Female domestic violence

SLUSK

All my life I been fed pictures from media with battered women. You know the picture and they spread the myth that violence is something almost exclusively done by men towards women.

In fact it seems that the opposite is true, most violence is initiated by women. Read this study.
http://mensnewsdaily.com/2009/07/31/domestic-violence-2/

Perhaps people think men are more violent because the injuries women get are worse. Since women are smaller and less strong in general they are not capable of making as much damage as men.

Nevyn

I agree that the myth that domestic/partner violence is only done by men is wrong,
and it is good to see that myth being dispelled and we are finally starting to see
men coming forward and reporting abuse so we see an increase in the numbers but
as things stand the majority of partner abuse and domestic violence is done to women.

And I really do not like the term you have used that it "is initiated by women" as it imples they were asking for it.

Also domestic abuse is not just physical, it is mental, emotional, finacial and in some cases even reproductive abuse.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0916/women.html

Jules

More of a hunmanities topic i feel. Moved from tLL.

Joey the lips

Domestic voilence, Always had a funny view of it. Came from it in fact. My father was hard. But relative to the movies was not that hard. Just towards the end. Then we grew up and defended our mom more. So my mom started to fight back when we were around. Came to the comclusion that she was as bad tbh.

Domestic voilence is possible in any person but the way i think of it is this.

If you were in a playground and saw 2 boys fighting nothing new i imagine! But if one is 8 and the other 16 now what would you do. You see while in domestic violence it is generally seen to be a man that is because the power of strength that a man exerts over a women.

Dudess

Studied this issue in-depth. Males are, generally speaking, physically stronger - not much good if you're intimidated sufficiently by someone though. Plus, if the woman isn't physically strong, well she has plenty of weapons at her disposal around the house.
Then men who are experiencing domestic abuse have attitudes and disbelief to contend with - "women can't abuse men - sort her out yourself" etc.

The most horrific, devastating thing she can do though is use the child(ren) as a weapon against him - every man I interviewed agreed this was the worst possible form of domestic abuse a father could be subjected to.

metrovelvet

Dudess wrote: »

Studied this issue in-depth. Males are, generally speaking, physically stronger - not much good if you're intimidated sufficiently by someone though. Plus, if the woman isn't physically strong, well she has plenty of weapons at her disposal around the house.
Then men who are experiencing domestic abuse have attitudes and disbelief to contend with - "women can't abuse men - sort her out yourself" etc.

The most horrific, devastating thing she can do though is use the child(ren) as a weapon against him - every man I interviewed agreed this was the worst possible form of domestic abuse a father could be subjected to.

yes and its pretty bad when the men threaten the mother with harm to the kids too!

CDfm

Check this out http://www.amen.ie/reports/ref_manual.html

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-2]SUMMARY: This bibliography examines 95 scholarly investigations, 79
empirical studies and 16 reviews and/or analyses, which demonstrate that women are as physically aggressive, or more aggressive, than men in their relationships with their spouses or male partners.
The aggregate sample size in the reviewed studies exceeds 60,000.
[/SIZE][/font]

CDfm

Jules wrote: »

More of a hunmanities topic i feel. Moved from tLL.

I just wonder why its more of a humanities topic.

Mrmoe

Thaedydal wrote: »

as things stand the majority of partner abuse and domestic violence is done to women.

"Now, in relationships where violence was perpetrated by just one person, over 70% of that was committed by the woman."

hmm, I think this statement would tend to contradict what you say.

Thaedydal wrote: »

And I really do not like the term you have used that it "is initiated by women" as it imples they were asking for it.

If someone started "initiated" the violence that to me would suggest that they were asking for it.

Thaedydal wrote: »

Also domestic abuse is not just physical, it is mental, emotional, finacial and in some cases even reproductive abuse.

This works both ways too. Women can,have and still do abuse men in relation to emotional , financial, mental and reproductive issues.

metrovelvet

CDfm wrote: »

I just wonder why its more of a humanities topic.

Probably because LL is in RECREATION. Nothing recreational about domestic violence.

CDfm

There was the Trinity College Study published in the European Journal of General Practice and as such subject to peer review.

The study was conducted in general practices in the Greater Dublin Area.It showed that 42% of women and 52% of men experienced one or more violent unstances and that the severity of the violence was not statistically different between the genders.

