Comments on: Show your support for the UN Say No to Violence Against Women campaign - 27 February 2008

By: Luke

Luke — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:28:35 +0000

I think it is commendable that the mission to end violence against women is continuing in this country. However, I think it is discriminatory and deplorable that we continue to ignore violence against men in this country. Still we have no state or federal programs or campaigns to support almost two thirds of the victims of violence in Australia (ABS Personal Safety Survey). Even when trying to understand the levels of violence in this country we appear gender biased; the Australian Government funded the women’s component of the PSS to twice the dollar amount of the men’s component - making the sample size of men surveyed too small for generalisability.

Commonly the response to violence is prefaced with the adage; “Ah but you see most of the violence women experience is at the hands of men in the home, whereas men experience most of the violence at the hands of other men”. Does this mean we should continue to ignore violence against men because ‘it’s only other men perpetrating the violence’? Does it mean we should ignore any contexts that don’t adhere to male-perpetrator; female-victim dynamics? This is exactly what we do when we gloss over (of women that have been physically assaulted) 33% of women that have been physically assaulted by a female stranger (vs 18% by a male stranger).

It seems that facts are still being ignored in place of ideology; we know from numerous Australian and international studies that the majority of domestic violence is reciprocal yet hear nothing of the effects of such violence on men (too little do we highlight the silent recurring victims of such circumstances - children). According to the PSS men and women experienced physical violence from perpetrators who were known to them at exactly the same rate.

Thankfully violence against women has been identified as a fundamentally important public health issue; so it should be. My concern is that governments seem unconcerned by violence agaainst men. Do I have the human right to live a life free from violence?

By: Fubeca

Fubeca — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 18:48:03 +0000

This is such an important topic! I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one raising awareness about this issue.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 12:23:36 +0000

I am disappointed that the Commissioner has taken such an apparently sexist stance on the important issue of violence. All the statistics show that in every country on the planet violence against men is more prevalent and has worse impacts in terms of death, disability and illness than does violence against women.

Violence against men, like violence against women, is a serious and pervasive human rights violation in Australia. Violence has a tremendous personal cost for affected men, as well as social and economic costs for our community as a whole. At least one out of every two Australian men is likely to be beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in his lifetime.

Of course we should all support initiatives to end violence against women, but let’s not ignore violence against men. I thought Ms Broderick was passionate about gender equality, not a battle of the sexes. Was I wrong? Let’s not go down the old tired road of divisive gender politics any longer. Let’s finally say NO to ALL violence. Please!

I want my three-year old niece to live a long life free from violence. Doesn’t my five-year old nephew deserve the same?