A woman is suing her former apartment complex for sex discrimination after she was evicted following a series of incidents where her fiancee beat her, raped her and threatened to kill her at gunpoint.
According to the complaint, on September 15, 2007, plaintiff Kathy Cleaves Milan moved into the Elm Creek Apartment Complex in Elmhurst, Illinois with her fiancee Allen Creasy and her daughter. Shortly after moving in, Creasy's behavior became erratic, the complaint states. On one occassion, Creasy allegedly shoved Milan into a wall. On another occassion, he allegedly raped her. Finally, on September 30, 2007, Milan ended their relationship and Creasy allegedly threatened Milan at gunpoint. Milan called 9-1-1 and Creasy was involuntarily committed to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation, according to the complaint.
Continue reading this entry as well as the full complaint after the jump.
The complaint states that Milan obtained an Order of Protection and was informed by Bob Frischman, the leasing agent of the apartment building, that Creasy could be removed from the lease as long as Milan met the minimum income requirement. Milan asserts that she also spoke with the supervisor and property manager defendant Jan Winters, who was aware of the situation and Order of Protection.
Still, Milan asserts that when she went to her bank the day after speaking with defendant Winters to obtain a cashier's check for the month's rent, she called Ms. Winters to confirm the amount owed at which time Ms. Winters informed her that she was being evicted. According to the complaint, the reason Winters gave was that the "'corporate office' said that anytime there is a crime in an apartment the household must be evicted."
Milan is suing based on a violation of the Fair Housing Act, stating "By terminating Ms. Milan's tenancy based on the criminal acts of domestic violence perpetrated against her, Defendants intentionally discriminated against Ms. Milan on the basis of sex." The complaint further states "Defendants' policy of holding domestic violence victims responsible for the criminal acts of their abusers has a disproportionately adverse impact on women. National statistics indicate that 90-95% of domestic violence victims are women and women are eight times more likely than men to be victims of domestic violence."
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I would like to bring attention to all readers of this story about a false claim being made in this story.
This line in the story is absolutely false - "National statistics indicate that 90-95% of domestic violence victims are women and women are eight times more likely than men to be victims of domestic violence."
Numerous studies show that women are guilty of initiating domestic violence against men at the same rate.
Here is an SMALL sample of the research:
- "When it comes to nonreciprocal violence between intimate partners, women are more often the perpetrators.
These findings on intimate partner violence come from a study conducted by scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The lead investigator was Daniel Whitaker, Ph.D., a behavioral scientist and team leader at the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (which is part of the CDC). Results were published in the May Journal of Public Health.
Regarding perpetration of violence, more women than men (25 percent versus 11 percent) were responsible. In fact, 71 percent of the instigators in nonreciprocal partner violence were women. This finding surprised Whitaker and his colleagues, they admitted in their study report.
- "A 32-nation study of violence against dating partners by university partners found that about a third had been violent, and most incidents of partner violence involve violence by both the man and woman, according to Murray Straus, founder and co-director of the Family Research Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire. The second largest category was couples where the female partner was the only one to carry about physical attacks, not the male partner.
Straus’ new research also found that dominance by the female partner is even more closely related to violence by women than is male dominance. These results call into question the widely held belief that partner violence is primarily a male crime and that when women are violent it is self defense."
-Domestic violence can happen to men, not only to women, according to Group Health research in the June American Journal of Preventive Medicine. “Domestic violence in men is under-studied and often hidden—much as it was in women 10 years ago,” said study leader Robert J. Reid, MD, PhD, an associate investigator at the Group Health Center for Health Studies. “We want abused men to know they’re not alone.” His findings confirm some common beliefs but also debunk five myths about abuse in men:
Myth 1: Few men experience domestic violence. Many do. In-depth phone interviews with over 400 randomly sampled adult male Group Health patients surprised Dr. Reid and his colleagues: 5% had experienced domestic violence in the past year, 10% in the past five years, and 29% over their lifetimes. The researchers defined domestic violence to include nonphysical abuse—threats, chronic disparaging remarks, or controlling behavior—as well as physical abuse: slapping, hitting, kicking, or forced sex.
Myth 2: Abuse of men has no serious effects. The researchers found domestic violence is associated with serious, long-term effects on men’s mental health. Women are more likely than men to experience more severe physical abuse, said Dr. Reid. “But even nonphysical abuse——can do lasting damage.” Depressive symptoms were nearly three times as common in older men who had experienced abuse than in those who hadn’t, with much more severe depression in the men who had been abused physically.
Myth 3: Abused men don’t stay, because they’re free to leave. In fact, men may stay for years with their abusive partners. “We know that many women may have trouble leaving abusive relationships, especially if they’re caring for young children and not working outside the home,” said Dr. Reid. “We were surprised to find that most men in abusive relationships also stay, through multiple episodes, for years.”
