We write often about domestic abuse issues here on The Frisky and the discussions get quite heated. Those of you readers who get very passionate about the subject absolutely must read the story “Men’s Rights’ Groups Have Become Frighteningly Effective” by journalist Kathryn Joyce on Double X, about the rise of the “men’s movement.” Many men’s rights groups sound innocuous enough at face value. Who’s against men’s rights? Who’s against reporting domestic violence accurately? Who’s against letting dads see their kids? But on closer inspection, writes Joyce, their causes are pretty sleazy: they often seek to discredit women who report abuse and advocate for sharing custody of children on principle, regardless of prior criminal history of the father. Some of these men are utter nutters. One men’s rights blogger Joyce interviewed for her article told her he would refer to her not by her name but by the title “Feminist E,” because he does not use real names for feminists. He thinks men “must verbally oppose [them ]... until our flesh oxidizes into dust.” Uh-huh. Right.

Rody Alvarado Peña, now 40, was 16 when she got married in her home country of Guatemala. Her husband severely beat her for more than 10 years—pistol-whipping her, using her head to smash windows, chasing her with a machete, dragging her down the street by her hair, and kicking her repeatedly in the stomach in hopes of aborting their baby. In 1995, Rody ran away to the United States and sought asylum. See, generally, asylum here is only granted to people who are part of social group that is persecuted—abused women traditionally do not count. But lawyers in Rody’s case argued that they should, because women in Guatemala are persecuted in a targeted way—more than 4,000 women in the country have been beaten to death by their husbands in the past decade, and only 2% of the cases were ever solved. Still, Roday has spent the past 14 years in constant court cases and hearings, trying to get asylum officially granted. While lawyers and immigration officials debated her case, she has been able to stay in the United States—she lives in California and works as a housekeeper at a home for elderly nuns—but she never knew if she’d have to pack up and leave. Finally, the Obama administration has taken the bull by the horns and recommended that Rody be granted asylum. Which is awesome. But of course, this case has much larger implications than Rody continuing her life here. This sets a precedent that battered women are a persecuted group and qualify for asylum. This could be big news for women horribly abused in other countries where domestic violence is part of the culture. [NY Times]

Pop in your mouth guard before you read this post, if you’re a tooth grinder. The good news first: According to the Washington Post, more women’s shelters have been opening in Afghanistan since 2001, when the Taliban was officially overthrown. A ministry of women’s affairs is now supposedly overseeing women’s constitutionally guaranteed protection against abuse. But still, about 90 percent of Afghan women are abused. Several women and children, hiding from domestic violence at home, were recently interviewed by CNN at the Women for Afghan Women shelter. One woman escaped with her two children to the shelter, after years of living with her wrists and ankles chained and her hair tied to a wall when she wasn’t doing housework. Another woman showed the stitches in a slash on her neck—stab wounds that she endured, apparently, for not getting pregnant. A child told her own story about being raped at the age of five; she fears that her rapist will kill her when he is released from prison in three years.

• Chicago resident Kathy Cleaves-Milan is suing her former landlords, Elm Creek Apartments, for evicting her due to “criminal activity” after she reported to police her ex-boyfriend had shown up at her apartment brandishing a gun. The company said it was concerned about potential gun violence, but it was afraid Cleaves-Milan could not have paid her rent without her ex. An attorney for the ACLU Women’s Rights Project said her landlord’s actions put women in the position of being trapped with an abuser so they don’t lose their housing. [Chicago Tribune]
 
• Last November, a police officer in London, responding to the U.K.‘s version of a 911 call, left a woman in an apartment with a rapist without further inquiry. On Monday, Vitas Jalonis was found guilty of raping the 32-year-old victim. However, police officer Matthew Harris is now under investigation for responding to an emergency call from a neighbor who heard the victim screaming, but then taking Jalonis’ word for it when he answered the door and said everything was OK. Hours later, after the victim had been raped again, she called police herself and Jalonis was finally arrested. [BBC]

Why does it seem like some of the most unbelievable love stories are born out of tragedy? Did you see that documentary “Crazy Love” about the man who poured acid on his girlfriend’s face and then married her years later when he got out of prison? OMFG. Well, this story is just as insanely epic but with a much better ending, if you ask me. British woman Heidi Childs deserves her happy ending … and a freaking medal, a chorus of angels singing, a gaggle of birds chirping, and a life free of any more heartache.

