PRESS RELEASE
October 9, 2006
Contact: David Usher, <>
Presidential Proclamation Recognizes Male Victims of Domestic Violence
Rockville, MD - According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 835,000
men are assaulted by their intimate partners every year. But when
those men seek help, they are often re-victimized by a system that
refuses to even acknowledge their very existence.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. In his annual
proclamation, president George W. Bush recently recognized that men
are also harmed by this national crisis. "Domestic violence has no
place in our society, and we have a moral obligation to help prevent
it. The terrible tragedies that result from it destroy lives and
insult the dignity of women, men, and children," Bush noted.
Earlier this year RADAR reported on the problems that abused men
face. "VAWA Programs Discriminate Against Male Victims" reveals that
discrimination against men is widespread, systematic, and
overt. (http://www.mediaradar.org/docs/VAWA-Discriminates-Against-Males.pdf)
One survey of California shelters revealed, "Most shelters do not
admit males." One woman who directed a shelter admitted, "Whenever I
speak of male abuse, I am met with disbelief and, even worse,
laughter."
Law enforcement efforts are afflicted with bias, as well. In Iowa, the
Attorney General's Crime Victim Assistance Division recently admitted,
"The prosecutors we fund are prohibited from prosecuting female
cases." And VAWA-funded legal programs frequently deny male victims
assistance.
"I have represented both female and male victims of domestic violence,
but the system rarely acknowledges that men need protection, too,"
according to Lisa Scott, family law attorney in Washington
State. "Even severely battered men are presumed to be guilty of
domestic violence, not victims of it."
Reliable research shows that men and women are equally likely to
engage in partner aggression, and 38% of persons injured by domestic
violence are male. This has been shown in over 100 studies conducted
in both the United States and abroad:
http://www.csulb.edu/~mfiebert/assault.htm.
The U.S. Congress has mandated that domestic violence services be made
available to victims of both sexes. Despite that requirement, the DoJ
Office of Violence Against Women has instructed that "states must fund
only programs that focus on violence against women."
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.
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