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Dad's
In Distress
News
Canberra
Placard Protest - Wednesday 13 February 2008
MEDIA
RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - WED 21ST NOVEMBER
2007
Do
we ignore violence against men?
This
Sunday is White Ribbon Day (WRD) and the start
of the 16 Days of Activism to Stop Violence Against
Women. However the 2005 Personal Safety Australia
survey found that in the past 12 months almost
twice as many men as women (808,300) were victims
of all types of violence; twice as many men as
women (485,400) were victims of physical assault;
nearly a third of sexual assault victims were
men; 864,300 men were harassed and 110,700 men
were stalked. The same study found that men were
almost as likely as women to experience physical
violence within the home (half from females, half
from males) and were just as likely as women to
experience physical violence from perpetrators
who were known to them. Yet the WRD campaign focuses
solely on the prevention of violence against women
by men.
An
international coalition of professionals and academics
has come out in unequivocal support of anti-violence
initiatives, but is concerned that this annual
spotlight on violence against women tends to conceal
the fact that males are far more likely than females
to be assaulted or killed and make up a significant
proportion of victims of domestic violence. They
are calling on the media to be aware that crime
statistics, based on reports to police, are an
inaccurate reflection of the extent of domestic
violence within the community, as men who are
physically assaulted by women are less likely
to report it than are women assaulted by men.
However, despite this underreporting, 29% of victims
of notified domestic violence and 26% of intimate
partner homicide victims are men - all of whom
are absent in policy provisions. There is very
little recognition of women's violence, yet more
than a quarter of physical assaults on women are
committed by other women. There is also little
acknowledgment that violence is most prevalent
amongst young people, and is causally linked to
social disadvantage, drug and alcohol abuse and
mental health issues.
The
White Ribbon Day campaign tells us that "violence
against women is the product of learned attitudes
and norms." University of Western Sydney
academic Micheal Woods explains, "I think
many people would disagree that Australian cultural
norms support violence against women, but would
readily admit that our culture accepts violence
against males." He quotes a 2001 national
survey of 5,000 young people aged 12-20, in which
the authors noted that "males hitting females
was seen, virtually by everyone, to be unacceptable,
however, it appeared to be quite acceptable for
a girl to hit a boy". They also found "there
was no spontaneous recognition that verbal abuse
or a female hitting her boyfriend could also constitute
dating violence... however these were among the
prevalent forms of violence occurring".
Researcher
Greg Andresen from menshealthaustralia.net suggests
"international large population-based research
shows women initiate domestic violence as often
as men, use weapons more than men, that men suffer
one-third of injuries, and that self-defence explains
only a small portion of domestic violence by either
sex. We're concerned that male victims have been
unfairly ignored in these anti-violence campaigns
and this contributes to the intergenerational
cycle of domestic violence. When male victims
are ignored, their kids suffer long-term damage
by the exposure and are themselves more likely
to commit violence as adults."
The
coalition of experts is asking Australians to
set aside the next 16 days to consider all victims
of violence, no matter what their gender, age,
ethnicity or sexuality. They are seeking the involvement
of the entire community, including government,
NGOs, and men's and women's groups, in the establishment
of a new national broad anti-violence campaign.
