Commission on Black Men and Boys: Coalition Urges Lawmakers to Amend Unfair Domestic Violence Laws

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Rebecca Stewart

Telephone: 513-479-3335

Commission on Black Men and Boys: Coalition Urges Lawmakers to Amend Unfair Domestic Violence Laws

WASHINGTON / August 31, 2020 – The Congress recently passed into law the Commission on Black Men and Boys Act. Buoyed by strong bipartisan support, the new law establishes the Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys in the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. The group will study the disparities that Black males experience in criminal justice response, education, health, employment, and fatherhood (1).

As part of this national effort, the Coalition to End Domestic Violence urges state lawmakers to consider how biased domestic violence laws and policies have a disparate impact on Black men.

Women are more likely to be perpetrators of domestic violence than men, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The CDC survey reveals that each year, 3.8% of men and 2.9% of women experience violence at the hands of their partners (2).

Many of the disparities arise from “mandatory arrest” policies, which are widespread around the United States. Mandatory arrest says that police officers responding to a call for help do not need to determine whether one person was truly violent; every time someone alleges abuse, the police are required to make an arrest. Such policies violate Fourth Amendment “probable cause” requirements (3).

Mandatory arrest can worsen partner conflict. According to a Harvard University study, when states enact mandatory arrest policies, the intimate partner homicide rate increases by 57%. (4) This translates into 609 persons a year whose lives are lost due to mandatory arrest policies.

So-called “primary aggressor” policies also have a disparate impact on Black men. In cases where the abuse is mutual, primary aggressor criteria are typically biased to target the male (5). Such policies contradict the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

False allegations of domestic violence also are a problem. Carl Starling of Maryland was falsely accused of domestic violence by his wife. Starling later gave testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee recounting his harrowing experience (6). New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recently enacted the “Karen’s Law,” which prohibits false race-based false allegations of violence (7).

The Commission on Black Men and Boys Act was spearheaded by Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic Representative Frederica Wilson of Florida. The legislation has been endorsed by more than 20 civil rights leaders and organizations, including the National Football League, My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, NAACP, Council of the Great City Schools, Teach for America, Reform Alliance, Teach for America, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority, Inc.

Links: