man sues domestic violence shelters

[starvingeyes]

link:http://www.sbsun.com/Stories/0,1413,208~12588~1435681,00.html

Man claims domestic violence shelters discriminateBy ROD LEVEQUE, Staff Writer


A Los Angeles County man is suing 10 shelters for battered women, claiming they discriminate by refusing to help abused men.
Eldon Ray Blumhorst, backed by a national male-rights organization, alleges in the lawsuit that he sought shelter at facilities across Los Angeles County in December, but was categorically turned away because of his gender.

"We're not out there saying there needs to be as many shelters for men as for women, but there has to be something,' said Marc Angelucci, an attorney representing Blumhorst. "We're not after money. We just want the problem to be solved.'

The shelters are fighting the lawsuit, saying they don't have the facilities to admit men, and are already stretched too thin trying to help all the women and children who need assistance.

Attorneys for the shelters filed court papers last week arguing that the lawsuit should be dismissed on legal grounds.

"Attacking existing shelters that serve women and children is not the answer for anyone,' said attorney Marci Fukuroda of the California Women's Law Center.

"Everybody here wants all the victims of abuse to get the services they need. But clinically and logistically, these shelters they are suing cannot admit men.'

Blumhorst, 42, of Sherman Oaks, filed the lawsuit March 12 in Los Angeles Superior Court with the help of the National Coalition of Free Men, an organization which fights perceived sex discrimination against men.

Angelucci, the president of the group's Los Angeles chapter, said similar lawsuits may also be filed against shelters in San Bernardino and Orange counties.

Angelucci refused to say whether Blumhorst is a domestic violence victim, or is simply trying to change the system.

Blumhorst claims in his lawsuit that the shelters cannot legally turn away men because they receive state tax money. A state law mandates that no person may be denied the benefits of state-funded programs based upon their gender or race.

Attorneys for the shelters argue that a related law makes exceptions for programs that benefit the disabled, aged, minorities and women, and that the lawsuit should therefore be dismissed by a judge.

"These are lawful programs funded to protect women,' Fukuroda said.

Barbara Hope, executive director for the House of Ruth in Pomona, said Wednesday that the shelter can house about 55 women and children, and is almost always filled to capacity.

She said the shelter, like most others, requires users to share living space. Mixing genders under such circumstances would be inappropriate, she said.

Hope said she recognizes that some men may need a safe haven, but suggested that the solution is to lobby government officials for funding to establish new programs, not taking away already scant resources for women.

"We're not saying there shouldn't be services for men,' Hope said. "If there is a missing link in our community that is needed to support men who are abused, we support that.'

Currently, only one shelter in Los Angeles County will accept men. The Antelope Valley Domestic Violence Council/Valley Oasis Shelter is in Lancaster.

The National Coalition of Free Men, citing a letter by the Lancaster shelter's former director, claims that some men must drive more than 100 miles to reach the shelter to receive services most women have available in their communities.

Angelucci contends that most women's shelters won't do even the bare minimum to help men, such as directing them to peer counseling or outreach programs.

Hope denied that claim, saying that the House of Ruth and other shelters have procedures in place to advise men who call, and will take any steps they can to direct men to appropriate programs.

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more state funded, state mandated, state sanctioned discrimination against white males.

[Johnny]

an Abused Man?

What a wussy

[starvingeyes]

i do seriously hope you are either joking or make a sarcastic remark with regards to societies impression of male domestic violence victims.

otherwise, i would suggest you brace yourself.

[Sufjan Stevens]

Well, what a shock, men being discriminated against. Tell me, what is the difference between a man that gets beaten and a woman that gets beat? Why can't these places accept men? They accept all the women and children they can, but when a man needs a place to go after his wife attacks him can't go anywhere but living in his car. That's bullshit. If a man needs help, then the man should receive the help. I hope the shelters lose this case, there's no possible way they can win. If a law says you have to accept everyone if it's state tax money, then men should be accepted too. There's no way around it.

[starvingeyes]

i hope they win too. the NCFM could really use the money. if they get a big chunk of change for this, it could be a big fund raiser for us.

[Sufjan Stevens]

I don't care about them winning the money, I just want these corrupt male-bashing organizations to collapse. I mean, that is the purpose for your views, right? To have the oppressors of the common white male put in their place, right?

[Bandalero]

what's wrong with going to the neighbors and calling the cops? it's alot easier, and it gets done alot faster.

[starvingeyes]

my main focus is to get some equity for men, yes. i am especially interested in family court law and domestic violence issues.

this kind of thing, for example, is bullshit. suing the shelters may not be the most ideal way to handle the situation, but at least it'll bring attention to the issue.

[starvingeyes]

because if my wife is beating me and i call the cops, they will arrest me. that's not good.

