NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION
PRESS RELEASE
October 30, 2015
As October – the month declared as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month – comes to a close, National Parents Organization commits to recognizing the goals of the month year-round by raising awareness of the tragic impact domestic violence has on many families throughout the nation.
As part of this recognition, National Parents Organization urges individuals to familiarize themselves with domestic violence facts, including that the violence is perpetrated by both men and women. As President Obama emphasized in his 2015 National Domestic Violence Awareness Month Proclamation, “Domestic violence impacts women, men, and children of every age, background, and belief … ”
Extensive research by, for instance, the U. S. Department of Justice, has documented that women initiate domestic violence approximately as often as men do (although the women’s injuries outweigh men’s). The public is generally unaware or downright skeptical of these facts, in part because domestic violence agencies have often failed to acknowledge the extent of male victimization, nor have the media reported it as widely. For instance, during the justified national uproar following the release of a surveillance video showing former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice knocking his fiancé unconscious, there was not a single reference to former NFL star quarterback Steve McNair, who was shot dead by his girlfriend as he slept.
National Parents Organization calls on domestic violence advocates to develop ways to serve both male and female victims. While extensive services are available to female services, and while these may need to be expanded, there are almost no services available to male victims. The most critical changes male victims need are not shelters, but the assurance that they themselves will not be arrested if they call the police to report an assault by their female partner. In addition, male victims need a fair chance to win custody of their children so that they can leave the relationship and still protect them from a violent mother.
In its own efforts, National Parents Organization will continue to support shared parenting when parents divorce or separate only in cases where significant domestic violence is not an issue, and the organization’s leadership urges others to also join in the fight against domestic violence.
Each day of the year, National Parents Organization echoes the recent words from the President’s Proclamation: “We reaffirm our dedication to forging an America where no one suffers the hurt and hardship that domestic violence causes — and we recommit to doing everything in our power to uphold the basic human right to be free from violence and abuse.”
MEDIA SOURCE
Ned Holstein, M.D., M.S.
A regular contributor to local and national media, Dr. Holstein is Founder and Chair of the Board of National Parents Organization. Dr. Holstein was appointed by the Governor of Massachusetts to the Massachusetts Working Group on Child Centered Family Law, and he was previously appointed by a Massachusetts Chief Justice to a task force charged with reviewing and revising the state’s child support guidelines.
A graduate of Harvard College, Holstein also earned a Master’s degree in psychology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His medical degree is from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where he serves on the faculty.
ABOUT NATIONAL PARENTS ORGANIZATION
National Parents Organization, a charitable and educational 501 (c)(3) organization, seeks better lives for children through family law reform that establishes equal rights and responsibilities for fathers and mothers after divorce or separation. The organization is focused on promoting shared parenting and preserving a child’s strong bond with both parents, which is critically important to their emotional, mental, and physical health. In 2014, National Parents Organization released the Shared Parenting Report Card, the first study to rank the states on child custody laws. Visit the National Parents Organization website at www.nationalparentsorganization.org.