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Today we're going to talk about Tara Reade and Domestic Violence. Trigger warning for descriptions of abuse.
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#WeBelieveTaraReade #MeToo
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#WeBelieveTaraReade #MeToo
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What is domestic violence? According to @ndvh, "Domestic violence (also called intimate partner violence/IPV, domestic abuse, or relationship abuse) is a pattern of behaviors used by one partner to maintain power and control over another partner in an intimate relationship."
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Domestic violence can include physical harm, arousal of fear, preventing a partner from doing what they wish or forcing them to behave in ways they do not want. It can include physical & sexual violence, threats, intimidation, emotional abuse, & economic deprivation.
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DV/IPV happens to people of all genders, races, sexual orientations, socioeconomic status, religion, et. all. The same is true of perpetrators. If you need help, call the @ndvh hotline 1-800-799-7233 or visit their website for more resources: https://www.thehotline.org/help/path-to-safety/
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We are covering DV in this thread for the purposes of education on the topic at large, in addition to how it relates to Tara Reade. Much like sexual violence, domestic violence is often misunderstood. Those who wish to discredit Tara take advantage of this.
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In the US, 1 in 4 women have been the victim of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. ( https://www.thehotline.org/resources/statistics/)
99% of those cases include financial abuse. …https://centerforfinancialsecurity.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/adams2011.pdf
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99% of those cases include financial abuse. …https://centerforfinancialsecurity.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/adams2011.pdf
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What is financial abuse? @nnedv says “Financial abuse is a common tactic used by abusers to gain power and control in a relationship." https://nnedv.org/content/about-financial-abuse/
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"The forms of financial abuse may be subtle or overt but in in general, include tactics to conceal information, limit the victim’s access to assets, or reduce accessibility to the family finances." - @nnedv https://nnedv.org/content/about-financial-abuse/
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"Financial abuse – along with emotional, physical, and sexual abuse – includes behaviors to intentionally manipulate, intimidate, and threaten the victim in order to entrap that person in the relationship." - @nnedv
https://nnedv.org/content/about-financial-abuse/
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https://nnedv.org/content/about-financial-abuse/
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Survivors know that these incidents rip through our lives like bullets. We experience microcosms of the victim blaming/smearing that has tormented Tara Reade since she came forward each time we share our trauma & are disbelieved, discredited, & shamed.
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The truth is that these issues are widespread & deeply misunderstood. The long term financial effects of domestic violence are rarely discussed. Financial instability, job instability, & housing instability are all common effects of DV. Here are some statistics:
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“Women who reported having experienced domestic violence in their adult relationships were more likely to have experienced unemployment, to have had more jobs, and to report more physical and mental health problems."
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1467-9930.00025
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https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1467-9930.00025
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"They also had lower personal incomes, and were significantly more likely to receive public assistance than women who did not report domestic violence.”
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1467-9930.00025
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https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1467-9930.00025
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“With insufficient income and assets and an abusive partner engaging in economically destructive behavior, financial instability tends to manifest itself in DV survivors’ lives in the form of significant financial and material hardship.”
…https://centerforfinancialsecurity.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/adams2011.pdf
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…https://centerforfinancialsecurity.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/adams2011.pdf
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64% of respondents in a 2005 survey who identified themselves as victims of domestic violence indicated that their ability to work was affected by the violence.
96% of domestic violence victims who are employed experience problems at work due to abuse. https://www.thehotline.org/resources/statistics/
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96% of domestic violence victims who are employed experience problems at work due to abuse. https://www.thehotline.org/resources/statistics/
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In addition to surviving sexual harassment & assault while working for Biden in 1993, Tara Reade is a survivor of domestic violence by her ex husband. Divorce proceedings began in 1996. While an average divorce takes around 11 months, cases that go to trial can take years.
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In Tara Reade's case, the divorce was finalized in 1998. In 1999, her ex husband’s parental rights were terminated.
