Julia K Cole

Below is a short article written by Jan Brown which was posted as a reply to my article Domestic Violence: Taking it like a Man--the Untold Story   five years ago.  My article can can be found HERE.   October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and throughout the month domestic violence advocates and the media's attention will be focused on bringing more public understanding to and promoting the eradication of men’s violence against women. However, not all intimate partner violence (IPV) fits into this neat little package. IPV against men, especially against men by their female intimate partners, has always been a hot button issue. The mere mention of male victims in a gathering of traditional domestic violence advocates creates great controversy.  While domestic violence advocates may know men are victims they insist that their victims service agencies (over 2,000 of them in the US) should focus exclusively on ending violence against wome...

Domestic Violence Awareness Month may be coming to a close at the end of October, but we must not forget that every day men, women and children seek safety and justice inside America's courts. Sadly, from New York to California, victims of domestic violence are facing a rationing of justice. Court furlough days have resulted in backlogs and delayed temporary restraining orders. Crippling budget cuts mean courts must reduce their hours of operation or close altogether. Turned away at shuttered courthouse doors, victims of domestic violence are left to fend for themselves.  In Oregon, "Jane" had to wait three days to file a Family Abuse Prevention Act Restraining Order because Friday was a designated court furlough day. In New Jersey, "Joe" sat outside a courtroom door for nearly five hours waiting to be heard while the increasing backlog of cases ultimately suspended civil and family court trials and delayed temporary restraining orders. And in Mississ...

This is so innocent and sweet, it's impossible not to just love it to pieces. A 4-year-old little girl in Australia wrote a letter to the prime minister, Tony Abbott, asking him to "let boys marry boys and girls marry girls," in an effort to persuade him to recognize gay marriage Down Under. Sabrina Franco was inspired to reach out to the prime minister after learning that friends of her mothers, a gay male couple, had to go all the way to New York to be married -- because same-sex marriages are neither recognized nor performed in Australia. Read More

People are seeking loved ones from all over the world.  Someone out there knows something!  Could that someone be YOU? Below are just a few of the sites that have listings of Missing Persons from all around the world.    Thankfully, quite a few missing persons have been found safe!  But so many, many, many more haven't!    And then there's the cold cases, the unsolved deaths and murders, and so on!    If you have information on any of these cases...SHARE IT!  There is Hope your one small tip can lead to solving a mystery. The more people aware and looking--the better the chances are for our Missing!   Please be sure to Share the sites below on   ALL your  Social Networks!  PLEASE CHECK BACK OFTEN! I WILL BE ADDING ADDITIONAL SITES FROM TIME TO TIME! ~*~*~*~ *Outpost for Hope*   NEWLY ADDED http://www.outpostforhope.org/ Charley Project http://www.charleyproject.org/ ...

Domestic Violence does not discriminate against age, race, color, creed, gender or sexual orientation. The U. S. Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) defines domestic violence as a "pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner" .  The definition adds that domestic violence "can happen to anyone regardless of race, age, sexual orientation, religion, or gender", and that it can take many forms, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional, economic, and psychological abuse Our society, both here in the United States and world-wide, have been conditioned to think and believe that domestic violence only means women and children.   But the sad fact is, it also includes boys and men. “When we ignore male victims of domestic abuse, we also ignore their children, who continue to be damaged by witnessing the violence regardless of how severe it is. We cannot br...

Domestic Violence.   It's Everybody's Business! But how many turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to it?  Sadly too many to count. While the majority of such violence reported involved  women and children, an alarming number of men who are victims go unreported ...  even ignored. "... activists for “men’s rights” have suggested that policy-oriented efforts for women have been misplaced, because they focus entirely on women as the victims of domestic violence .  “men are the victims of domestic violence at least as often as women” (Brott, 1994). " [emphasis added] ( http://new.vawnet.org/Assoc_Files_VAWnet/GenderSymmetry.pdf ) *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* And we are not just talking about gay men in this regard.   Hetero-sexual men fall prey to domestic abuse as well.  You don't hear about it very often -- if at all .   Pride and shame prevent many of these men from coming forward.  Shame of not bein...