[superboots]

Well, what a shock, men being discriminated against. Tell me, what is the difference between a man that gets beaten and a woman that gets beat? Why can't these places accept men? They accept all the women and children they can, but when a man needs a place to go after his wife attacks him can't go anywhere but living in his car. That's bullshit. If a man needs help, then the man should receive the help. I hope the shelters lose this case, there's no possible way they can win. If a law says you have to accept everyone if it's state tax money, then men should be accepted too. There's no way around it.

ok but think about this
you are a woman and you were just abused by your husband. you're ashamed and scared so you go to a shelter. when you are in a position like that, scared and ashamed, i don't think you would want to share a room with a male, even if he is in the same position as you, was beaten by a woman

yeah i think there should be male shelters but i don't know if keeping them integrated would do any good. i think it would just defeat the purpose

[Bandalero]

that's the problem now a days, no sense of community in our neighborhoods. i mean seriously if the wife is pissed she's gonna be yelling. normally someone would hear her, but that's not the case today. with privacy fences, air conditioners and TV's now a days you can't even hear anyone knock on the door. cops prefer to listen to both sides and then a non-biased witness. that doesn't happen anymore because the neighbors don't care and they don't hear what goes on outside.

[Bandalero]

personally i think there should be abuse shelters that will take in beaten men, there's nothing wrong with that. but like the article says, there shouldn't be as many, cause it's often a rare case. at the same time, i don't think that you should bring anyone down to build your movement. i'm not sure this case is gonna win, but you never know this is california that this is taking place.

[starvingeyes]

that's the point of the lawsuit. they are not neccessarily arguing for co-ed shelters, although i don't see why that's totally impossible (seperate rooms etc... it's not that hard), simply that there are no shelters for men. they have been trying for a long time to get attention drawn to this issue by other means, and have been left with no other choice.

reno - and as a result of that, it is the male who gets arrested, almost without exclusion, in the event of any DV complaint.

[superboots]

actually we learned in my biopsych class that violent domestic abuse equally happens to men and women

[starvingeyes]

reporting it is rare, reno. recent studies show that one in every 14 women will be abused by their spouse, and that 1 in every 15 men will be abused by theirs. it's not as uncommon as people think. unfortunately, there are no avenues for men to take right now. reporting it to the police is highly ineffective and can often lead to arrest. there are no shelters, so most men either suffer in silence or find a way to leave.

[Bandalero]

your going to either close down some of these places, or your going to create a budget crisis in many cases because of this. tell me how that is a good thing?

i personally wouldn't like going to a shelter. i would prefer my own home. there's divorce, there's peace bonds, there's flat out jail. theres no need to put up with abuse in your own home, if there's a problem let the police take care of it. they can't deny physical scars on your body, they cannot deny that you went to the neighbors for help because your own home is a danger to yourself.

[starvingeyes]

yes they can and they do. police are <b>instructed</b> to arrest the man. they are told that men commit 95% of domestic violence and that arresting more then 8% women in DV complaints will lead to their career being put under scrutiny.

there is a film out there called BUSTED! which details the story of a man who was arrested and put under a total restraining order for allegations of domestic violence. he alleged it was him that was abused but of course, got no where.

so, this guy hid a video camera in his room and repeatedly taped his wife breaking it and attacking him and his possessions. this is what it takes to get a man cleared of DV allegations. SHE was beating HIM and HE was arrested and legally punished.

this is the world in which we live. call the cops, go to jail and get kicked out of your house. fight back, get real prison time.

[Bandalero]

and your NCFM has not educated police officials around the country that their statistics are wrong?

[starvingeyes]

it's not that easy. you have to understand that for a number of radical feminist organizations, hating men is how they make their living. as a result, groups like the NCFM have to overcome societal stereotyping <b>and</b> better funded, more powerful opposition.

the NCFM is probably the biggest masculist group in america. it is puny in comparison to NOW.

[happening fish]

I don't agree with this at all. If there is a need for men's shelters, then they should be constructed, but suing a women's shelter because it would not admit a man is NOT right or constructive. This asshole should stop looking for easy money and go start his own shelter if he feels so strongly about it.

Women's shelters were unable to grant him admittance because, besides the fact that their very purpose is to keep women in an environment free of males for whatever psychological reasons, this man would have needed to share cramped quarters with many other women and their children, and if it were you I can promise that you would not want a man in the same room as you when you were changing your clothes or your tampon. The shelters were built with a female-only population in mind, and are therefore NOT easily accomodating to the privacy and quartering issues demanded by a unisex situation. This is not discrimination. It is common sense and decency. Like I already said, if this man feels that men's shelters are so very needed, he is free to go out and start one. That is how most women's shelters are started. This lawsuit is as much a petulant cry for money and attention as the suit against the Augusta golf club was.