"Speaking Up" is a project of the Family Violence Prevention Fund.
Produced by PR Solutions, Inc., Washington, DC. Phone: 202/3711999;
Fax: 202/3719142; E-mail: speakingup@prsolutionsdc.com

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DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & THE SUPER BOWL

This Sunday, an estimated 130 million Americans will watch the New
England Patriots play the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. In the
past, Super Bowl Sunday has been a time of public debate over the
prevalence of domestic violence in our society, partly because of
unsubstantiated claims that incidents of abuse increase on game day.
This year, due to the publicity surrounding a lawsuit filed against
National Football League (NFL) teams by cheerleaders (see the
following article) and episodes of violence involving football
players, public attention has again turned to the link between
football and violence against women.

The Super Bowl and domestic violence probably became entwined in
Americans' minds in 1993, when battered women's advocates helped
convince the NBC television network to broadcast a public service
announcement (PSA) on domestic violence during its Super Bowl
coverage. It was a serious commitment by NBC, which could have sold
the much-coveted pre-game 30-second spot for approximately half a
million dollars. But instead of another advertisement for beer or
automobiles, one of the biggest television audiences of the year saw
a well-dressed man sitting in a jail cell saying, "I didn't think
you'd go to jail for hitting your wife." An announcer noted,
"Domestic violence is a crime."

While many commentators applauded NBC's decision to air the PSA,
others claimed the network had been coerced by inflated claims about
Super Bowl Sunday being "a day of dread" for battered women a day
when abuse increases. In January of 1993, in a front page story
entitled "Debunking the 'Day of Dread' for Women," "Washington Post"
reporter Ken Ringle quoted a number of experts and battered women's
advocates saying there was no discernable increase in battering on
Super Bowl Sunday, or on any days when football games are played.
Some later claimed that Ringle had taken their remarks out of context.

The Facts

Although there are claims linking sports broadcasts to increased
domestic violence and child abuse, no rigorous national studies have
been conducted.

A limited study conducted by the Southern California Injury
Prevention Research Center at UCLA's School of Public Health found
that football Sundays in general are not significantly associated
with increased domestic violence dispatch calls. The findings are
based on the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department dispatches for
domestic violence offenses from January 1, 1993 to December 31, 1995.
The study concludes that:

--Domestic violence dispatches gradually increased over the three-year period;

--On average, domestic violence dispatch calls were higher for
weekends (Sundays) and summer months (July); and

--Football Sundays were not significantly associated with increased
domestic violence dispatch calls.

Although there appeared to be an increase in domestic violence
dispatches on Super Bowl Sunday during the 1993-94 football season,
UCLA researcher Lawrence Chu cautioned that results cannot be
generalized to other areas and "we could not say that football causes
domestic violence." Chu also said that further research and data is
needed, especially data from other cities, to determine any
association between football and domestic violence.

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media outreach

Because of the myths and false reporting surrounding the link between
domestic violence and the Super Bowl, the Family Violence Prevention
Fund recommends that battered women's advocates not pro-actively
contact the media to discuss the topic. However, if a journalist
contacts you to discuss increases in domestic violence on Super Bowl
Sunday, please consider using the following points:

--Domestic violence is a crime whether it happens on Super Bowl
Sunday or any other Sunday throughout the year. Domestic violence is
a problem of epidemic proportions in this country. Sadly, women are
abused by their partners every day, whether a football game is being
played or not.

--While there have been no rigorous national studies on whether rates
of domestic violence increase during the Super Bowl, we do know that
women are beaten and killed every day by the men in their lives. On
average, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or
boyfriends every day in this country. [Add domestic homicide
statistics for your area.]

--Domestic violence is a serious problem in our [city/town] and
throughout the country. Nearly one-third of American women (31
percent) report being physically or sexually abused by a husband or
boyfriend at some point in their lives, according to a 1998
Commonwealth Fund survey. [Add information about the rates of
domestic violence in your community.]

--Athletes, as public figures, are in a position to take a stand
against domestic violence. We commend the professional football
players and other athletes who are taking steps to help raise
awareness about abuse and doing their part to end violence against
women. [Include any information on work your organization has done
to educate or partner with local sports teams.]

