Pamela Perez while demanding that she engaged in sexual relations with him in his office at the Wixom Plant 1999 November Justine Maldonado reports sexual harassment to Wixom Labor Relations. No action taken. 2000 April Employee reports to Ford that Bennett attempted to forcibly kiss her in May 1997. No action taken. 2001 July Pamela Perez reports to Wixom Labor Relations that Bennett had exposed himself to her. No action taken. 2007 August Milissa McClements reports forced kissing to Wixom Labor Relations. No action taken. http://www.participate.net/node/208 Justine Maldonado jmaldonado(bleep)nathomelending.com Justine will be the guest on WASH’s first guest chat on Wednesday, November 29 at 1:00 Central time at http://www.chatzy.com/133047284228. To get on the list to be invited to future guest chats, e-mail catfishwithlips(bleep)yahoo.com. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sexual Assault Associated With The Military ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From the NOW newsletter: In early March of this year, a man in Iraq reassured his worried neighbor that her young daughter would be safe from U.S. soldiers. The Iraqi mother knew that U.S. soldiers had harassed her daughter, and was afraid that they would come for her daughter at night. Her neighbor told her, "The Americans would not do such a thing." Days later, the young girl was raped, shot and set afire, and four of her family members were murdered, all allegedly by U.S. soldiers. Six soldiers have been charged, and a decision will be made in September whether to court-martial four of the soldiers for murder and rape. And recently, it has come to light that women in the U.S. military and related institutions are at significant risk of being sexually assaulted, harassed and raped, by their fellow service members. While the Department of Defense has pledged to crack down on violence against women in the armed forces, follow-up on that promise has been slow and piecemeal. Sexual assault survivors, their advocates, and their supporters in Congress continue to call loudly for systemic changes that will provide for safe and confidential reporting, effective intervention, comprehensive prevention, and a concerted effort on the part of the Department of Defense to record and analyze incidents of violence against women in all branches of the armed forces, and punish the perpetrators. Beth Davis, a former U.S. Air Force Academy cadet, urged Congress two months ago "to bind the rising tide of injustice and the unchecked wave of rape and sexual assault that washes through our military and continues to flood our nation's shore with the drowned bodies of our individual liberty." Davis described being raped and sexually assaulted as a first year cadet, only to be punished and dismissed from the academy after reporting the incidents. She speaks, she estimates, on behalf of thousands of survivors of violence like herself. She has to estimate the number of survivors because the Department of Defense has yet to even start counting all of the incidents of violence against women reported in every branch of the military. The Pentagon was called upon to implement a comprehensive incident-reporting system in 1988, but only the Air Force and the Army currently feed into the Defense Incident-Based Reporting System (DIBRS). U.S. Representatives Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) introduced a bill this June demanding that $1,000 be deducted from the secretary of defense's pay for each day the system is overdue after January 1. DIBRS collects data not only on sexual assault, sexual harassment, and domestic violence, but also on fraternization, suicide, and drug abuse. We know from news reports that women at all military levels-recruitment, service academies, and in the armed services-have been victims of violence at the hands of their male counterparts. This year, a National Guard recruiter has been accused of assaulting seven young women, and charged with 31 counts of rape and sexual battery. The recruiter, Sgt. Eric Vetsey, reportedly found most of his alleged victims while recruiting at Indianapolis-area high schools. The young women assaulted by Vetsey were between 16 and 20 years old, and their victimization is not atypical: Associated Press journalist Martha Mendoza reported on August 23, 2006, that "more than 100 young women who expressed interest in joining the military in the past year were preyed upon sexually by their recruiters." In a survey conducted this spring at The Citadel, a public military college in South Carolina, almost 20 percent of female cadets reported being sexually assaulted since enrolling. Sixty-three percent of the assaults reported by survey participants were never reported to authorities at The Citadel. Another survey of U.S. military academies released last year found that more than half of female respondents and 11 percent of male respondents had experienced some type of sexual harassment since enrolling. The Defense Task Force on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies was established in 2004. The task force's last report, released in June 2005, made many recommendations, including that service academies protect communications made by sexual assault victims to health care providers and victim advocates, and that the Uniform Code of Military Justice be amended to protect the privacy of both victims and those who stand accused. This June, Congressman Chris Shays (R-CT) held a hearing to examine whether academies had acted on the Task Force's recommendations. Representatives from the academies reported that strides had been made