I’m too realistic for sentimental fantasies about 2020’s disasters providing a foundation for a better world. I’m also realistic enough to take what positive consequences I can get. And I’ve even managed to identify one: An influential organization that prejudices the criminal justice system and distorts public understanding of gender based violence took a financial beating.
End Violence Against Women International (EVAWI) uses a benign name as cover for a disturbing reality. It sounds like just another organization specializing in concern for a particular group—like charities for children or the disabled. But specializing in one type of violence is not its real purpose. Its real purpose is promoting two (related) agendas.
EVAWI’s describes the first of these as “training in sexual assault investigation and prosecution.” This is euphemism for “inculcating bias.” EVAWI opposes open minded assessments of sex crime allegations. It insists their truth be presumed. Those accused are considered “guilty until proven innocent.” The second is to “educate those who respond to gender-based violence.” But this is erroneously equated with gender based violence against females. The truth, in contrast, is that males constitute a substantial minority of victims of most forms of sexual and domestic violence. A 2015 CDC study found that 1/3 of rape victims over the previous 12 months were men. A 2010 study had men constituting about 1/4 of the previous 12 months’ victims of sexual violence. Among heterosexuals, 13% of men and 23% of women have been victims of severe domestic violence. The numbers for “light violence” are 26% and 29%. Lesbians are victimized at a higher rate than heterosexual women.
EVAWI ignores such facts. It prefers to give the impression that men tend to be aggressors, women to be victims. This is not a matter of ideology. The error been critiqued, for example, in the peer-reviewed American Journal of Public Health by UCLA professors Illan Meyer and Lara Stemple. The authors wrote from the perspective of “critical feminism” and “critical gender theory.” Both are variants of the Marxist influenced Frankfurt school.
Unfortunately EVAWU's propadanda has been bankrolled by the federal government. Over the course of 2018, 2019 and 2020 federal grants averaged more than $1,300,000 per year. This constituted the majority of EVAWI’s funding. Its only comparable source of income was profits from events it organizes. Their success, however, is partially due to the high public profile EVAWI obtains from its government funded programs. In contrast to this, private grants and donations from 2018-2020 provided a combined total of only $227,764.
The impact of government grants can be traced through statistics from 2014-2018. Participation in EVAWI’s training instituted almost tripled. 2018 participation in webinars was over five times 2014 levels. Daily visits to its website quadrupled. Statistics for annual increases are not available. But those of EVAWI’s annual “Start by Believing Day” Twitter campaign reveal a massive jump in 2018. 2017 saw it increase its reach by 6,000 people. The 2018 increase was 1,5000,000. That year also saw federal funding of EVAWI increase from $700,0012 to $1,500.000. There can be no doubt that the extra money enabled extra activities and increased participation.
Then came 2020. Government grants dropped by over $200,000 from 2019. Income from conference fees dropped from more than $1,000,000 (to under $4,000). Total revenue for the year was under $1,200,000. That’s over $750,000 less than for 2017. And EVAWI received its last federal grant in May 2021.
Now EVAWI is using upbeat language about “moving to become financially self-sustaining.” But it admits that “For the first time in 13 years, EVAWI will not have grant funding to continue providing free training, technical assistance, and resources for sworn law enforcement and allied professionals.” To make up for massive shortfalls its online training programs and webinars will require a registration fee. Even the lowest practical prices will not prevent declining participation. EVAWI’s real hope is that grants will be renewed after “a temporary funding gap.” In this it takes encouragement from President Biden’s longstanding support for biased investigations. His promise “to increase sexual assault investigative training for law enforcement” is particularly noteworthy.
There might actually be a real opportunity here. Biden’s administration will need to focus on recovery for at least a year. That gives time to develop plans for alternative training programs. These should be based on unbiased, evidence based, scientific forensic methods. Suggesting these as an alternative to Biden’s can emphasize forensic objectivity and due process of law. Unlike opposition to any such programs, this can’t be caricatured as refusal to combat sex crimes. Even if the result is compromise programs that’s better than what Biden wants. And funding them would provide a reason for not restoring EVAWI grants.
