Australia - Do we ignore violence against men ?

An excellent media effort in Australia to counter the D.V. misinformation. Well done, guys! Yes the authorities do ignore D.V. against men . The Family Court is not interested in false allegations destroying an innocent father !

The New Zealand studies from Christchurch and Otago Universities have found both genders are equal in numbers when it comes to committing D.V ?

But still no FEMALE assaults male charge appears in the Crime Act ?

d4j





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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