in preventative education of students and resource centers for survivors. Civilian experts on violence against women in the military stressed the enduring need for confidential communications between victims and advocates. In 2005, Congress established a Task Force on Sexual Assault in the Military Services in recognition that violence against women is not confined to service academies. However, as of this summer (2006), the Department of Defense has not appointed any members to the task force. At Rep. Shays' hearing, Congress members denounced this inaction. Meanwhile, a 2005 military criminal investigative unit report showed that there were 2,374 reports of sexual assault in the military services that year. The Miles Foundation, a non-profit research and direct service organization focused on interpersonal violence in the armed forces, has received over 500 direct reports of sexual assaults against female service members in Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Bahrain, and Qatar. Christine Hansen, executive director of the Miles Foundation, stated at the Shays hearing that prevention, intervention, treatment and justice systems for survivors of violence remain inadequate in the military. The Department of Defense (DoD), she explained, has failed to analyze sex offender behavior, or educate military communities about it. Protocols have yet to be developed for military law enforcement, criminal investigations, and healthcare. Also, Hansen related that while new DoD policy states that survivors have a choice of whether to disclose the details of their assaults without triggering the military investigative process, some survivors report being pressured to choose non-restricted reporting, meaning their communications are not confidential and they are subject to retaliation from other service members and superiors. Suzanne Swift is just one of an unknown number of women in the military whose service experience involved sexual harassment, assault, and rape, and all without recourse. In 2003, she enlisted at 19 years old, intending to become a military police officer. A month after her training, she was deployed to Iraq, where she was sexually harassed and assaulted by other unit members, and was directed not to report the incidents. Upon returning from Iraq, she was sexually harassed by her team leader. Suzanne reported this, but the only consequences she saw were his transfer to another unit, and reprisals against her from others in her unit. Eight months after her return from Iraq, she received orders to re-deploy to Iraq in January 2006. Suzanne went AWOL (Absent Without Leave) and started treatment for post traumatic stress disorder. She was arrested on June 11, 2006, and since then has been in jail, awaiting a decision from the Army about her fate. Her mother has spearheaded a campaign for her daughter's honorable discharge. According to the Miles Foundation, there are other women like Suzanne who have sought treatment after being sexually assaulted and been declared AWOL. What happened to Suzanne's team leader after she reported his harassment of her is not unusual. The Miles Foundation reports that the majority of actions in response to allegations of sexual harassment and assault are administrative in nature. A Washington Post article published in March 2006 stated that in 2005, military commanders took punitive action against 274 offenders, out of 1,474 alleged assailants, and 104 of these punitive actions were merely administrative sanctions or discharges. Only 79 were court-martialed, and 91 alleged assailants received non-judicial penalties. Action was not taken on over 600 allegations because they were judged to be unfounded or lacking sufficient evidence. Some 100 offenders went unidentified. Currently, there are 202,248 women serving on active duty, comprising 14.4 percent of service members. There are 141,922 women in the Reserves, and 63,831 women in the National Guard. In February 2004, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld declared that "Sexual assault will not be tolerated in the Department of Defense." That promise has been broken again and again. Http://www.NOW.org ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Another Connection to ADD and a Friend's Betrayal ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Who would have thought someone like me and Skye would become best friends? She was a military brat and a biker; I was an actress and an artist. We become neighbors when she rented a nearby mountain home. We met when our dog was lost and I was going door to door, desperately looking for him and leaving my number with whoever I contacted. Skye was so concerned about the dog, as darkness approached, she couldn't stand not knowing whether he was safe or not and she called me. Our mutual love of animals drew us together. I met some unusual people and did some unusual things with Skye. I went to my first authentic ranch branding; mixing with cowboys wasn't really something I'd done before. I met an old rancher through Skye as well. He had built a ranch around the turn of the century. I found his stories of growing up, love and local history very interesting. Skye and her husband had a lot of financial hard times. Things were financially tight for us; but, we always found a box of food to share with them when we visited. Since we are both disabled and retired, our own income is stretched pretty thin. Later, Skye and her husband gained temporary custody of his niece and nephew. Both children suffer with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). I found the children endearing and grew