http://www.sfvo.org Stop Family Violence is a national grassroots organization with a mission to organize and amplify our nation’s collective voice against domestic violence, rape, child abuse, child sex abuse, incest, sexual assault, elder abuse, dating violence, stalking, sexual trafficking and prostitution. Together we can stop family violence. 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.sfvo.org/news/bill-would-shield-records-of-domestic-violence-victims http://www.sfvo.org/news/bill-would-shield-records-of-domestic-violence-victims As health care legislation enters its final stages, it appears that the federal government is poised to authorize Medicaid spending for an ambitious, mostly privately-run program that enters and touches the most intimate domains of poor women – without any explicitly stipulated protections of their rights. http://www.sfvo.org/action/beyond-stupak-ii http://www.sfvo.org/action/beyond-stupak-ii Although government research shows that poverty is not correlated with family size -- and that childbearing does not cause poverty -- current health care legislation seeks to tell low-income women how many children to have and when to have them. Contact your legislators to urge them to reject these misguided provisions. http://www.sfvo.org/action/beyond-stupak-the-shocking-fertility-control-provisions-in-health-care-reform-legislation http://www.sfvo.org/action/beyond-stupak-the-shocking-fertility-control-provisions-in-health-care-reform-legislation Kimberly Smith was murdered in her Oconomowoc home Oct. 1 as part of a plot for her ex-boyfriend to get custody of their 4-year-old son, authorities said Thursday in announcing the arrests of the ex-boyfriend and two other men on homicide charges. Smith was entangled in a long running custody dispute with the boy's father. http://www.sfvo.org/info/custody-abuse/custody-news/plot-for-child-custody-ends-in-murder http://www.sfvo.org/info/custody-abuse/custody-news/plot-for-child-custody-ends-in-murder 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.sfvo.org/news/rape-treatment-plan-facing-big-budget-cut http://www.sfvo.org/news/rape-treatment-plan-facing-big-budget-cut Earlier this month Governor Deval Patrick cut $1 million (one third of the budget) from the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Program. This cut will mean the near elimination of a crucial system of coordinated care for survivors of sexual violence. http://www.sfvo.org/pages/498 http://www.sfvo.org/pages/498 The I-Team found one example out of Northern California in which an 11-year-old boy, Coby, was the center of a custody dispute. His mother was ordered to pay $2,200 upfront to a custody evaluator. In the ruling, the judge wrote, "If mother does not pay the fees ... primary custody shall be changed." http://www.sfvo.org/info/custody-abuse/custody-news/high-costs-of-family-court http://www.sfvo.org/info/custody-abuse/custody-news/high-costs-of-family-court 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.sfvo.org/news/sex-with-animals-cases-surface-in-3-tn-counties http://www.sfvo.org/news/sex-with-animals-cases-surface-in-3-tn-counties Police reports from Duluth showed that Native girls were being lured off reservations, taken onto ships in port, beaten, and gang-raped. Native girls were being trafficked into prostitution, pornography, and strip shows over state lines and to Mexico. This is the first report of commercial sexual exploitation of American Indian women and girls. http://www.sfvo.org/info/trafficking-and-prostitution/shattered-hearts-sexual-trafficking-of-american-indian-women-and-girls-in-minnesota http://www.sfvo.org/info/trafficking-and-prostitution/shattered-hearts-sexual-trafficking-of-american-indian-women-and-girls-in-minnesota The fact that divorcing parents often badmouth each other to the children can not justify the damage done to abused and endangered children by PAS and PA accusations. A more rational and fair approach to the claim of PA is presented. http://www.sfvo.org/info/custody-abuse/parental-alienation/parental-alienation-a-rational-approach http://www.sfvo.org/info/custody-abuse/parental-alienation/parental-alienation-a-rational-approach