|
Domestic Violence Against Men
Letter for publication in Colorado Springs Gazette
In response to the claim by Shawna Rae
Kemppainen in the December 29, 2008, Gazette that
"Almost half of all murders in Colorado are committed by an
intimate partner, and the vast majority of victims are women,"
CBI crime statistics show that in 2007 there were 150 murders in
Colorado. Of those only
25 were attributed to domestic violence,
a far cry from "almost half." And
95 of the 150 murder victims, 63%, were
male.
Also National Crime Victimization
Surveys show only 4 out of every 1,000 (0.4%) of households
reports criminal domestic violence in an average year. Very
different than the 167 out of 1,000 (17%) claimed by Ms.
Kemppainen.
While domestic violence is, indeed, a
problem, the credibility of those in the DV industry is damaged
with such blatant fabrications. And the plight of abused
men is almost completely ignored by TESSA although my colleague,
Prof. Martin Fiebert, has compiled a bibliography of 246
scholarly investigations that demonstrate
women are as physically aggressive, or more aggressive, than men
in their relationships with their spouses or male partners
We must also stop ruining the lives
and families of hundreds of combat veterans in our community
every year who return from multiple combat tours with post
traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injuries
(TBI). All too often these disabled men and women are then
speciously charged with "domestic violence" or abuse as a result
of their disabilities.
For more accurate data on the
demographics and prevalence of domestic violence please see
Domestic Violence Against Men in Colorado
dvmen.org.
Charles E. Corry, Ph.D., F.G.S.A.
________________
_________________________________
Original letter
ŒRANDOM'
VIOLENCE
Domestic violence costs us all as victims lose jobs,
lives
Almost half of all murders in Colorado are
committed by an intimate partner, and the vast majority of
victims are women. We do not yet know whether domestic violence
was a factor in the slaying of Margaret "Mae" Sweet, found dead
Christmas morning, but we do know the odds are decent that it
was not random violence ("Woman
from Fountain is 24th homicide victim in '08,"
Metro, Dec. 27).
Indeed, as one Gazette reader blogged:
"It is very sad that such a beautiful and friendly city and
county as ours has so much violence. It is, however, reassuring
that so much (most) of that violence is anything but random."
That word - reassuring - sure caught my eye.
Why would the fact that most violence
is not random be reassuring? Do we believe if it is not random
it won't happen to "good" people who stay away from trouble?
There are two problems with that assumption: It leads to
victim-blaming, and it discounts the impact of family violence,
a core of nonrandom violence, on our community.
One in six households in America has
some form of domestic violence happening, and most of the
victims would be called "good" people by their co-workers,
friends, neighbors, sisters - even though they suffer this
nonrandom violence. Nobody asks to be beaten, emotionally
abused, raped or murdered.
Family violence costs our
entire community. Chief among that cost is our future, because
such violence robs children of their most basic need, safety,
and teaches them that violent behavior is an appropriate coping
skill. But if this softy, community kid-stuff doesn't mean a
hill of beans to you, then count some other beans.
Lost wages, sick leave, absenteeism
and nonproductivity associated with domestic violence costs U.S.
businesses $100 million a year and there are an additional $3
billion to $5 billion a year in medical expenses associated with
domestic violence.
Not very reassuring, yet we can do
something. We can hold the offenders of violence accountable,
stop blaming the victim, and recognize that nonrandom violence
can happen to any of us and has consequences for all of us.
|
