WHCHC [White House Conference on Hate Crimes] - National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
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OCR Page 1 of 83NATIONAL
COALITION
AGAINST
DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE
Every Home A Safe Home
Prosecuting Violence Against Women As A Federal Civil Rights Crime
The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) strongly supports
amending the federal bias crimes statute, 18 U.S.C. § 245, to include gender-motivated
crimes. This will cover some acts of domestic violence, sexual assault, and other forms of
violence against women. Currently, Section 245 only covers crimes based on race, national
origin or religion. NCADV endorses revisions to this statute covering crimes based on actual
or perceived sexual orientation, gender or disability.
Why do we need to include gender in Section 245?
Discrimination against women is an important factor in the perpetuation of domestic
violence. Batterers may view women as inferior and as deserving to be beaten. Persistent
bias against women in our criminal justice system protects abuse as a male privilege, giving
men "permission" to batter. It is important to respond to this discrimination by recognizing
gender-based crimes as a violation of a woman's civil rights. In addition, focusing on the
potential motivation of the perpetrator makes it harder to blame the woman for provoking or
for failing to escape the abuse she experiences. Expanding the coverage of Section 245 also
allows us to account for cases demonstrating multiple forms of bias, such as race and gender,
or gender and sexual orientation.
How would a gender bias crime be prosecuted under Section 245?
In order to bring a case under Section 245, the prosecutor will have to be able to
prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the perpetrator was motivated by bias against women.
This proof can take the form of statements, derogatory epithets, a pattern of targeting women,
extreme cruelty and brutality, sexual violence, and other factors showing gender-based
motivation. For example, a case where a man abused his female partner physically, sexually
and emotionally, called her a "bitch" or a "slut," frequently said that women are inferior to
men, and had also similarly abused previous female partners, shows strong evidence of gender
bias.
Cases involving acquaintances and strangers are also potential bias crimes. Consider
the following example: a female college student is brutally gang raped by two male fellow
students, who assault her repeatedly. One of the men is later heard to remark that he likes to
"get girls drunk" and have aggressive sex with them. The other is later charged in a second
gang rape incident. Gender bias could be shown by the nature and character of the assault,
the statement, and the pattern of sexually assaulting women.
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