Lack of balanced reporting caused by Women's Aid 2in2u Public Awareness Campaign

iptba

I got excited by this heading:

Domestic abuse - Legislation needs to be updated
Monday, February 25, 2013

It's an editorial in Monday's Irish Examiner: http://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/editorial/domestic-abuse--legislation-needs-to-be-updated-223610.html

In my naivety, I thought the title might signify some sort of recognition that domestic violence was a complicated issue.

However, the whole article is on the violent-male/female-victim model. No mention of alternative situations. All presumably due to the way Women's Aid presented the issue to the media (they're mentioned three times in the piece including the very first words).

I can't see a press release on the website but here's the top info on the main page:

The Women's Aid 2in2u National Public Awareness Campaign highlights the issue of violence and abuse against young women in dating relationships.

The 2in2u campaign is designed to show the hidden reality for many young women who are experiencing abuse, control and violence at the hands of their boyfriends.

The Women's Aid 2in2u campaign is specifically targeting younger women to try to prevent the next generation of domestic abuse.

Young women don't need to be in a 'domestic' relationship to experience domestic abuse. Abuse can happen to any woman, at any age and in any type of relationship, including dating relationships.

(from http://www.womensaid.ie/campaigns/2in2u.html )

What can be done to bring greater balance to the issue?

Woodward

letters to the editor

Playboy

"The 2in2u campaign is designed to show the hidden reality for many young women who are experiencing abuse, control and violence at the hands of their boyfriends"

What does control mean? Also 'abuse' seems a bit generic. Violence is an issue of course and one that women may suffer more of than men but plenty of men are 'victims' of controlling and manipulative women who make their daily lives hell. From my personal experience I have certainly seen bullying, controlling and passive aggressive behaviour evident more commonly in females than in males in relationships. What people fail to understand is that in some instances physical violence is a reaction to this type of behaviour. Men can be more 'physical' in how they deal with confrontation but that does not mean that the abusing behaviour is present in only 1 person and that this individual is totally to blame. Whilst there is no excuse for violence we do need to look at this issue of abuse in relationships more holistically. In my experience relationships tend to be abusive rather than just a single individual perpetuating abuse on another. Needless to say there are plenty of men out there who are also victims of physical violence and there needs to be recognition of this by the lawmakers and justice system as well as support groups.

knucklehead6

on Newstalk this morning they were talking about this awareness campaign but highlighting the 'stalking' aspect of it that is now possible between facebook and various methods of social media. To be honest, i feel that IS an important difference to bring up as a person can be stalkerish without realising it.

iptba

The press release http://www.womensaid.ie/newsevents/2013/02/25/is-he-2in2u-stalking-and-online-abuse-of-young-wom/ is now up that presumably led to the Irish Examiner editorial: http://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/editorial/domestic-abuse--legislation-needs-to-be-updated-223610.html .

I don't think it should be that hard to believe that not all stalkers in such a scenario are male.

knucklehead6

iptba wrote: »

The press release http://www.womensaid.ie/newsevents/2013/02/25/is-he-2in2u-stalking-and-online-abuse-of-young-wom/ is now up that presumably led to the Irish Examiner editorial: http://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/editorial/domestic-abuse--legislation-needs-to-be-updated-223610.html .

I don't think it should be that hard to believe that not all stalkers in such a scenario are male.

I couldn't agree more.

Dravokivich

The front and back covers of the metro were riddled with advertising for this campaign this morning. If it's meant to make women more aware of guys that keep a tight grip over their social lives, they are doing it wrong. All I thought while looking over it was:

Muppet
Muppet
Muppet
Muppet
Muppet
Muppet
Muppet
Muppet
Muppet
Muppet
Muppet

Until I got off the train...

MugMugs

Dravokivich wrote: »

Muppet
Muppet
Muppet

Until I got off the train...

You've lost me somewhat.

Who was the Muppet exactly? I didn't see the adverts as I commute privately and from outside of the smoke.


In relation to the OP, I agree there is an issue but draw a blank on what to do.

The like of Coronation Street are making a push on this topic at the moment however at present it is leaning in favour of the guilty party but I am sure it will pan out it being such a delicate topic.

Perhaps this is testament that there is awareness and that folk are slowly becoming aware of it?

iptba

Playboy wrote: »

"The 2in2u campaign is designed to show the hidden reality for many young women who are experiencing abuse, control and violence at the hands of their boyfriends"

What does control mean? Also 'abuse' seems a bit generic. Violence is an issue of course and one that women may suffer more of than men but plenty of men are 'victims' of controlling and manipulative women who make their daily lives hell. From my personal experience I have certainly seen bullying, controlling and passive aggressive behaviour evident more commonly in females than in males in relationships. What people fail to understand is that in some instances physical violence is a reaction to this type of behaviour. Men can be more 'physical' in how they deal with confrontation but that does not mean that the abusing behaviour is present in only 1 person and that this individual is totally to blame. Whilst there is no excuse for violence we do need to look at this issue of abuse in relationships more holistically. In my experience relationships tend to be abusive rather than just a single individual perpetuating abuse on another. Needless to say there are plenty of men out there who are also victims of physical violence and there needs to be recognition of this by the lawmakers and justice system as well as support groups.

