http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/news en-us Columbus -- The Ohio Senate began deliberations on legislation that would shield addresses of some domestic violence victims from public records. House Bill 391, sponsored by Rep. Kathleen Chandler (D-Kent), had its first hearing before the State and Local Government and Veterans Affairs Committee May 18. It passed the Ohio House in April, ... http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/news/bill-would-shield-records-of-domestic-violence-victims http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/news/bill-would-shield-records-of-domestic-violence-victims The Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program (SANE) championed by advocates as the most sensitive and effective way to treat victims of rape and sexual abuse, is taking a 40 percent hit from the state budget ax, one of a series of cuts Governor Deval Patrick announced last week to close a $600 million budget shortfall. http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/news/rape-treatment-plan-facing-big-budget-cut http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/news/rape-treatment-plan-facing-big-budget-cut Two years ago, the Tennessee legislature put into statute what most people assumed should go without saying — it is illegal to have sex with animals. But prosecutors across Middle Tennessee have had three bestiality cases. The connection between animal abuse and human abuse is notable. One study found that 96 percent of juveniles who engaged in sexual abuse of animals also admitted to sex offenses against humans. In another study, some 37 percent of sexually violent juvenile offenders were found to have a history of animal sexual assault. An FBI study found that serial killers have a high rate of animal sexual abuse as well. http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/news/sex-with-animals-cases-surface-in-3-tn-counties http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/news/sex-with-animals-cases-surface-in-3-tn-counties Governor Schwarzenegger signed a new law, the first in the nation, to recognize a right to representation in key civil cases and provide it for people fighting eviction, loss of child custody, domestic abuse or neglect of the elderly or disabled. http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/news/ca-right-to-attorney-for-civil-litigation http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/news/ca-right-to-attorney-for-civil-litigation A top judge of New Hampshire's family court is going to Washington for a new job. President Obama annnounced this evening he is nominating Susan B. Carbon as director of the Office on Violence Against Women in the Department of Justice. http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/news/judge-susan-carbon-picked-to-head-office-on-violence-against-women http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/news/judge-susan-carbon-picked-to-head-office-on-violence-against-women I tried to be clear in my first letter in the hope you would simply apologize for saying Roman Polanski didn't plead guilty to "rape rape". But in an awkward attempt to put out the flames of outrage, you made things worse by trying to "explain" yourself. You said that what you MEANT was that because Polanski admitted to the charge... http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/news/give-it-up-whoopie http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/news/give-it-up-whoopie Yesterday on "The View", you said Roman Polanski pleaded guilty to "unlawful sex with a minor", but that it wasn't " rape rape". So I've been wondering –What the hell is "rape rape"? I know you said your point was to articulate the nature of the crime to which he pleaded guilty - which, you said, was somehow DIFFERENT from "rape". It isn't. http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/news/open-letter-to-whoopi-goldberg http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/news/open-letter-to-whoopi-goldberg October is Domestic Violence Awareness month, and local experts say they're overwhelmed with calls from people seeking help in violent situations. But they also say fewer people are actually leaving their violent homes, and they blame the economy. http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/news/economy-causing-abused-to-remain-in-violent-situations http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/news/economy-causing-abused-to-remain-in-violent-situations Chances are, we'd never have heard of Anthony J. Peters, a 20-year-old thug, if he hadn't beaten up Milwaukee's mayor last week outside the Wisconsin State Fairgrounds. If Peters had pounded and pummeled and bullied his intended victim -- the grandmother of his 1-year-old daughter -- he'd have been just another assailant in a long list of men who terrorize women every day of the week. http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/news/changing-the-face-of-domestic-violence http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/news/changing-the-face-of-domestic-violence The Obama administration has opened the way for foreign women who are victims of severe domestic beatings and sexual abuse to receive asylum in the United States. The action reverses a Bush administration stance in a protracted and passionate legal battle over the possibilities for battered women to become refugees.   http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/news/new-policy-permits-asylum-for-battered-women http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/news/new-policy-permits-asylum-for-battered-women