close to them over time. The children began to call me Aunt. Skye's dad was a retired officer in the U.S. Navy. She'd tell me bizarre stories of our government that I thought were so far fetched, that surely, she had a bit too much to drink! But, looking back, who would know the truth better than some military brat? My own husband was retired from the Army; he served in Special Operations and Special Forces. I have never heard stories of planes spraying toxins/chemicals on citizens. I found it hard to believe Skye. But, later, it would happen to me! Skye and I shared personal problems, happy times and future goals. I told her of a neighborhood man, who had obsessed himself with me. We both experienced burglaries, problems with errors at our banks, vandalism and a multitude of car troubles. Then, Skye and her husband moved closer to a small town where he could find work without the long drive. I knew something had changed when Skye kept trying to get me to put antiques and other valuables in a particular storage unit. When I made calls to our storage unit (the location which I didn't even share with my husband), I noticed her husband was clearly eavesdropping. I'd never call from our home as I knew our phones were tapped and the house had been bugged. It was apparent that the freak who had obsessed himself with me and our personal property had made some kind of 'offer' to my 'friends' if they would locate my storage. By this time, not only had our home been robbed multiple times; but attempts had been made on my life--staged to look like 'accidents'. The freak wasn't just after me; he wanted everything we owned. Unbeknownst to me, at that time, the freak had purchased land next door to us and the lot next to that. He wanted to own the entire block! The freak was willing to kill me to get it! Skye suddenly kept pressuring me to go camping with her. I told her how ridiculous that was, when someone who had sexually harassed me, stalked me, robbed me and was now trying to kill me was still pursuing me. To make myself an easy target for yet another 'accident' did not seem prudent. I knew they had changed; that someone had approached them--but who? I had an idea! I hired her husband to help install some gutters for us. He liked to drink. I let him drink his fill til he felt comfortable enough to open up to me. He told me "they" said they'd always take care of his niece and nephew for him and Skye--they only had to do this little favor--to set me up! They were to talk me into going camping with them so I could have a little 'accident'--and, they were to find out where I had stored my valuables. I was horrified! I suspected it; but, the truth was shocking. He warned me to be careful, at the very least, they would try to have me locked up in some mental institute so no one would believe me. It's really typical of their slander campaign and discrediting a person, to make them disbelieved. They appear to be NWO/PC/OC/KKK???? and are in bed with our own government. Hate crimes in America! Friends paid to betray! Aunt Bea catfishwithlips(bleep)yahoo.com Editorial Comment: Many believe that attacks like this are choreographed by the government, and they are more in a position to know than me. But I believe that most of the time, they are orchestrated by criminals and political extremists without a prayer of success any way but to eliminate anyone who gets in their way. The government undoubtedly has been lax in addressing the complaints of victims, but I suspect that is due to laziness and fear of reprisals. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Perjury: a very serious crime ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Because there are so many parallels between domestic violence/intimate abuse and sexual harassment/stalking, this article is just as valid for either situation. Perjury is the act of lying or making verifiably false statements on a material matter under oath in a court of law or in a sworn written statement. For the court's credibility, testimony must be relied on as being truthful, anything less could result in a miscarriage of justice. The general perjury statute in the U.S. under Federal law provides for a prison sentence of up to five years, and is found at 18 U.S.C. § 1621. (See also 28 U.S.C. § 1746.) To be convicted of perjury there has to be intent to commit the act, and to have actually committed the act of lying under oath. Perjury rules also apply when a person has made a statement under penalty of perjury, such as in filing a false tax return or filing false affidavits in a court hearing. These laws are to ensure that only *justice* is the court's goal. Without expecting the truth how could any court of law determine justice? Legislature created laws to protect all citizens against particular types of misconduct, yet it is within the discretion of the District Attorneys office whether or not to charge an individual with a crime of perjury. It is the responsibility of the DAs office to aggressively pursue prosecution of our laws, but not at the sacrifice of truth and justice. This is usually how it works in criminal court but there are courtrooms where truth is not demanded or even expected. It has become a common practice, the silent collusion to accept unenforced laws that violate civil, criminal and constitutional laws against certain segments of the population. Exceptions to the perjury laws can be found in family courtrooms everyday, all across our country. Often judges, prosecutors and lawyers can barely contain their laughter, judges can be seen snickering from the bench as they listen to blatant lies by