Interesting insights.

I'm no expert on domestic violence but I have read enough to know that sometimes, but certainly not always, it is somewhat reciprocal. The Wikipedia entry on Erin Pizzey talks a bit about this - more the second paragraph of this extract but I think the first paragraph is also interesting, given the context:

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

Pizzey said that militant feminists—with the collusion of Labour's leading women—hijacked her cause and used it to try to demonise all men, not only in Britain, but internationally.[8] After the hijacking the demand for a service for women survivors of domestic violence grew and soon public funding became available. Today the movement has been rebranded as Women's Aid and garners millions of pounds a year from a variety of sources, the primary one of which is the state. Pizzey has lamented that the movement she started had moved from the "personal to the political".

Soon after establishing her first refuge, Pizzey realised that much domestic violence was reciprocal, with both partners abusing each other in roughly equal rates. She reached this conclusion when she asked the women in her refuge about their violence and she concluded that most of the women were equally as violent or more violent than their husbands. In her study "Comparative Study Of Battered Women And Violence-Prone Women,"[9] (co-researched with Dr. John Gayford of Warlingham Hospital), Pizzey distinguishes between "genuine battered women" and "violence-prone women;" the former defined as "the unwilling and innocent victim of his or her partner's violence" and the latter defined as "the unwilling victim of his or her own violence." This study reports that 62% of the sample population were more accurately described as "violence prone." Similar findings regarding the mutuality of domestic violence have been confirmed in subsequent studies.[10][11]

---

More at: http://www.mralondon.org/p/erin-pizzey.html (and probably plenty of other places - don't have time to look)

Dravokivich

MugMugs wrote: »

You've lost me somewhat.

Who was the Muppet exactly? I didn't see the adverts as I commute privately and from outside of the smoke.

The person who put the ad together. There was no thought put into it at all and portrayed any possible would be abuser as an idiot. To say the message was simple is an understatement.

ToxicPaddy

It definitely seems to be a very one sided argument alright..

Granted, there is definitely a need to broaden the laws to cover and try to protect female victims of domestic violence and prevent them from suffering any further, however this group appear to be trying to base their whole argument on the fact that its only women who are victims of this and that they are all totally innocent of any violence against their partners which just isnt true as the article by iptba showed.

There are various groups in Ireland who are so determined to get their views and opinions noticed by the government and get the changes they demand into law that the completely ignore the big picture and refuse to believe that any of the people/groups/victims they claim to represent ever do any wrong and completely twist and manipulate the whole argument to suit themselves.

Lets hope those in Government who are looking at this will have an open mind and see the bigger picture though I doubt that will happen especially if the same thing happens here that happened over in the UK with Erin Prizzy's group and it becomes yet another political bargining tool :mad:

iptba

Just saw this posted elsewhere - it's from somebody's Psychology textbook (aimed at the US market, presumably): http://i.imgur.com/hHQSKbn.jpg

mackg

knucklehead6 wrote: »

on Newstalk this morning they were talking about this awareness campaign but highlighting the 'stalking' aspect of it that is now possible between facebook and various methods of social media. To be honest, i feel that IS an important difference to bring up as a person can be stalkerish without realising it.

From the article:

"Stalking by a current or former boyfriend is one of the most common forms
of stalking but it is not explicitly addressed in current legislation. Stalking
is intentional behaviour that is designed to keep women under great duress,
controlled and isolated. Callers to our National Freephone Helpline have
disclosed that their stalker is: constantly following them, turning up at their
workplaces, homes and social gatherings; damaging property and breaking into
their homes or cars; gathering information on them from family and friends;
harassing others close to them and threatening to kill them, their families or
threatening to self-harm. It can often include physical and sexual assaults."

The term stalking has taken on a bit of a double meaning in recent times with plenty of people I know refering to themselves as "FB stalkers". Could you maybe elaborate a little on what you mean?

miamee

From what I have read in the press release, the focus is mostly on younger women (teenage girls and young women in their twenties I would guess) who are not protected by domestic abuse laws because they are not (yet) co-habiting with a man/boy but yet are still in an abusive relationship. And trying to open their eyes to that possibility.

I'm sure Women's Aid are not under the illusion that domestic abuse happens to women only but their focus as Women's Aid is on female victims only. I wonder if Amen or a similar organisation did the same research in men would they find a similar number of boys/young men in the same age group being exposed to abuse? Genuine question.

The real shame is that none of the research is being conducted by the government or HSE for men and women alike.

Morag

Are the questions asked in the questionaire applicable to both genders?
I think they are, is there anything which should be in there, specifically for young guys?

I think it's a shame they didn't include both genders, and am seriously thinking of photoshoping the posters to have a blue background and change the he to she and him to her.

iptba

I just looked at the press release:

The 2in2u campaign is funded by Cosc, the National Office for the Prevention of Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence. (www.cosc.ie)

I don't think Cosc should be using taxpayers' money to fund such unbalanced campaigns.

LegacyUser

I don't usually post in TGC but this thread caught my eye. Speaking as a female, I hope you don't mind my input, as I know this is a sensitive issue.