It also showed that men are less likely to report the abuse.Of course, these will be from people presenting themselves to GPs with injuries.

http://www.amen.ie/reports/TCD_study.pdf

So why the big deal admitting that women and men both abuse. I don't get it and I don't get how its a gender issue either.

CDfm

Thaedydal wrote: »

I agree that the myth that domestic/partner violence is only done by men is wrong,
and it is good to see that myth being dispelled and we are finally starting to see
men coming forward and reporting abuse so we see an increase in the numbers but
as things stand the majority of partner abuse and domestic violence is done to women.

Do you have statistics to back this up??? Men don't report.
Only 1% of the annual state budget on Domestic Violence is spent on Male Victims.
Physical abuse is equally split gender wise.

The 2005 National Crime Council Survey found that:

* 15% of women and 6% of men have experienced severely abusive behaviour from a partner
* 11% of the Irish population have experienced pattern of behaviour with actual or potential severe impact
* 29% of women and 26% of men suffer domestic abuse when severe abuse and minor incidents are combined
* 13% of women and 13% of men suffer physical abuse or minor physical incidents
* Study suggested that in the region of 213,000 women and 88,000 men in Ireland have been severely abused by a partner at some point in their lives
* Less than 25% of those severely abused reported to An Garda Síochána
* 29% of women (1 in 3) and only 5% of men (1 in 20) report to the Garda Síochána
Source: Watson, D. and Parsons, S. (2005)

994

metrovelvet wrote: »

yes and its pretty bad when the men threaten the mother with harm to the kids too!

No, what he means is that a woman knows the kids are her property, and can use this against her husband/partner.

Stheno

CDfm wrote: »

Only 1% of the annual state budget on Domestic Violence is spent on Male Victims.

Have you figures/statistics that back this up from the relevant State department?

Or does that include overall spending on Social care which is part of the HSE budget?

CDfm

nouggatti wrote: »

Have you figures/statistics that back this up from the relevant State department?

Or does that include overall spending on Social care which is part of the HSE budget?

I have read it in some report or other which I can't source but have posted elsewhere on Boards. Anyway, I googled and came up with this letter to the Irish Examiner from Amen. So it appears to be a direct comparison of grant-aid to groups addressing domestic violence.The funding available to mens groups is less than 1% of that made available to womens groups.

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Irish Examiner, 23rd October, 2007[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Funding imbalance[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Letters[/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]TOM KINDLON (Letters, October 17) correctly points out that "domestic violence is a terrible problem, but studies show it is not just women who suffer from it". Despite the fact that 29% of women and 26% of men suffer domestic abuse, while 13% of both men and women suffer physical abuse (source: National Crime Council 2005), the Amen group receives less than 1% of the funding available to women's groups. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]This indefensible discrimination against men is another form of gender inequality and creates further divisions between men and women. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Niamh McGrath
Administrator
Amen
Railway Street
Navan
Co Meath[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif].[/FONT]

Joey the lips

994 wrote: »

No, what he means is that a woman knows the kids are her property, and can use this against her husband/partner.

That has not been my experience sorry!

miec

I agree that domestic violence affects both men and women, however, it is largely women who report this and have fought for various supports. Do men support other men who have suffered domestic abuse or would most men slag a man who 'supposedly allowed his missus to beat him'. Have men campaigned the government and other agencies to help men, and I am not talking about men who have suffered this but men willing to help other men.

The reason women receive more aid is because the silence was broken, it is good to see organisations for men such as Amen but more needs to be done and it needs to come from men challenging not just the stereotypes but supporting those men who have suffered.

CDfm

I honestly don't know any man who believes that its acceptable or right hit a woman.

metrovelvet

CDfm wrote: »

I honestly don't know any man who believes that its acceptable or right hit a woman.

"I don't think there is anything particularly wrong in hitting a woman, though I don't recommend you do it the same way that you hit a man. "

Sean Connery.

Now you do.

metrovelvet

994 wrote: »

No, what he means is that a woman knows the kids are her property, and can use this against her husband/partner.

Every man or woman is capable of abusing whatever power they have, whether it be physical, emotional, financial, sexual, or legal.

