Woods

Plaintiffs, four men and the daughter of one, challenge, on equal protection grounds, several statutes administered by defendants relating to domestic violence programs and programs for inmate mothers. They contend the gender-based classifications in the statutes do not withstand a strict scrutiny analysis because the classifications are not necessary and gender-neutral alternatives are available. The trial court denied their petition for a writ of mandate, finding plaintiffs failed to show that men are similarly situated to women for purposes of the statutory schemes. The court further found that there was inadequate briefing to consider the challenge based on Proposition 209 (Cal. Const., art. I, § 31), and that plaintiffs had no standing to challenge the validity of Government Code section 11139, which grants an exception to the prohibition against discrimination on the basis of sex in benefits funded by the state for “lawful programs which benefit. . . women.”

We reverse in part. We find the gender-based classifications in the challenged statutes that provide programs for victims of domestic violence violate equal protection. We find male victims of domestic violence…