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The Forum > Article Comments > Gender-based Approach Misses the Mark in Tackling Family Violence > Comments

Gender-based Approach Misses the Mark in Tackling Family Violence : Comments

By Roger Smith, published 25/11/2010

On White Ribbon Day, we condemn violence against women. We should also condemn it against men.

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White Ribbon in Australia began in the 1990s as a voluntary movement in a number of men’s organisations.
In 2003, it developed as an partnership of several women’s and men’s organisations and has grown, over seven years, to a nation-wide campaign, with 1300 men volunteering as White Ribbon Ambassadors across Australia, to lead and inform community engagement. In 2010, 200 communities held White Ribbon events and many workplaces and organisations are also marking White Ribbon Day.
The Campaign has had the support of the Australian government since 2007, with the objective of achieving change in attitudes and behaviours that perpetuate violence against women.
White Ribbon acknowledges that there many forms of violence; however the causes of the different types of violence are complex and require a range of solutions.
Whilst domestic violence is experienced by both men and women, it is clear that men and women do not assault each other at equal rates or with equal effect. A national survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Personal Safety Survey 2005, established:
• Of the men who experienced violence, only 4% of assaults were by a female current or former partner.
• The majority of perpetrators of violence are men. Around 80% of all violent assaults (including sexual assaults) are carried out by some men against other men and women.
• Male victims are most likely to be assaulted by other men and most assaults are single incidents in public places (such as in a pub). 74% of physical assaults on men were carried out by male strangers.
• In contrast to men’s experience of violence, male violence against women generally takes place within family and other relationships and is often part of a pattern of longer term abuse.
One common cause of men’s violence against both men and women is in the way we express masculinity – rigid masculine norms promote and excuse aggression and this has the potential to damage and limit young men and women.
White Ribbon recognises that the best way to prevent violent assaults on men is to change the behaviour of other men.
Posted by whiteribbonaustralia, Thursday, 25 November 2010 4:00:27 PM
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Thankyou whiteribbonausalia, its good to see the real FACTS put down for all to see. We men need to stop bashing each other and especally women too, ladies shouldnt comit violnce either BUT they dont do nearly as much harm as we men do.
Posted by Huggins, Thursday, 25 November 2010 4:11:09 PM
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All lovely examples of selective reportage - hardly surprising from the White Ribbon campaign.

the FACTS, as you put it, huggins are clearly stated in the article. the stuff from white ribbon is simply selective spin.

The vast majority of victims of real violence (not shouting or any of the other normal behaviours that this mob want to pretend are violent) are men.

The only thing that was honest and complete in the whole melange was that when men hit women they hit harder than when women hit men. Does this justify the vilification and demonisation of men that White ribbon perpetrates? In my view, very definitely not.

Furthermore, by ignoring the effect of escalating behaviours from women, these people are basically saying that women can do anything they like to provoke their men and the men must simply accept it passively, since even raising his voice could lead to him being labelled "violent".

Personally, I reckon that's just weak and about as worthy of support as herpes.
Posted by Antiseptic, Thursday, 25 November 2010 4:23:27 PM
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Whiteribbon

Your post said, in short, that most violence is by men, aimed at other men. That is well understood.

However, WRD's focus is on DV and you provided no counter-evidence to the claims that between half and a third of DV is aimed at men and that most is reciprocal. You also did little to dispel the idea that a wide range of behaviour is counted as DV to boost statistics.
Posted by benk, Thursday, 25 November 2010 4:39:45 PM
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The author mentioned that not even apartheid South Africa identified specific groups in their criminal laws. The fact that men are explicitly named in the Victorian DV laws as being the major perpetrators is indicative of the extent to which the vast majority of men who are law-abiding are being unfairly demonised. This devlopment is positively chilling and reminds me very much of the Nuremberg laws of the 1930s.
Posted by Sentient Being, Thursday, 25 November 2010 4:44:24 PM
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[Previous commentor] "To be honest I fully expected another male bashing article to be published today, after all white ribbon day is a day to bash all men over the head about violence against women."

I agree with the point above that the WRD campaign seems to indiscriminately targets ALL males. Such stereotyping is shameful. The White Ribbon Campaign actively malignes ALL males as probable perpetrators of thuggery torward women. This inadequate gendered approach to violence is, to any thinking person, narrow and patently misandric. Our young boys in particular do not need to be sold this negative message about themselves when it does not apply to the vast majority, as it will only lead to self-depreciation about thier gender and therefore depreciation of thier self-identity too. Do boys deserve that?

Any person with insight into the problem of violence will recognise mental health issues over and above gender as the leading cause. And for those who have absorbed the stereotyping and propoganda I ask you to consider the fact that males have no monopoly on mental illness- it includes men and women both.

Lets not only "Say NO" to real violence against women, lets say NO to violence against children and men also. Moreover, lets challenge the male stereotyping we hear the WRD disseminate this year and broaden the campaign's legitimacy, accuracy and effectiveness so that it actually helps people.
Posted by Jason Thompson, Thursday, 25 November 2010 6:03:14 PM
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