I think alot of the lack of spotlight on domestic violence towards men, whether it be perpetrated by women or by other men, has to do with the taboo placed around victimhood and masculinity. If you are a victim, you are not a hero, and therefore you're not really a man.

CDfm

metrovelvet wrote: »

"I don't think there is anything particularly wrong in hitting a woman, though I don't recommend you do it the same way that you hit a man. "

Sean Connery.

Now you do.

I don't know Sean Connery - but the bottom line is domestic violence is wrong and is equally wrong no matter what the gender or sexual orientation relationship or age of the victim.

miec

I don't know Sean Connery

As an aside here, Sean Connery is an actor and he was the first 007 actor for the bond films, I'm really showing my age here , also he was a bit of a hunk in his younger days and for an old git not too bad, but basically, he said in an interview that he felt it was acceptable to slap his wife if she annoyed him too much and that he had slapped her.

Back to the topic, you are right, violence towards another person is unacceptable irrespective of their gender. Its abuse.

CDfm

miec wrote: »

As an aside here, Sean Connery is an actor and he was the first 007 actor for the bond films, I'm really showing my age here , also he was a bit of a hunk in his younger days and for an old git not too bad, but basically, he said in an interview that he felt it was acceptable to slap his wife if she annoyed him too much and that he had slapped her.

Back to the topic, you are right, violence towards another person is unacceptable irrespective of their gender. Its abuse.

Thanks - I do know who the Sean Connery is .

But I don't know any guy in my circle of friends who would believe hitting their partner to be the correct thing to do or a right.

If anything we guys are taught that its wrong to hit girls as we grow up.

metrovelvet
I think alot of the lack of spotlight on domestic violence towards men, whether it be perpetrated by women or by other men, has to do with the taboo placed around victimhood and masculinity. If you are a victim, you are not a hero, and therefore you're not really a man.

Men should report and shouldn't get involved in mutual violence.

The legal aspects of getting involved in mutual violence should make any guy put his ego on hold and tackle the issue via the courts and guards.

c4cat

CDfm wrote: »

I just wonder why its more of a humanities topic.

It seems the mods on LL do not like to discuss anything negative to the female gender. When I tried to discuss a subject, (sexual Harassment) I was being misquoted in that forum as to what I had wrote/said about my own experience from a male point of view. Advised to start my own thread elswhere I felt its was a Men from Mars and Women from Venus situation

CDfm

c4cat wrote: »

It seems the mods on LL do not like to discuss anything negative to the female gender. When I tried to discuss a subject, (sexual Harassment) I was being misquoted in that forum as to what I had wrote/said about my own experience from a male point of view. Advised to start my own thread elswhere I felt its was a Men from Mars and Women from Venus situation

I sort of understand you when it gets down to dogmatic arguments you will get some .Still I have seen some tll regulars and mods post the Amen Helpline Details for men posting in PI experiencing domestic violence.

I started threads in tll on a few issues including Kevin Myers .Its a bit hard because the have had experiences of extreme guys before and the risk is extremeists will hijack the threads.

Maybe you could try putting your points here and see if the mods think its not too off topic.

gingerhousewife

CDfm wrote: »

But I don't know any guy in my circle of friends who would believe hitting their partner to be the correct thing to do or a right.

Just remember nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors. I'm not suggesting for a minute that any of your friends engage in, or are victims of, domestic violence, but if they were do you think they would tell you? Usually if and when something like that comes out, friends and family of both the victim and the abuser are shocked.

boars.ie

metrovelvet wrote: »

"I don't think there is anything particularly wrong in hitting a woman, though I don't recommend you do it the same way that you hit a man. "

Sean Connery.

Resorting to the alternative meaning of "to hit" I'd say
Sean was entirely right. Getting back to the point, though
I dunno how it fits to the supposed subject, wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violence_against_women

says:

Though this form of violence is often portrayed as an issue within the context of heterosexual relationships, it also occurs in lesbian relationships,[14] daughter-mother relationships, roommate relationships and other domestic relationships involving two women. Violence against women in lesbian relationships is about as common as violence against women in heterosexual relationships.[15] Violence against women by women also exists outside the sphere of relationship violence, probably even less research has been done on this subject.

