In response to the letter submitted by Ms. Abernathy titled “Domestic Violence: A Family Problem.” The data presented is not a valid representation of (a) the current data regarding lethality levels in domestic violence cases and (b) incorrectly argues that intervention and treatment programs are available to solely one gender.
When data is presented that is outdated or incorrect, it does a disservice to all victims of domestic violence, male and female.
In 2004, Alaska Troopers received 1,281 reports of assaults involving domestic violence. Of those, 76 percent of perpetrators were found to be male and 70 percent of victims were female. UAA “Special Report May 2010.”
The 2010 National Crime Victimization Survey reports that nationwide women were victims of domestic violence at a rate of 4.2 percent in 2009 and 3.1 percent in 2010. Men were victims of domestic violence at a rate of 1.0 percent in 2009 and .8 percent in 2010 (U.S. Department of Justice “Criminal Victimization 2010” Jennifer Truman, PhD.).
With regards to lethality levels, between 1980 and 2010 women were killed by intimate partners at a level of 41.5 percent. Comparatively, men were killed by intimate partners at a level of 7.1 percent (U.S. DOJ “Homicide Trends in the US 1980-2008” Alexia Cooper Et Al.).
Nationwide, there has been a marked increase in the recognition that males can be victims of intimate partner violence. This year, the Department of Justice released an updated definition of rape which removed antiquated gender stereotypes. Alaska’s laws regarding domestic violence are gender neutral, in recognition that all people can be victims. Nationally, programs such as the National Domestic Violence Hotline offer assistance and help for all victims regardless of gender. Within Alaska, many shelters and organizations offer assistance to male victims.
The one area that we can agree with Ms. Abernathy is that domestic violence is a family problem. In Alaska, 43 percent of domestic violence incidents occur when children are present (UAA “Assaults in Domestic Violence” Marny Rivera PhD.). The effects of domestic violence on children are pervasive and life-long.
Incidents of domestic violence and sexual assault in Alaska are present at an alarming rate. Sadly, Alaska leads the nation in both of these areas. But we can become leaders in prevention, advocacy, and treatment for offenders. If you are interested in learning more about the current data, services for victims, or how you can help, please contact the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.
Peggy Brown
Executive Director, ANDVSA
Juneau
Comments (3)
Add commentDomestic Violence: female to male
There is no batterer’s program for women who batter, only a man‘s program, and the current program is the Duluth model, which is a feminist approach to the issue of domestic violence, the AWARE shelter does not provide any shelter services for men, many men (according to what I hear at alarming rates as a counselor) either don’t report domestic violence by their partner (because they are taught that women don’t batter and it is weak to report being assaulted by a woman) or when they do, the woman may or may not get arrested.
What I also hear is men talking about being assaulted by their partner and minimizing the abuse. We are taught that if a woman hit’s a man, maybe he deserved it. When I worked at a women’s shelter in another state, a woman had fatally shot her husband, and one of the first responses from others was, “He probably did a lot of things wrong and deserved it.” She was not charged with murder and served no jail time. Had that been a man, I doubt that would have been the outcome. We laugh when jokes are shared about a man’s genitals being dismembered--the “Bobbit” story. Would we laugh if it involves a woman’s genitalia? It cringes me when a man talks about a woman stabbing him and then laughing. It is not funny, but I understand why he laughs and most people around him usually laugh as well.
What is interesting is that I had several women come up to me and thank me for writing the letter about female to male domestic violence, as one woman put it, “I’ve assaulted my partner many times, thank you for talking about this.”
Samantha Abernathy, LCSW
Counselor in Juneau
well, Samantha
as far as AWARE goes - you do know that AWARE stands for "Aid to Women in Abuse and RAPE Emergencies", right?? Female rape victims should not be housed with male abuse victims. But you know what? SOMEBODY got the ball rolling on AWARE, because they saw a need, and maybe you - because you see the need - can start the ball rolling on a shelter for male abuse victims. I'm not saying I don't support that need. Ms. Brown gave some great advice - "If you are interested in learning more about the current data, services for victims, or how you can help, please contact the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault." Why don't you do that?
Women are abused far more
Women are abused far more often by men than by women, and to a greater degree. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand why the emphasis might be, then, on abused women. This doesn't mean female on male abuse is less important, but it does follow that more resources should be spent on the bigger problem.