PRESS RELEASE

Lifetime Program on Domestic Violence Does a Disfavor to Women – And to the Truth

News Advisory:

-- Lifetime TV program, “Terror at Home: Domestic Violence in America” ignores the needs of women who instigate partner aggression

-- U.S. Department of Justice reports that 836,000 men are victims of DV each year (1)

-- Law professor Linda Kelly recently noted, "leading sociologists have repeatedly found that men and women commit violence at similar rates." (2)

WHAT : Lifetime Television is planning to broadcast a program on April 10 titled, “Terror at Home: Domestic Violence in America.” The program, which bills itself as a “documentary,” presents a one-sided, biased, and inaccurate depiction of domestic violence.

Over 100 studies have shown that domestic violence is an equal opportunity problem (3). Women are as likely to instigate partner aggression as men. As a result, men suffer 38% of all injuries arising from domestic violence (4).

The Lifetime program resorts to inflammatory language and a one-sided depiction of the issue to unfairly stereotype men as abusers and batterers.

Women who instigate domestic violence need help. By depicting women only as victims, the Lifetime TV program does a disservice to these women, their male partners, and their children.

Web links:

1. http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/nij/183781.pdf
2. http://www.law.fsu.edu/journals/lawreview/downloads/304/kelly.pdf
3. www.csulb.edu/~mfiebert/assault.htm
4. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10989615&dopt=Abstract

R.A.D.A.R. – Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting – is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's approach to solving domestic violence. http://mediaradar.org.