CDfm

gingerhousewife wrote: »

Just remember nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors. I'm not suggesting for a minute that any of your friends engage in, or are victims of, domestic violence, but if they were do you think they would tell you? Usually if and when something like that comes out, friends and family of both the victim and the abuser are shocked.

I am not saying that they do or dont.

What I am saying is that despite all the academic evidence saying that domestic violence perpetrators are equally likely to be women as men we are still fed a model with men as perpetrators and women as victims.

Check this link out which is a review of academic studies.

http://www.csulb.edu/~mfiebert/assault.htm

We know there are violent women but the problem gets hidden. So when you see all these studies can you say the problem does not exist?

EDIT - can you say if any of your female friends initiate violence towards their partners and/or children and what is your view on female initiated domestic violence?

I agree you can't tell what goes on but the evidence for both genders abusing is compelling.

CDfm

boars.ie wrote: »

Though this form of violence is often portrayed as an issue within the context of heterosexual relationships, it also occurs in lesbian relationships,[14] daughter-mother relationships, roommate relationships and other domestic relationships involving two women. Violence against women in lesbian relationships is about as common as violence against women in heterosexual relationships.[15] Violence against women by women also exists outside the sphere of relationship violence, probably even less research has been done on this subject.

So why do people find the concept so difficult to accept.

Check this out

http://www.archive.org/details/Bull.Busters.Violent.Women

gingerhousewife

CDfm wrote: »

I am not saying that they do or dont.

What I am saying is that despite all the academic evidence saying that domestic violence perpetrators are equally likely to be women as men we are still fed a model with men as perpetrators and women as victims.

Check this link out which is a review of academic studies.

http://www.csulb.edu/~mfiebert/assault.htm

We know there are violent women but the problem gets hidden. So when you see all these studies can you say the problem does not exist?

EDIT - can you say if any of your female friends initiate violence towards their partners and/or children and what is your view on female initiated domestic violence?

I agree you can't tell what goes on but the evidence for both genders abusing is compelling.

Firstly, I don't believe I said anything does not exist? I said that domestic violence happens behind closed doors.

And if you read my post again, you will see that at no point did I differentiate between male and female domestic violence. I simply said that not knowing anyone who outwardly, or publicy, agrees with it does not mean it doesn't happen.

eviltwin

Anyone can be violent male or female.

Generally though men being bigger and stronger in most cases can inflict more damage than the average woman. I know if me and my husband were to have a no holds barred fight I'd come off the worst which to me makes the male to female violence worse than female to male.

I dont know anyone who has ever been a victim of it but I'd like to think I would have the same level of sympathy for a male victim as I would a female victim. The gender wouldnt come into it.

CDfm

gingerhousewife wrote: »

And if you read my post again, you will see that at no point did I differentiate between male and female domestic violence. I simply said that not knowing anyone who outwardly, or publicy, agrees with it does not mean it doesn't happen.

Sorry - I didnt mean to imply that.

All I was saying was that public policy and from what you read in the papers and see in the news would have you believe other wise.

CDfm

eviltwin wrote: »

Anyone can be violent male or female.

Generally though men being bigger and stronger in most cases can inflict more damage than the average woman. I know if me and my husband were to have a no holds barred fight I'd come off the worst which to me makes the male to female violence worse than female to male.

I dont know anyone who has ever been a victim of it but I'd like to think I would have the same level of sympathy for a male victim as I would a female victim. The gender wouldnt come into it.

I dont think size always is the only issue here. Aggression has something to do with it to.

I think that might be the case if violence is mutual and you are not talking no holds barred fight. You are talking domestic violence.

However - in a lot of situations that wont be the case. So if she throws something or uses a weapon etc. In lots of cases the victim doesnt hit back. I suppose thats the point it really as with male domestic violence is power.

emma23

Hi, I am an art student currently investigating domestic abuse and tension, I would really like to have information from people who have experience in this area, whether they have dealt with it themselves or people who have any personal information on this subject. People who contact me can be sent a more detailed explanation into what my project is about before deciding how they want to become involved. Ideally this would work through this thread or possibly email depending entirely on the person, whoever contacts me can decide on the communication and how much information they can give, as it is such a sensitive subject I understand the need for privacy and safety. Thank you for your help.

CDfm

emma - I imagine anyone who has been in this situation and been thru the Family Courts cant post publically about it as court cases in family law are in camera(behind closed doors) and the person has to be careful of the detail they supply etc.

