Familjevåld,
The feminist view of domestic violence vs scientific
studies
One
of the most pervasive myths of our society is that
domestic violence is something men do to women.
Solid
scientific research reveals that domestic violence is
something women do to men more frequently than men do
it to women.
While
it is true that men account for most violence outside
the home, women instigate most domestic violence and
they injure men more frequently and more severely.
The
Family Research Laboratory at the University of
New Hampshire, under grants from the National
Institute of Mental Health, recently finished the
last of three national studies on domestic violence.
The first two studies revealed results similar to the
latest study. Anyone who would like a copy of the
latest study may order it from the University of New
Hampshire (ask for document V55).
The
data tape and documentation of the 1975 and 1985
studies are available from the Interuniversity
Consortium For Political and Social Research at the
University of Michigan. Original data is also
available on CD-ROM from Sociometrics, Inc. in Palo
Alto, CA.
The
average results in the "severe assault"
category, are reported below:
- Wives
report they have been severely assaulted by
husband 22 per 1000
- Wives
report they have severely assaulted husband
59 per 1000
- Husbands
report they have been severely assaulted by
wives 32 per 1000
- Husbands
report they have severely assaulted wives 18
per 1000
- Husbands
& wives both report wife has been
assaulted 20 per 1000
- Husbands
& wives both report husband has been
assaulted 44 per 1000
There
are dozens of other studies that reveal similar
findings. For instance:
- Women
are three times more likely than men to use
weapons in domestic violence.
- Women
initiate most incidents of domestic violence.
- Women
commit most child abuse and most elder abuse.
- Women
hit their male children more frequently and
more severely that they hit their female
children.
- Women
commit most child murders and 64% of their
victims are male children.
- When
women murder adults the majority of their
victims are men.
- Women
commit 50% of spousal murders.
Eighty
two percent of all people have their first experience
of violence at the hands of their mothers.
There
is much confusion about whom to believe in the debate
about domestic violence. On one side we have women's
shelter advocates and feminists who rely on law
enforcement statistics. On the other side we have
social scientists who rely on scientifically
structured studies.
Unfortunately,
the results of scientific studies do not receive
media attention. America's press is seemingly more
interested in political correctness than scientific
accuracy. Therefore, the public perception, and the
perception of many well intentioned domestic violence
activists, is radically skewed away from the more
balanced perception of social scientists.
The
typical response of the abuse shelter feminists upon
first hearing the results of the scientific studies
is to "shoot the messenger". You can almost
hear their minds snap closed.
On
the other hand, abuse shelter personnel who have not
accepted the feminist "party line" are
grateful to have accurate information upon which to
implement rational programs for prevention,
intervention, and treatment of abusers and their
victims. What is happening at the abuse shelter in
your community?
We
could not find studies which compare the efficacy of
scientifically based programs to programs based on
feminist politics. However we are willing to wager
that scientifically based programs are more effective
than programs guided by feminist propaganda.
Domestic
violence in other countries
We think it is important to note that there have been
the same kind of studies done in many countries.
There is cross cultural verification that women are
more violent than men in domestic settings. When
behavior has cross cultural verification it means
that it is part of human nature rather than a result
of cultural conditioning. Females are most often the
perpetrators in domestic violence in all cultures
that have been studied so far. That leads many
professionals to conclude that there is something
biological about violent females in family
situations.
Researchers
are now exploring the role of the "territorial
imperative" as a factor in women's violence
against men. Women see the home as their territory.
Like many other species on the planet, we humans will
ignore size difference when we experience conflict on
our own territory. So, the scientific results that
reveal the violence of American women are not unique
to our culture, and do not indicate a special
pathology among American women. World wide, women are
more violent than men in domestic settings.
Below
is a summary of the most recent and significant
studies we could find about domestic violence in
Canada. There were two waves of data collection. The
first was done in 1990 the second was finished in
1992. This study was done by "Ms." Reena
Sommer, a research associate with the Manitoba Centre
for Health Policy and Evaluation. We emphasize the
"Ms" to call attention to the fact that
scientific studies of DV are dominated by female
social scientists. Someone mentioned that the figures
might reveal a gender bias as if all scientists are
male. In this field many of the recognized experts
are women.