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What does the termination of parental rights entail? “Termination of parental rights is a court order that permanently ends the legal parent-child relationship." https://www.saccourt.ca.gov/family/parental-rights.aspx
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"This type of order terminates rights such as inheritance, custody, and visitation, as well as responsibilities regarding child support and liability for the child’s misconduct.”
https://www.saccourt.ca.gov/family/parental-rights.aspx
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https://www.saccourt.ca.gov/family/parental-rights.aspx
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The U.S. Constitution gives parents the right of “care, custody & control” over their children, & has found a “fundamental liberty interest in matters of family life.”
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States cannot revoke parental rights on a whim, rather, they start with the assumption that a parent is fit, and that can only be overturned by clear and convincing evidence.
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Just being a bad parent is NOT enough. Rather, a court must find that the child is in danger, for example, by abandonment, neglect, abuse, or cruelty. Termination of parental rights can only occur when a parent’s actions or negligence are seriously harming their child.
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According to San Diego lawyer @rrenkin, “This is a matter that is taken very seriously in California, and there are strict substantive and procedural requirements for pursuing the termination of parental rights in the California courts.” https://www.renkinlaw.com/terminating-parental-rights-in-california/
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After the termination of his parental rights, Tara received what's called a sealed name change, as well as a sealed change of her social security number. What is a sealed name change?
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Put simply, a sealed name change is like a typical name change in every way except that the record is sealed from access by the public.
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According to @PWJCenter, “All too often in cases of domestic violence, women who try to construct new lives apart from their abusers remain at risk because they can be tracked down through public records.” https://tarrant.tx.networkofcare.org/dv/library/article.aspx?id=1077
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Survivors of domestic violence who want their name change records sealed can do so by petitioning the superior court to change their name as well as the names of their children. In order for their petition to be granted, they must prove a reasonable fear of their safety.
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“The court will seal the file if it believes that safety justifies the sealing. Once sealed, there is no public access to any court record of the name change filing, even if the court does not grant the name change.” https://www.clark.wa.gov/sites/default/files/dept/files/law-library/brochures/DV-Sealed-Name-Change-Packet-Instructions_and_Forms.pdf
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“Sometimes, the best way to evade an abuser and reduce the risk of further violence may be to relocate and establish a new identity. Following these changes, getting a new Social Security number may also be helpful.” https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10093.pdf
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Termination of parental rights and sealed name changes are difficult to obtain and rare. They prove the severity of what Tara Reade and her daughter suffered.
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When people use Tara’s name change to discredit her, this is a grievous erasure of the horror she went through to leave an abusive relationship.
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What’s perhaps worse than the individuals who do this are the mainstream media outlets that did the same. @politico used her name change to discredit her when they wrote “over the past 12 years she went by the names Tara Reade, Tara McCabe or Alexandra McCabe”
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Tara Reade “went by Alexandra McCabe at the time” because she had a sealed name change to protect her from domestic violence. Reade “claimed she was on the run from domestic violence” because she WAS on the run from DV. @politico
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. @natashakorecki of @politico could have confirmed this, but instead decided to use the abuse Tara Reade suffered to discredit her.
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When verified media personas with more than 200k followers tweet that Tara “invented an elaborate story relating to abuse and trauma” it is an insult to all survivors of sexual and domestic violence. @jbarro
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If sexual violence is truly about power, who is more powerful, a politician with a net worth of 9 million, or a 56 year old woman who has lost her job, her housing, and her privacy through the media’s reckless rummaging of her past?
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MSM has portrayed Tara as a manipulative liar, focusing on her personal life & leaving Biden out of the discussion. These smear pieces aren’t merely examples of victim blaming, they also ignore the fact that 99% of victims of domestic violence experience financial abuse.
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Tara Reade is vulnerable. If she cannot find work, which she has been unable to do, she is in real danger of becoming homeless. That's why we've started a new GoFundMe to help her with immediate expenses. https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-tara-get-through-the-election
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The impossibly tight job market combined with record unemployment from COVID-19 is making life tough for millions. It’s even tougher when an employer types Tara Reade into Google and sees journalists calling her a manipulative liar...
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...either because they don’t know how domestic violence works, or, more likely, because Tara Reade is telling a truth they’d prefer to be buried.
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Thank you for reading. If you found this thread informative or useful, consider sharing it with someone who would benefit from it. To learn more about us, check out our website here: https://taratruth.com
#MeToo #WeBelieveTaraReade
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