Your best bet for info as part of a study would be to contact help groups such as www.amen.ie or www.womensaid.ie

Groups like these are able to assist students and journalists within the law.They also would have facilities for interviewing victims or professionals dealing in the area.

emma23

hey thanks for the info it was really helpful, was finding it hard to find people to ask

CDfm

emma23 wrote: »

hey thanks for the info it was really helpful, was finding it hard to find people to ask

Your welcome -us boardsies have to stick together

Meeja Ireland

CDfm wrote: »

But I don't know any guy in my circle of friends who would believe hitting their partner to be the correct thing to do or a right.

BUt most violence, surely, isn't committed by people who will calmly sit down and give you a rationale for it.

You may not know anyone who will defend domestic violence in a rational conversation. But you almost certainly do know people who have hit their partners. They just don't bring it up.

CDfm

Meeja Ireland wrote: »

BUt most violence, surely, isn't committed by people who will calmly sit down and give you a rationale for it.

You may not know anyone who will defend domestic violence in a rational conversation. But you almost certainly do know people who have hit their partners. They just don't bring it up.

The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that for each year between 2000 and 2005, "female parents acting alone" were most common perpetrators of child abuse.

Victims by Perpetrator Relationship, 2005
This bar graphs shows that 40.4 percent of child victims were maltreated by their mothers acting alone; another 18.3 percent were maltreated by their fathers acting alone; 17.3 percent were abused by both their mother and father. Victims abused by a nonparental perpetrator accounted for 10.7 percent.

I doubt people admit it openly or would to me as my friends know my views but if you look at a more vulnerable area children there is widespread denial of the problem despite studies to the contrary.

Zulu

People like to perceive men as the boogie man. The mother/child relationship is considered almost sacrosanct; it's inviolable. Hence the utter shock when we hear about paedophiles... ...who are women: the initial prejudice when we hear the word paedophile is "male".
Similarly when we hear about domestic abuse, the shocking scenes from "once were warriors" of a man punching a woman in the face, are what jumps to my mind. Of course this isn't always the case, and it could probably be argued that this is an example of only a very minor amount of abuse cases.

It's worth considering that one can recover from a slap across the face a lot quicker than a callous & abusive comment from a loved one. I'd imagine this form of abuse is most prevalent in Irish society, and most damaging.

The simple fact of the matter is that some people are bad; some people are abusive. People will always be callous, abusive, and evil. It's human nature.

CDfm

Meeja Ireland wrote: »

BUt most violence, surely, isn't committed by people who will calmly sit down and give you a rationale for it.

I imagine that some people can justify it and excuse themselves by saying the victim caused them to do it. They pass on the blame.

Kooli

Zulu wrote: »

People like to perceive men as the boogie man. The mother/child relationship is considered almost sacrosanct; it's inviolable. Hence the utter shock when we hear about paedophiles... ...who are women: the initial prejudice when we hear the word paedophile is "male".
.

That's a bit different - estimates state that between 5 and 10% of sexual abuses against children are committed by women acting alone. So it is natural to think about paedophiles as mostly male, because they are.

Zulu

Kooli wrote: »

That's a bit different - estimates state that between 5 and 10% of sexual abuses against children are committed by women acting alone. So it is natural to think about paedophiles as mostly male, because they are.

"Estimates" from where exactly? I wouldn't be too surprised if the majority were male, but I don't believe it's that much of a difference tbh.

Kooli

Zulu wrote: »

"Estimates" from where exactly? I wouldn't be too surprised if the majority were male, but I don't believe it's that much of a difference tbh.

"The true prevalence of female-perpetrated sexual abuse is currently unknown, but analyses of identified or reported cases of victimization consistently suggest that females comprise less than 5% of all sexual offenders against children and youth " Female perpetrators of child sexual abuse A review of the clinical and empirical literature- AD Grayston, RV De Luca - Aggression and Violent Behavior, 1999

That's one source. I found one or two others, but that's what the evidence generally points to.

That's not to say it doesn't happen, and that like female domestic violence it can be harder to admit to as it isn't given the same public acknowledgement. I'm just saying most child sex abusers are men, that's all.

But that's a bit off-topic, so apologies...