attorneys, questionable statements made under oath, and read written declarations of multiple scenarios each signed under penalty of perjury, all to explain away any charge of domestic violence, child sexual abuse or family terrorism. This cavalier attitude towards enforcement of our laws often has deadly consequences to abused women and children. By watching the criminal trials of OJ Simpson and Scott Peterson, viewers got a small sample of what goes on in family courts across our country every day. Attorneys offered up bizarre scenarios of satanic devil worshipers who kidnapped Laci Peterson to sacrifice her unborn child and in the Brown-Simpson case, International drug dealers wanted to "send a message" to uninvolved parties that they want to be paid were ridiculous and quickly dismissed in criminal court. Yet these same tactics are being used in family courts against protective parents, often with the full knowledge of the judiciary. Willful blindness is no excuse for failing to protect and serve all the citizens, and to expect truth and justice in the courtroom. The burden of proof for a family abuse victim is so difficult, that in many cases only DNA, multiple eye witnesses and/or a video tape will be considered substantiation. Often, even with this evidence the perpetrator is not prosecuted. The family abuser can then turn it around in family court and state that abuse was not proven to exacting measures, therefore it is proof that he/she is innocent of any abuse. (Abuser now screams about "parental alienation" and a demand for a change of child custody) Multiple police reports substantiated Nicole Brown's claims of DV abuse and Laci Peterson might have been a silentvictim of DV, failing to file police reports, yet that didn't stop her murderer from mounting a defense of the caliber that usually only presents itself within the family court during custody hearings. In criminal courtroom, only the likelihood that the violence took place would be enough to send the accused to prison, but in family court the accused abuser is more likely to obtain sole custody of the minor children while the protective parent faces years in prison and the possibility of never seeing the children again for failing to provide the hard evidence to prove abuse beyond a shadow of a doubt. The difference is the fact that DV is perpetrated against an intimate partner, spouse, child, "familial" versus stranger or non relatives The aggressive action taken by the DA to protect the public-at-large is not usually offered with the same enthusiasm within the context of family violence or incest abuse. It is glossed over and excused as a family matter, emotionally driven, not quite as important and kept in the family courts. The reasons for keeping it a family matter is given as being "understandable" that one party would lie, falsify documents and commit perjury. Therefore the laws are not enforced, and the mocking laughter rings loudly in the ears of victims who no longer believe that truth and justice are available to them. Perhaps there are supporters of family courts remaining as status quo and have no desire to see these illegal practices changed? It is possible that these individuals may benefit financially from the crimes and exposure of their involvement may bring well deserved prosecution to them, as well as those who originally committed perjury. Val, justonemom(bleep)gmail.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In the Media ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The September 9 Argus Leader had a story about the former police chief of Garretson, SD, Ronnie Thallas, being accused of “willfully, maliciously and repeatedly” following or harassing a woman while he was police chief. A George, Iowa boy was accused of kidnapping and raping three teenaged girls. He was 19 at the time. On September 19, KELO had a story of Andrew Tate, A Mitchell, South Dakota wrestling teacher, who was accused of stalking four women. On September 19, KELO carried a story about Jerome Hunt, the Parker wrestling coach, who was accused of rape or attempted rape of boys. On September 28, several local stations carried the story about a student at NSU in Aberdeen, Jason Shepherd, being murdered in PA where he was an intern for Daktronics. William Smithson, his supervisor there, gave Jason a date rape drug and then murdered him when he resisted his sexual advances. On October 12, KELO reported that Gary Bruisder, a city councilman in Rock Rapids, Iowa, who owned the G&D Bait shop there, was accused of sexually harassing his secretary. He did not admit guilt and settled out of court. On October 20, KDLT reported that Dan Sutton of Flandreau, a SD state Senator, was accused of sexual misconduct with a page in the SD state senate. Amazingly, he was re-elected to the senate, and in a political gambit, resigned his current stint in the senate to avoid being investigated until the new senate convenes in February, which will have six more Democrats than the current senate. On November 8, 2006, Dateline NBC had a story about a woman in Charleston, South Carolina who was stalked for something like 20 years by the son of a man with whom she had previously had a relationship. In the end, he murdered her and tried to take over her life. He had stolen clothes from her previously on many occasions, and he had ordered a wig similar to her hair, false breasts, (delivered to her home after he had murdered her) and he had written up his intention to borrow money on her house so he could live high after he murdered her. She had complained to friends and family about his constant presence around her home, and