What amazing insight to predict a cost of $15.6 billion 10 years in the future (2021-22). No justification or basis for that estimate are given, no reason for choosing 10 years time instead of the present, no indication of what those costs are - are they AusAid to "neighbouring Pacific", or the wages and other costs of the burgeoning public-funded DV industry, or...? Can't sensibly be the DV industry - that adds to GDP as surely as do car smashes (panel beaters, ambulance staff, doctors, nurses, ..... all gain from smashes).

No hope that the problem will have been eliminated in 10 long years time?

Essentially, the author's message seems to be "yeah, men experience violence,but who cares, they're not women".

Thanks but no thanks, dear.

BTW, does the author happen to know what the age-standardised death rate from all causes was for men and women in Australia in 2009?

According to the ABS, it is approximately 50% higher for men.

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Products/765CAB708CA1FEE1CA2577D60010A0C4?opendocument

Similarly, violence against men occurred at roughly 4 times the rate as violence against women.

Never mind, we know where the author is drawing her paycheck...

From the UNIFEM web page

"Julie is also a current fellow in Ethical Leadership through the Vincent Fairfax Fellowship Program at Melbourne Business School."

and

"since March 2007 Julie has overseen many campaigns to raise the awareness of gender equality issues and also committing nine months to the White Ribbon Campaign as the National Campaign Manager."

So Julie McKay was in charge when the White Ribbon Campaign people issued misleading "statistics" that falsely claimed that most students thing that it's OK to hit a girl, when the real figures showed precisely the opposite. Despite this being pointed out to the WRD people almost immediately, it took them several weeks to issue a grudging retraction which still sought to pretend that girls hitting boys is OK.

I wonder if the people at Melbourne Business School share her view that it is ethical to dismiss the needs of 50% of the population as irrelevant and that it is ethical to tell lies to support a cause you believe in?

The article is sexist. It discriminates against men, even while admitting men are more often the victims of violence.

C'mon people, be reasonable.

This article comes into the category of a "measurable work output", the mandatory product of a professional NGO operative. They have to do this sort of thing every so often to justify their existence, and to add to the "publications" list on their CV. I'm not sure what else you would expect from someone in Ms. McKay's position.

One line in her background material puzzled me though:

"Julie has experience in both the corporate and NGO sectors."

As far as I can see the lady has zero corporate experience. Her entire career has been in the fashionable charity sector, and I suspect this is where she will spend her entire working life. Let's face it, it's highly rewarding work, if you can get it - all care, no responsibility.

Thanks Julie for a useful article on gender violence against women. Previous comments on your article illustrate the underlying gender hatred that is the root cause of gender violence. The challenges are huge, keep up your good work!