Zulu

Kooli wrote: »

That's one source. I found one or two others, but that's what the evidence generally points to.

Any chance of links? I'm genuinely interested to see if this isn't just prejudice. Cheers.

CDfm

Zulu wrote: »

Any chance of links? I'm genuinely interested to see if this isn't just prejudice. Cheers.

Here is a wikipedia link and you can check the sources from that. I think the statistics ofthen quoted refer to convictions

Some say that the rate of detection is low and some studies in the US show that up to 43% may be female.

I dont know - but in Ireland we had the Magdeline Laundries etc

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_sexual_abuse#Adult_offenders

Adult offenders

Demographics

Offenders are more likely to be relatives or acquaintances of their victim than strangers.[104] A 2006–2007 Idaho study of 430 cases found that 82% of juvenile sex offenders were known to the victims (acquaintances 46% or relatives 36%).[105][106]
More offenders are male than female, though the percentage varies between studies. The percentage of incidents of sexual abuse by female perpetrators that come to the attention of the legal system is usually reported to be between 1% and 4%.[107] Studies of sexual misconduct in US schools with female offenders have shown mixed results with rates between 4% to 43% of female offenders.[108] Maletzky (1993) found that, of his sample of 4,402 convicted pedophilic offenders, 0.4% were female.[109] Another study of a non-clinical population found that, among those in the their sample that had been molested, as much as a third were molested by women.[110]
In U.S. schools, educators who offend range in age from "21 to 75 years old, with an average age of 28" with teachers, coaches, substitute teachers, bus drivers and teacher's aides (in that order) totaling 69% of the offenders.[111]

Kooli

Zulu wrote: »

Any chance of links? I'm genuinely interested to see if this isn't just prejudice. Cheers.

Exploring Taboos: Comparing Male- and Female-Perpetrated Child Sexual Abuse Tracey Peter Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Vol. 24, No. 7, 1111-1128 (2009) (puts female perpetrators at about 10%)

A Profile of Pedophilia: Definition, Characteristics of Offenders, Recidivism,
Treatment Outcomes, and Forensic Issues
RYAN C. W. HALL, MD, AND RICHARD C. W. HALL, MD, PA (in the introduction, the articles cites sources that range from 1% to 7% but does say that female perpetrated abuse is probably underreported)

CDfm

Kooli wrote: »

Exploring Taboos: Comparing Male- and Female-Perpetrated Child Sexual Abuse Tracey Peter Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Vol. 24, No. 7, 1111-1128 (2009) (puts female perpetrators at about 10%)

A Profile of Pedophilia: Definition, Characteristics of Offenders, Recidivism,
Treatment Outcomes, and Forensic Issues
RYAN C. W. HALL, MD, AND RICHARD C. W. HALL, MD, PA (in the introduction, the articles cites sources that range from 1% to 7% but does say that female perpetrated abuse is probably underreported)

Its something we never hear about except on Crime Library or the Smoking Gun.

I actually hadn't realised until I went looking that there were studies on it but the figures are significantly higher than I anticipated.

EDIT - I hope Im not coming accross as anti-woman and Im not - and I apologise if I have offended anyone. I dont really believe that domestic violence or female violence is a gender issue and its unfortunate that thats how it get portrayed.

The Corinthian

I do think that programs such as the recent Primetime report on this are part of the problem in that they promote the myth that domestic abuse means male abuse of women (or children), often carting in the usual Women's groups to discuss this.

To give the presenter her due, she asks the director of the National Women's Council of Ireland, about domestic abuse against men, to which she is curtly answered that her organization does not deal with men.

CDfm

The Corinthian wrote: »

I do think that programs such as the recent Primetime report on this are part of the problem in that they promote the myth that domestic abuse means male abuse of women (or children), often carting in the usual Women's groups to discuss this.

To give the presenter her due, she asks the director of the National Women's Council of Ireland, about domestic abuse against men, to which she is curtly answered that her organization does not deal with men.

Are the National Womens Council self appointed experts.

Does anyone know who they actually represent and how they have gotten to be in such an exaulted position?

Nevyn

The researchers and producers of the program are to blame for the lack of balance, if someone is there to speak offically on the behalf of an organisation you can't expect them to deviate from that.

The producers of the program should have tried to get someone from amen on.