DAVIA Membership Survey

To assist our planning efforts, members of the Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance are invited to answer these three questions. Please send your responses to Bob Thompson at rdt123@verizon.net . This information is updated on an ongoing basis as answers are received.

Question 1: What is your primary area of focus?

  • Domestic Violence:   12
  • Parental Alienation:   14
  • False Allegations:      13
  • Shared Parenting:     14
  • Fatherhood Issues:    8
  • Other:    5
    • Reform the Family separation process in UK
    • Gender-Specific Medicine and Men’s Mental, Emotional, and Relational Health
    • Psychological abuse and mental health; family focus on helping healthy parents
    • Men’s Rights, Crime Against Men, Gender Bias in Laws/society against men
    • Primary area of focus is challenging the dominant narrative of gender politics by asserting and illustrating how falsehoods, bigotry and negative stereotypes against men and boys are promoted purposefully to disadvantage men and boys and to preserve, protect and extend female dominance and privilege.

Question 2: What are your major type(s) of activities?

  • Media – Public Awareness:  28
  • Policy and Advocacy:   25
  • Research:   14
  • Provision of Direct Services:   9
  • Other: 5
    • Helpline for separated parents
    • Education Support
    • Legal Awareness

Question 3: What are your suggestions for future directions for DAVIA?

1)    Larry DeMarco – The Law Center

  • I think we should have a mailing list of members and organizations who support the same areas of focus as we did, should consider them “friends” of DAVIA (because they’re doing the same thing we are doing), and put them on a MailChimp mailing list so that we keep reaching out to them, and they keep reaching out to use.
  • It would be helpful to have meetings sponsored or organized by DAVIA where people in similar groups and committees could meet more regularly and have practical, mastermind sessions to consider how to be more effective as advocates.

2)    Bruce Eden – Dads Against Discrimination (DADS)–NJ & NY Chapter

  • Continue increasing membership & media/public awareness

3)  Tom Golden – Men Are Good

  • Keep at it!  You are making a difference!

4)    Michael Clark – Ananias Foundation

  • If DAVIA has a strategic plan, it would be helpful to have it shared and discussed. If not, it would be helpful to have one. Could be as simple as a SWOT analysis.
  • Regarding strategy, perhaps some working groups could be formed around the areas of focus and/or the primary activities.
  • One suggestion I’d make is for us to segment demographics to target, such as 1) those individuals and organizations friendly to our positions, 2) those neutral to it, and 3) those opposed to it, then have strategies for each, much like Jim Cray talked about how they focused their efforts in Nebraska.

5)    Sean Parker – Empowering the Innocent

  • Seems to be going well. Keeping the tone lively but authoritative on social media, while pointing out the hypocrisies. Understanding that almost the entire area is political, and that there’s no use getting emotional about politics, you just need to describe to an often indifferent public what is happening and why.

6)   John Stenner Hamel – Family Preservation Alliance

  •  Focus on balanced gender support to members.

7)    Jim Semerad – Dads and Moms PAC

  • Stay focused on Domestic Violence

8)    Jed Diamond – MenAlive

  • I would prefer less focus on the negative (who DAVIA does not support) and more on who DAVIA does support.

9)    Matt Hertsberg – Vardnad Boende Umgange

  • These are the issues we work with. Shared parenting to all and everywhere is the goal.

10)    Aaron Lentner – Positive Conclusions

  • To make use of technology better

11)    Jim Ellis – Mentor, Discover, Inspire

  • Podcasts, media, interviews on pertinent shows

12)    Glenn Cheriton – Canadian Equal Parenting Council

  • Practical help in political change and advocacy for parents
  • More focus on DV, abuse, on children
  • Conflict resolution between men & women as solutions to DV
  • Parental Alienation as Coercive control
  • Equality for both men and women as necessary for progress against dv.

13)    Celeste Louw – Optimystic Bikers Against Abuse

  • We feel that a balanced approach to gender issues that shows how all genders can be decent human beings, and that being said all genders can be perpetrators or victims is required to really address the underlying issues.  Gender competitiveness is taking away from addressing the underlying deep divides between genders.  We believe in the human approach.

14)    Danica Dockery – Kids Need Both, Inc.