finally had him sent to jail for several years for stealing her undergarments from her drier. When he was arrested after having murdered her, he was wearing her underclothes. Without a Trace on November 5 was about a woman with mental health issues who disappeared and her frantic family is trying to locate her. Because I missed the first part of it, I'm not sure of what her problem was, but I think she was a high functioning person with ADD. She had a lot of problems communicating with people and she didn't seem to understand what their intentions were. There were a lot of things involved, a lot of people were doing everything they could to help her, a civic minded businessman had given her a little job to pick up lunch for their employees twice a week so they could eat together in the conference room, a manager had fired one of the male employees for sexually harassing her, the owner was constantly concerned about her welfare, but she ended up murdering the woman who fired her sexual harasser and committing suicide. It was a very sad story, but resonated with me I was especially impressed with the attention that the story gave to the consequences of sexual harassment, the perp was a self-engrossed jerk, he went to her house and badgered the victim to help him get his job back, which probably put her into the position of seeing the business owner kissing the woman who had fired the perp, as they were seeing each other and he had just bought an engagement ring for her, and because he had been so kind to the victim, and she had so many problems with communication, she probably misinterpreted his kindness. Nobody had a clue. Everyone was mystified by her behavior. Her family was devastated. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Definition of Perjury ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A person who knowingly makes a false or misleading material statement to a public servant is guilty of a gross misdemeanor. Material statement means a written or oral statement reasonably likely to be relied upon by a public servant in the discharge of his or her official powers or duties. Every person convicted of a gross misdemeanor shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for a maximum term fixed by the court of not more than one year, or by a fine in an amount fixed by the court of not more than five thousand dollars, or by both such imprisonment and fine. [RCW 9A.76.175] http://contracabal.org/004-08-02.html For information about Paul Trummel’s case against Council House for Elder Abuse, found in his favor by the Washington Supreme court, go to http://contracabal.org/ or pages at http://contracabal.org/005-18-00.html http://contracabal.org/005-19-00.html trummel(bleep)nwlink.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ New Yorkers 'stalk' victims in city-wide game ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks to correspondent Richard Crall for this article that shows "games" are shaving ever more thinly the difference between "normal life" and organized stalking/electronic harassment. Great way to blur the distinction between crime and "games", so that crime may go unrecognized by the general public. Text copy at: http://www.multistalkervictims.org/nyc-streetstalk.txt or http://today.reuters.com/news/ArticleNews.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-09-26T151324Z_01_N25264669_RTRUKOC_0_ US-LIFE-STREETWARS.xml Contributed by Eleanor White eleanor(bleep)shoestringradio.net http://www.multistalkervictims.org/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Agenda of Abusers ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If all else fails, the abuser recruits friends, colleagues, mates, family members, the authorities, institutions, neighbors, the media, teachers – in short, third parties – to do his bidding. He uses them to cajole, coerce, threaten, stalk, offer, retreat, tempt, convince, harass, communicate and otherwise manipulate his target. He controls these unaware instruments exactly as he plans to control his ultimate prey. He employs the same mechanisms and devices. And he dumps his props unceremoniously when the job is done. One form of control by proxy is to engineer situations in which abuse is inflicted upon another person. Such carefully crafted scenarios of embarrassment and humiliation provoke social sanctions (condemnation, opprobrium, or even physical punishment) against the victim. Society, or a social group become the instruments of the abuser. Abusers often use other people to do their dirty work for them. These - sometimes unwitting - accomplices belong to three groups: I. The abuser's social milieu Some offenders - mainly in patriarchal and misogynist societies – co-opt other family members, friends, and colleagues into aiding and abetting their abusive conduct. In extreme cases, the victim is held "hostage" - isolated and with little or no access to funds or transportation. Often, the couple's children are used as bargaining chips or leverage. Ambient abuse by the abuser's clan, kin, kith, and village or neighborhood is rampant. II. The victim's social milieu Even the victim's relatives, friends, and colleagues are amenable to the considerable charm, persuasiveness, and manipulativeness of the abuser and to his impressive thespian skills. The abuser offers a plausible rendition of the events and interprets them to his favor. Others rarely have a chance to witness an abusive exchange first hand and at close quarters. In contrast, the victims are often on the verge of a nervous breakdown: harassed, unkempt, irritable, impatient, abrasive, and hysterical. Confronted