Female
Vs. Male Perpetrated Violence - as A Percentage
Of All Respondents:
Minor Violence
- 14.9%
of females and 7.3% of males threatened to
throw object
- 16.2%
of females and 4.6% of males threw an object
at partner
- 23.6%
of females and 15.8% of males threw an object
not at partner
- 19.8%
of females and 17.2% of males pushed, or
grabbed
Severe
Violence
- 15.8%
of females and 7.3% of males slapped,
punched, kicked
- 3.1%
of females and 0.9% of males used weapon
A
survey of couples in Calgary, Canada found that the
rate of severe husband-to-wife violence was 4.8%,
while severe wife-to-husband violence was 10%.
Brinkerhoff & Lupri, Canadian Journal of
Sociology, 13:4 (1989)
The
propaganda problem and the scientific solution Abuse
shelter advocates and feminists have severely
distorted the DV picture and deliberately produce
fraudulent statistics and disinformation. Even when
they quote well-grounded statistics, they misuse the
information. Here is an example: One of the favorite
statistics quoted by abuse shelter advocates is that
a women is the victim of domestic violence every 15
seconds. This statistic is deduced from a
well-conducted piece of research which was published
in the Journal of Marriage and Family, a well
respected professional journal for marriage and
family therapists.
The
Abuse Shelter advocates arrived at this figure by
using one of the conclusions of the study, i.e.; 1.8
million women suffer an assault from a husband or
boyfriend per year. What abuse shelter advocates
always ignore is another finding ofthe same study,
i.e.; 2 million men are assaulted by a wife or girl
friend per year, which translates as, a man is the
victim of domestic violence every 14 seconds. This is
typical of the widespread deception practiced by
abuse shelter advocates. America's press
establishment is a party to this deception and shares
the blame for exacerbating the DV problem by
perpetuating a false diagnosis.
Anyone
who would like a copy of the latest study may order
it from the University of New Hampshire (ask for
document V55).
Women
usually initiate domestic violence episodes (they hit
first), and women hit more frequently, as well as
using weapons three times more often then men. This
combination of violent acts means that the efforts of
finding solutions to the domestic violence problem
need to focus on female perpetrators. We need to
recognize that women are violent, and we need
nationwide educational programs that emphasize the
women's role as perpetrators. Other studies show
that men are becoming less violent at the same time
that women are becoming more violent.
Educating
men seems to be working. Educating women to be less
violent should now be the main thrust of public
education programs. Any domestic violence program
which accepts the "male abuser - female
victim" paradigm is based on a false premise.
These kind of domestic violence programs actually
perpetuate the problem of domestic abuse and do not
deserve to be supported by private citizens or
government agencies.
Many
government agencies, and legitimate charities, have
been funding a feminist politica cause, rather than
funding rational, solution focused, domestic violence
prevention programs. What kind of domestic violence
prevention program do you have in your community?
Does the domestic violence prevention program in your
community devote as much attention to violent
females, as it does to violent males? If not, why
not?
Let
us quote from a book on the subject by McNeely, R.L.
and Robinson-Simpson, G (1987) "The Truth about
Domestic Violence: A Falsely Framed Issue":
"Yet, while repeated studies consistently show
that men are victims of domestic violence at least as
often as are women, both the lay public and many
professionals regard a finding of no sex difference
in rates of physical aggression among intimates as
surprising, if not unreliable, the stereotype being
that men are aggressive and women are exclusively
victims."
However,
part of the feminist agenda is to make men look as
bad as they can. The American press cooperates with
this libelous portrayal of men. The feminist view of
domestic violence is part of the problem. The media
boycott of news about the scientific studies is part
of the problem. The scientific view gives us hope for
solution. Please do your part to share this very
important information with your community.