  • Community, Education

15)    Bill Bernet, M.D. – Parental Alienation Study Group

  • DAVIA HAS BEEN VERY ACTIVE AND SUCCESSFUL IN EDUCATING THE PUBLIC AND POLICYMAKERS REGARDING FAMILY COURT, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, AND RELATED ISSUES.
  • PASG HAS A MUCH NARROWER FOCUS, PRIMARILY RELATED TO PARENTAL ALIENATION.  PASG AND GLOBAL ACTION FOR RESEARCH INTEGRITY IN PARENTAL ALIENATION (GARI-PA) HAVE RECENTLY STARTED TO COLLECT ORGANIZATIONS THAT HAVE AN INTEREST IN PARENTAL ALIENATION INTO THE “CONSORTIUM FOR PARENTAL ALIENATION RESEARCH AND ADVOCACY” (COPARA).
  • COPARA WILL CONTINUE TO PUBLISH DOCUMENTS INTENDED TO REFUTE MISINFORMATION REGARDING PARENTAL ALIENATION AND RELATED TOPICS.  WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON A MAJOR COMPAINT TO THE U.S. INSPECTOR GENERAL’S OFFICE THAT OVERSEES THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF JUSTICE, WHICH FUNDED RESEARCH BY JOAN MEIER.  WE WILL ASK THE INSPECTOR GENERAL’S OFFICE TO REQUIRE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY TO RETRACT THE RESEARCH PUBLISED BY MEIER AND ALSO RETURN THE FUNDS USED TO PAY FOR THAT FLAWED RESEARCH (AMMOUNTING TO ABOUT $500,000).
  • WE ARE CURRENTLY CREATING A WEBSITE AND OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE FOR COPARA.  IN A FEW WEEKS WE WILL INVITE Y’ALL TO ENDORSE COPARA, SO WE HOPE YOU JOIN US IN THESE EFFORTS.

16)    Edward Tavares – ChildWatch Bermuda

  • Children’s traumas from fatherlessness. Traumas from parental alienation on children and fathers. male victims of legal administration abuse. Male victims of coercive control. Children’s victimization from drug/alcohol abuse due to blocked access to paternal relationships, etc. These are just a few items that came to my mind.

17)    Ivana Schneiderova – Traditional Family Association

  • Agenda 2030, stop global Communism

18)    Leonard Kosir – Platform for European Fathers

  • False allegations, also parental alienation. Otherwise, you’re doing great!

19)   Mark Sullivan – UN Panel on Parental Alienation

  • Here in New York we have a great opportunity with the Blue Ribbon Commission and current legislation to end forensic custody evaluations. To replace that is the Pilot Program as outlined by Dr. Childress in his book on Amazon. This defines a problem… false allegations, unremitting litigation which masks mental health issues. The pilot program would short-circuit the legal wrangling and move these high-conflict families into the realm of mental health by Clinical Psychologists. This could be combined in a panel at the UN. That idea was to end the “Camps” of PA… which is NOT in the DSM 5 or the ICD 11 and by having camps prolong litigation and that becomes the point of argumentation. By breaking down the behaviors and symptoms, applying the DSM 5 diagnosis and clinical psychology knowledge we get unassailable proof of everything people want to call PA but without the name, the problem. This forces the courts to either say yup… let’s continue to abuse the kids or Yeah it’s time to act human.

20)   Jason Houck – National Parents Organization, New York Affiliate

  • Continue specific messaging

21)  Ulysses “Butch” Slaughter – Stop False Allegations Against Men

  •  Policy and public advocacy should be a high priority for the future direction for DAVIA

22)  Arman Arian – Protests for Men

  • Considering the current bias in the mainstream media and the lack of the voice for male victims of domestic violence and the voice for equality for men,  I think it is crucial to work on public awareness. This can be done by forming peaceful and legal protests, public advertisement etc. Also, continuing the effort to ask for law change to achieve equality by creating petitions as well as doing research to provide more evidence for the public and politicians are also significant aspects to focus on.

23)  Mike Bell –  Falsely Accused Network (Family Court Reform Coalition) and APPG Men and Boys

    • I suggest we need a clearer statement of purpose for DAVIA.  At present it is too diffuse with all sorts of different initiatives.

      The statement on the webpage has two aims:

      ·        one is gender-neutral,  about violence.

      ·        The other is about male experience.

      If we look at just the latest campaigns covered, it is difficult to see the focus:

      1.     “International Men’s Mental Wellness Team,”

      2.     Restoring the Presumption of Innocence conference

      3.     Report about the State of Justice and the State of Law in Spain

      4.     International Parental Alienation Awareness Day

      5.     Stop False Allegations Against Men,

      6.     Shocking Incidents Spotlight Global Threat of Female-Perpetrated Violence.”

      7.     #GenderEqualityForMen

      8.     12 areas of male disadvantage:

      All great and important issues, but I still think we need to decide whether DAVIA is gender-neutral as in 2,3,4 or about male experience as in 1,5-8.

      At present it’s difficult to see the boundary.  DAVIA could be involved in a huge range of issues.

      On the other hand, voluntary groups need to do what the volunteers want to do – as that’s the way they get energy.  My concern is that, by having a wide focus, it will be difficult to identify success and so folks will be disillusioned.

Jack Kammer – Working Well With Men