Media contacts:
Micheal Woods m.woods@uws.edu.au Mob: 0414 710
696
Greg Andresen media@menshealthaustralia.net Mob:
0403 813 925
This
media release is an excerpt from a larger paper
at menshealthaustralia.net/files/WRD07.pdf
International
coalition of professionals and academics who are
signatories to this media release
PROFESSIONALS
AND ACADEMICS:
1. David Adair, Post-graduate Criminology Student,
University of Tasmania, TAS
2. Greg Andresen, Media Liaison, menshealthaustralia.net,
NSW
3. Dr John Ashfield, Executive Member, South Australian
Men's Health Alliance, SA
4. Luke Bain, Men's Health Coordinator, SA
5. Matilda Bawden, Manager, I CARE Human Service,
SA
6. Steve Biddulph, Author, "Manhood"
& "Raising Boys", TAS
7. Tony Bowring, Vice President, Tasmanian Men's
Health & Wellbeing Assoc / Relationship Counsellor,
TAS
8. Peter Campbell, Counsellor (Men's Issues &
Health), ACT
9. Philip Chapman, Male House, NZ
10. Harry Crouch, Director, California Men's Centers
& President, National Coalition of Free Men,
USA
11. Keryn Eden, Clinical Nurse Specialist, SA
12. Joel Edson, Occupational Therapist, SA
13. Gordon E. Finley, Ph.D., Prof of Psychology,
Florida International University, USA
14. Thomas Golden, Author, "Swallowed by
a Snake: The Gift of the Masculine Side of Healing",
USA
15. Phil Gouldson, President, Men's Health &
Wellbeing Association, ACT
16. Jim Herbert, Men's Health Program Mgr, SA
17. David Hughes, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Men's
Health, NSW
18. Kylie Innocente, CNWL Addictions Directorate,
UK
19. Lindsay Jackel, Moderator, Nuance Exchange,
VIC
20. Roger Kleinig, President, South Australian
Men's Health Alliance, SA
21. Julian Krieg, Chairperson, Men's Advisory
Network, WA
22. George Mason, Fathers-4-Justice-US, Families-4-Justice,
USA
23. Tony Miller, Director/Founder, Dads In Distress
Inc, NSW
24. Greg Millan, Men's Health Consultant, NSW
25. Sue Price, Director, Men's Rights Agency,
QLD
26. Ian Purdie, Presenter, Dads on the Air, 2GLF
FM, NSW
27. Rick Welsh, Aboriginal Men's Health Project
Officer, AHMRC, NSW
28. Peter van de Voorde, Presenter & Researcher,
Dads on the Air, 2GLF FM, NSW
29. Ian Wilson, National Coordinator, Australian
Men's Party
30. Micheal Woods, Senior Lecturer, University
of Western Sydney, NSW
The
following ORGANISATIONS also support this media
release:
31. California Men's Centers, USA
32. Dads in Distress Inc, Australia
33. Dads on the Air, Australia
34. Fathers4Equality Australia
35. The Freda Briggs Centre Inc, Australia
36. Men's Rights Agency, Australia
37. National Coalition of Free Men (NCFM), USA
38. RADAR - Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse
Reporting, USA
39. The Richard Hillman Foundation Inc, Australia
40. Shared Parenting Council of Australia
41. South Australian Men's Health Alliance
42. Washington Civil Rights Council, USA
The
following concerned citizens have requested that
their names be added to this media release:
43. Tony Burt, Business Owner, VIC
44. Stephen Caleo, SA
45. Ron de Mouilpied, QLD
46. Chris Dempsey, Manager, Coal Technology, Burton
Coal, QLD
47. Phillip Emery, Educational Consultant, NSW
48. Phil Ferrier, Data Comms Technician, TAS
49. Marco Giaroli, Architect, Aquatonic, QLD
50. Aaron Hope, Collections Consultant, Dun &
Bradstreet, VIC
51. Jeremy Horton, Chief Technical Architect,
AiE Technology Pty Ltd, NSW
52. Michael Lynch, NZ
53. Jose Madrid, Union Organiser, Finance Sector
Union, NSW
54. Vincent Mateescu, Pennsylvania, USA
55. Mark McCosker, Senior Administration Officer,
Education Department, QLD
56. Richard Millicer, VIC
57. Anne Morgan, QLD
58. Peter Morgan, QLD
59. Steven Morgan, QLD
60. Mark Muirhead, Director, Wordfit, NSW
61. Jim Murdoch, Teacher, Education Dept, QLD
62. Sian Murray, QLD
63. Geoff Ogden, School Teacher, WA
64. Gabriel Owen, Treasurer, Freda Briggs Centre,
SA
65. Roy Price, NT
66. George Roth, VIC
67. Paul Smith, Programmer, Dept of Primary Industries
and Water, TAS
68. Shaun Tiernan, National Software Helpdesk
Team Leader, Leading Solutions, VIC
69. Robert Vanderkruk, Committee Member, Lone
Fathers Association, SA
70. Peter Zazlan, QLD
Dad's
In Distress
Mediaman does not represent Dad's In Distress
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