I always considered domestic abuse as an umbrella term for physical, sexual, emotional, financial and verbal abuse within a relationship. I don't know exact figures, but it's usually said that women suffer more frequently from domestic violence, which I guess I won't dispute. But this campaign seems to be focusing on domestic abuse as a whole. When you consider the whole spectrum of abuse, not just the violent part, anecdotally I would say men are more likely to be victims.

This is an issue rather close to home for me as I come from a family where my mother abused my father. It was consistent, ongoing verbal abuse and control; really horrible stuff you wouldn't say to your dog and it goes on to this day. Unfortunately there's a reluctance in society to ever see women as the bad guys. When I was younger twice I confided in adults, and the responses I got amounted to: "Maybe if you did the dishes straight away after dinner your Mum would be less angry?" and "What about getting her a nice Mother's day gift?".... Now correct me if I'm wrong, but to me, saying something like that is tantamount to telling a battered women "perhaps if you had your husband's dinner ready at 6, maybe then he wouldn't beat the crap out of you?".

It's lunacy, yet somehow everybody's perfectly accepting of the woman who tells her husband he's a piece of **** who should have never been born, but once you swap the genders, it becomes a whole other issue. I have seen a number of male friends embark on relationships that to me scream of emotional abuse and control. Yet they're all okay with it, and everyone accepts it as the done thing, or it's shrugged of as him being "a bit whipped". I've known comparatively few women to enter relationships that seem to be abusive, yet when it does happen it's a case of "all hands on deck, let's organize an intervention to save this girl"

Honestly, I'd love to see a campaign like this aimed at young men. I think it's just as needed if not more so.

Woodward

soso1234 wrote: »

I don't usually post in TGC but this thread caught my eye. Speaking as a female, I hope you don't mind my input, as I know this is a sensitive issue.

I always considered domestic abuse as an umbrella term for physical, sexual, emotional, financial and verbal abuse within a relationship. I don't know exact figures, but it's usually said that women suffer more frequently from domestic violence, which I guess I won't dispute. But this campaign seems to be focusing on domestic abuse as a whole. When you consider the whole spectrum of abuse, not just the violent part, anecdotally I would say men are more likely to be victims.

This is an issue rather close to home for me as I come from a family where my mother abused my father. It was consistent, ongoing verbal abuse and control; really horrible stuff you wouldn't say to your dog and it goes on to this day. Unfortunately there's a reluctance in society to ever see women as the bad guys. When I was younger twice I confided in adults, and the responses I got amounted to: "Maybe if you did the dishes straight away after dinner your Mum would be less angry?" and "What about getting her a nice Mother's day gift?".... Now correct me if I'm wrong, but to me, saying something like that is tantamount to telling a battered women "perhaps if you had your husband's dinner ready at 6, maybe then he wouldn't beat the crap out of you?".

It's lunacy, yet somehow everybody's perfectly accepting of the woman who tells her husband he's a piece of **** who should have never been born, but once you swap the genders, it becomes a whole other issue. I have seen a number of male friends embark on relationships that to me scream of emotional abuse and control. Yet they're all okay with it, and everyone accepts it as the done thing, or it's shrugged of as him being "a bit whipped". I've known comparatively few women to enter relationships that seem to be abusive, yet when it does happen it's a case of "all hands on deck, let's organize an intervention to save this girl"

Honestly, I'd love to see a campaign like this aimed at young men. I think it's just as needed if not more so.

Numerous studies indicate that intimate partner violence is roughly 50:50 between the genders with women being the majority of one way violence perpetrators and the most likely to use weapons. Much DV is reciprocal where both parties are aggressive and this escalates into violence

iptba

Domestic violence case this week where woman convicted of killing her ex-husband:

After Tanya stabbed Paul in 2006, we checked on him every day – we knew that she would kill him
http://www.herald.ie/news/after-tanya-stabbed-paul-in-2006-we-checked-on-him-every-day-we-knew-that-she-would-kill-him-29134668.html

We knew she had had an unhappy childhood, we knew she had mood swings, and we knew she had a liking for valium. I didn't like her, but she made my brother happy. He was lonely for a long time," she added. It was in 2006 that alarm bells started to ring. Paul's family say that Tanya Doyle suffered from terrible bouts of jealousy, even though he was always loyal to her.

Evidence in the trial was heard that Tanya flew into a fit of rage after Paul had come home from a night out at the Stringfellow's club where he had viewed a lap-dance.

"It was Tanya that brought him there with another couple. It was her that organised the dance for him, and then she stormed home and waited for him to come home," said Noel.

"It was when he came home and was asleep that she stabbed him in the chest, puncturing his lung and narrowly missing his heart, and then stabbed him in the stomach," he added.

[..]

Following this incident, Tanya voluntarily went to hospital for treatment and then moved into an apartment in the south of the city. Paul decided not to press charges against his wife.

"One of the worst things for us was hearing the eight-minute recording of the 999 call he made," said Noel. "You could hear Paul was distressed, pleading and panicked. I lost count of the stabbing sounds after 16, and there was more than 70 in the end," said Elaine.