In London’s West End, a 30-year-old man threw his girlfriend through the window of a Banana Republic store. Instead of killing her, a shard of glass snapped out and stabbed him, killing him. His girlfriend sustained cuts and is expected to make a full recovery. Karma’s a bitch, isn’t it? [Daily Mail]

Foreign victims of domestic violence may finally be able to escape their abuse; the Obama administration has instated a new policy that may grant some of these victims asylum in the United States. The policy would reverse a Bush administration stance that did not allow foreign abuse victims entry into the U.S.

On Monday, before his preliminary hearing even started, Chris Brown plead guilty to one count of felony assault. He won’t be sentenced until August 5, but according to the plea deal it looks like he’s going to be on probation for 5 years and will have to do 6 months of community service. Meaning, he’ll be scrubbing graffitti or picking up garbage on the side of the road for approximately 1,400 hours. The judge told Rihanna and Chris to stay at least 50 yards away from each other unless they are at an event, in which case their separation distance must be 10 yards. This goes both ways, so if Rihanna gets too close to Chris, she could get in trouble. But she already knows that getting close to Chris is a dangerous proposition.

The preliminary hearing for the Chris Brown and Rihanna drama will take place today in a Los Angeles courtroom, to determine whether there’s enough evidence for the case to go to trial. Contrary to what all you “Law & Order” fans think, there are not usually any big, jaw-dropping surprises in court. Everyone involved usually has a pretty good idea of what’s going to happen. So, to save you from all the suspense, here’s what to expect. 

For the first time in its history, the European Court of Rights has ruled against a state for overlooking a domestic violence case, reported The Wall Street Journal. The court said that Turkey failed to sufficiently prosecute a man who abused his wife, and murdered his mother-in-law. Nahide Opuz, the murdered woman’s daughter, has tried to get her case noticed ever since 1995, when her stepfather and husband began to beat her and threaten her mother.

Have you ever spent so much money you wanted slap yourself? Well, now you don’t have to! Thanks to a Saudi Arabian court, if a wife spends too much of her man’s dough, he can put her in her place for her. What a savings!

Many of the local men, and now the courts, have been hitting wives hard because of how they choose to use cash. Saudi Arabian women like Princess Adila bint Abdullah, deputy chairperson of the National Family Safety Program, as well as international human rights groups, have complained about the seemingly court-sanctioned spike in domestic violence justice. If you offer Judge Hamad Al-Razine a penny for his thoughts, he’ll tell you that women are the ones doing the shopping, “but nobody puts even a fraction of blame on them.” The judge argues that men are just reacting to the financial sitch and someone has got to knock some sense into these women, right?

The British anti-violence charity Women’s Aid just released this PSA starring Keira Knightley and directed by Joe Wright (“Atonement” and “Pride and Prejudice”). “I wanted to take place in this advert for Women’s Aid because while domestic violence exists in ever section of society, we rarely hear about it,” Knightley said. “We may not think we know someone who has experienced domestic violence, but this does not mean that it is not happening.” Beware, because the two-minute video is disturbing—but then so is domestic violence, and maybe we need to be shocked into realizing what’s goes on in some relationships. Rihanna, are you listening? [E News]

Linda Fairstein, a former chief prosecutor for the New York County D.A.‘s Special Victims Unit, says Rihanna will end up like Nicole Brown if she reconciles with Chris Brown. Both Rihanna and Nicole were or are in the age group of women, 16 to 24, who face the highest rates of intimate partner violence when they began their relationships with violent men. There were many people who witnessed O.J. Simpson’s abuse of Nicole. Similarly, rumors are now surfacing that suggest the February altercation wasn’t the first time Chris allegedly assaulted Rihanna. Both fans of O.J. and Chris had/are having a difficult time believing the truth about these men whose charm has often gotten them ahead. Brown has supposedly made threats against Rihanna’s life like O.J. did to Nicole. And sadly, Rihanna and Nicole didn’t initially press charges against their violent partners. 

I don’t even know what to say about this photo, leaked by someone within the LAPD (sparking an internal investigation) and obtained by TMZ. Sickening.

After thinking about it, and seeing the first comment in the post, I decided to put the full image after the jump. My rationale is that this photo has been leaked and it’s now everywhere, from Perez Hilton to the cover of my morning newspaper. It’s a story we’ve been covering on the site, and while it certainly brings up issues about privacy, Rihanna is also a public figure, one many women and girls look up to. Seeing it is going to be unavoidable, so I’ve decided to give Frisky readers a forum to talk about it, including whether the leaking/posting of this photo upsets you.

Although the pair have never admitted they were dating, it’s pretty safe to assume they’ve been a couple for the past year. Check out what preceded this past weekend’s events.