--In order to end abuse, men need to let other men and boys know that
violence against women is wrong and will not be tolerated. A
national poll of men conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates
for the Family Violence Prevention Fund in May of 2000 found that
two-thirds of men say that domestic violence is very or fairly common
in the United States. Four in five men said they are willing to talk
to children about the importance of healthy, violence-free
relationships.

--[Add information about steps your organization has taken to
encourage men to take action and help end abuse.]

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cheerleaders file lawsuit against professional football teams

Forty-four former cheerleaders for the Philadelphia Eagles
professional football team have filed a lawsuit claiming that, from
1983 to 2002, teams playing the Eagles at Veteran's Stadium spied
into the cheerleaders' locker room through windows, doors and cracks
in the walls. The suit names 29 teams in the National Football
League (NFL) as defendants, along with 500 "John Does" football
players who will be specified upon discovery and the teams'
non-player employees.

The lawsuit claims that visiting football teams "engaged in a
practice of peeping" into the cheerleaders' locker room and that this
"routine practice" was "common knowledge among virtually the entire"
NFL. In fact, the peeping was "considered one of the special 'perks'
of being a visiting team of the Eagles," states the complaint, filed
in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court in December.

The lawsuit was originally filed in federal court in August, after
three former Eagles' cheerleaders learned through media reports that
visiting teams were spying on them. The story broke when two Dallas
Cowboy football players bragged to a reporter from the "New York
Times" about peeping at the cheerleaders. Susette Walsh, one of the
original plaintiffs, learned of the practice when a commentator
mentioned it while she was watching a post-game show after an Eagles
game.

"We had no idea this was happening," Walsh said this month on NBC's
"Today Show." "You should feel 100 percent safe in your place of
work. We were there so many hours, countless hours...That is the
most disgusting part." Of the football players referred to in the
lawsuit, she added, "They're not boys, they're men, and they need to
behave like men. These are professional athletes making an enormous
amount of money, and this type of behavior cannot and will not be
tolerated."

Michael McKenna, the plaintiffs' attorney, filed an expanded lawsuit
in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court when other former cheerleaders
expressed interest in joining the legal action brought by the three
original plaintiffs. That was necessary because of rules that limit
federal civil suits involving plaintiffs and defendants who reside in
the same state. No current Eagles cheerleaders joined that lawsuit.

"We believe that this lawsuit is relevant to several issues facing
sports in general and the NFL in particular," said McKenna in a
statement. "Men in sports at all levels have had other problems
respecting the rights of women. While some would dismiss peeping
through doors and windows as being innocent and victimless crimes, we
believe that any abuse of a woman's rights is simply wrong and
dangerous. And we are disappointed [that] NFL teams, which work so
hard to market their sport to women and families, have yet to take
this lawsuit seriously."

McKenna says none of the NFL teams named as defendants has
acknowledged the lawsuit which, among other things, charges the
defendants with invasion of privacy, trespass, intentional infliction
of emotional distress and conspiracy. It calls for acknowledgement
from the players and teams that the peeping occurred, an apology and
an unspecified amount in compensatory and punitive damages.

More information about the lawsuit, including the complaint, is
available online at www.digitmedia.com/mckenna.

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Welcome to Speaking Up 2002

Thank you to everyone who has renewed her or his membership in the
"Speaking Up" network for the year 2002. "Speaking Up" cannot exist
without the support of its readers. If you have not yet renewed your
membership for 2002, please fill out the forms at the end of the
issue to ensure that you don't miss an issue of "Speaking Up" in the
new year!

The year 2002 promises to be a great year for "Speaking Up." In the
coming year, "Speaking Up" will continue to report on the trends and
issues that affect battered women and their advocates; and highlight
the latest resources and legislation. "Speaking Up" is designed to
assist the grassroots activists who are working to prevent and reduce
domestic violence, and to serve as an information source for other
experts. In 2002, "Speaking Up" will strengthen its mission to serve
as a forum for the "Speaking Up" network. Please contact "Speaking
Up" editor Mariama Diao to share your story ideas, resources or other
information via phone: 202/371-1999, via fax: 202/371-9142, or via
email: speakingup@prsolutionsdc.com.

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thank you!

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The following sponsors have generously donated $100 or more to keep
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Menard; Mintz, Levin; and National Council of Juvenile & Family Court
Judges, Inc.

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