Myth 4: Domestic violence affects only poor people. The study actually showed it to be an equal-opportunity scourge. “As we found in our previous research with women experiencing domestic violence, this is a common problem affecting people in all walks of life,” said Dr. Reid. “Our patients at Group Health have health insurance and easy access to health care, and their employment rate and average income, education level, and age are higher than those of the rest of the U.S. population.”
Myth 5: Ignoring it will make it go away. Not so. “We doctors hardly ever ask our male patients about being abused—and they seldom tell us,” said Dr. Reid. “Many abused men feel ashamed because of societal expectations for men to be tough and in control.” Younger men were twice as likely as men age 55 or older to report recent abuse. “That may be because older men are even more reluctant to talk about it,” he added.
It is time for the media to stop misleading the public that domestic violence is a crime of female victim and male perpetrator. It is also time for the media to hold women accountable for their violence against men and children with the same tenacity for which they have held men accountable for years. Equality between men and women must not only be about equal opportunities of education, wealth, status, and power, but also must include accepting responsibility equally.
1 Comment
National Coalition For Men said:
I would like to bring attention to all readers of this story about a false claim being made in this story.
This line in the story is absolutely false - "National statistics indicate that 90-95% of domestic violence victims are women and women are eight times more likely than men to be victims of domestic violence."
Numerous studies show that women are guilty of initiating domestic violence against men at the same rate.
Here is an SMALL sample of the research:
- "When it comes to nonreciprocal violence between intimate partners, women are more often the perpetrators.
These findings on intimate partner violence come from a study conducted by scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The lead investigator was Daniel Whitaker, Ph.D., a behavioral scientist and team leader at the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (which is part of the CDC). Results were published in the May Journal of Public Health.
Regarding perpetration of violence, more women than men (25 percent versus 11 percent) were responsible. In fact, 71 percent of the instigators in nonreciprocal partner violence were women. This finding surprised Whitaker and his colleagues, they admitted in their study report.
- "A 32-nation study of violence against dating partners by university partners found that about a third had been violent, and most incidents of partner violence involve violence by both the man and woman, according to Murray Straus, founder and co-director of the Family Research Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire. The second largest category was couples where the female partner was the only one to carry about physical attacks, not the male partner.
Straus’ new research also found that dominance by the female partner is even more closely related to violence by women than is male dominance. These results call into question the widely held belief that partner violence is primarily a male crime and that when women are violent it is self defense."
-Domestic violence can happen to men, not only to women, according to Group Health research in the June American Journal of Preventive Medicine. “Domestic violence in men is under-studied and often hidden—much as it was in women 10 years ago,” said study leader Robert J. Reid, MD, PhD, an associate investigator at the Group Health Center for Health Studies. “We want abused men to know they’re not alone.” His findings confirm some common beliefs but also debunk five myths about abuse in men:
Myth 1: Few men experience domestic violence. Many do. In-depth phone interviews with over 400 randomly sampled adult male Group Health patients surprised Dr. Reid and his colleagues: 5% had experienced domestic violence in the past year, 10% in the past five years, and 29% over their lifetimes. The researchers defined domestic violence to include nonphysical abuse—threats, chronic disparaging remarks, or controlling behavior—as well as physical abuse: slapping, hitting, kicking, or forced sex.
Myth 2: Abuse of men has no serious effects. The researchers found domestic violence is associated with serious, long-term effects on men’s mental health. Women are more likely than men to experience more severe physical abuse, said Dr. Reid. “But even nonphysical abuse——can do lasting damage.” Depressive symptoms were nearly three times as common in older men who had experienced abuse than in those who hadn’t, with much more severe depression in the men who had been abused physically.
Myth 3: Abused men don’t stay, because they’re free to leave. In fact, men may stay for years with their abusive partners. “We know that many women may have trouble leaving abusive relationships, especially if they’re caring for young children and not working outside the home,” said Dr. Reid. “We were surprised to find that most men in abusive relationships also stay, through multiple episodes, for years.”
Myth 4: Domestic violence affects only poor people. The study actually showed it to be an equal-opportunity scourge. “As we found in our previous research with women experiencing domestic violence, this is a common problem affecting people in all walks of life,” said Dr. Reid. “Our patients at Group Health have health insurance and easy access to health care, and their employment rate and average income, education level, and age are higher than those of the rest of the U.S. population.”
Myth 5: Ignoring it will make it go away. Not so. “We doctors hardly ever ask our male patients about being abused—and they seldom tell us,” said Dr. Reid. “Many abused men feel ashamed because of societal expectations for men to be tough and in control.” Younger men were twice as likely as men age 55 or older to report recent abuse. “That may be because older men are even more reluctant to talk about it,” he added.
It is time for the media to stop misleading the public that domestic violence is a crime of female victim and male perpetrator. It is also time for the media to hold women accountable for their violence against men and children with the same tenacity for which they have held men accountable for years. Equality between men and women must not only be about equal opportunities of education, wealth, status, and power, but also must include accepting responsibility equally.
National Coalition For Men – Chicago Chapter
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