with this contrast between a polished, self-controlled, and suave abuser and his harried casualties – it is easy to reach the conclusion that the real victim is the abuser, or that both parties abuse each other equally. The prey's acts of self-defense, assertiveness, or insistence on her rights are interpreted as aggression, lability, or a mental health problem. III. The System The abuser perverts the system - therapists, marriage counselors, mediators, court-appointed guardians, police officers, and judges. He uses them to cause the victim to be pathological and to separate her from her sources of emotional sustenance - notably, from her children. Forms of Abuse by Proxy Socially isolating and excluding the victim by discrediting her through a campaign of malicious rumors. Harassing the victim by using others to stalk her or by charging her with offenses she did not commit. Provoking the victim into aggressive or even antisocial conduct by having others threaten her or her loved ones. Colluding with others to render the victim dependent on the abuser. But, by far, her children are the abuser's greatest source of leverage over his abused spouse or mate. http://samvak.tripod.com/abuse.html __._,_.___ Sexual Harassment Support http://www.sexualharassmentsupport.org Sexual Harassment Support Forum http://www.shsf.invisionzone.com Stalking Survivors http://groups.yahoo.com/group/shs-stalking-survivors Speak Up! Stories and Experiences http://www.sexualharassmentsupport.org/speakupse SHS Speak Up! Blog http://www.sexualharassmentsupport.org/blog Submitted by catfishwithlips(bleep)yahoo.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Pressing Need for an 800 Number ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The success of the chat room has impressed on the board of directors the need for an 800 number for counselors to talk with victims. While the chat room is one venue, some are hesitant to be open over the internet because of the lack of security there. Many women who come to the chat room are on their last emotional legs and desperate. They need a sympathetic ear and positive reinforcement which can only come from others who have been similarly victimized. Suggestions for solutions are also given whenever appropriate. We have discussed this problem, and feel that we need to have an 800 number, and to get one, we first need to get non-profit status in order to solicit funds and apply for grants. For this reason we are asking you to join us in this venture by sending us your donation. If only half of the people who are in the Women Against Sexual Harassment Group on Yahoo sent us just $5.00, we would have more than enough to cover the $350.00 cost of filing for non-profit status with the IRS. So please consider sending your donation to Elisa M. Pedroza, Treasurer, Women Against Sexual Harassment, 8048 Meraz Ave. El Paso, TX 79907 for $5.00 or any amount to help us serve the many women who need support and counseling by a friendly person who understands how they feel. We are trying to set up special chats with individuals of interest: Sexual Harassment victims who have overcome the trauma and become successful, individuals who are involved in complaints/litigation, individuals who have contributed significantly to the understanding of the issue, authors who have written about the issue, etc. If you know of someone of interest, e-mail catfishwithlips(bleep)yahoo.com. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JOIN IN HELPING VICTIMS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND STALKING ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The chat room at http://www.chatzy.com/133047284228 has been sort of an over-night sensation, and Aunt Bea, who is moderating the chat room, has found herself spending many hours both chatting on-line with victims and talking to them on the phone. She has been doing a bang-up job, but it seems prudent to involve more people in this venture in order to preclude her suffering burn-out and not being able to continue. So if you would like to participate in this worthy and satisfying service, you should either e-mail her at catfishwithlips(bleep)yahoo.com, go to the chat room to talk to her, or call her at (719) 942-3517 in order to set up some schedule when you might cover the chat room for her. Don’t feel that you have to dedicate your life to it, one or two nights a week when you are usually on-line anyway would be a huge help. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WE’RE ON THE WEB http://www.washrag.org/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This on-line version of THE WASHRAG is being sent to you free. A print version can be obtained by subscribing. In the US, send $20.00 to Women Against Sexual Harassment Treasurer Elisa M. Pedroza,8048 Meraz Ave., El Paso, TX 79907. Outside the US, send $400.00 to join. For a sample issue, send a #10 sized SASE. E-mail comments can be sent to washragezine(bleep)yahoo.com. To sign up for a free e-mail subscription to the W.A.S.H. Rag, join the group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WomenAgainstSexualHarassmentNational There is an option to join the group without receiving the newsletter and just logging in to read it whenever you want. If you do not wish to receive further copies of this newsletter, unsubscribe going to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WomenAgainstSexualHarassmentNational and removing your name from the list ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ copyright 2006 Women Against Sexual Harassment, P. O. Box 164 Canton, SD 57013-0164 (605) 987-5070. ISSN: 1068-2449