"the rising of the women...

means the rising of us all'...says the song Bread and Roses. Expecting men to hang their heads in embarassment because they are men? Say it isn't so, for I love men... Embarassment at inarticulate discourse, maybe.

The United Nations has conveniently released a report on issues facing women around the world, and here is what the report has to say about violence against women:

Violence against women is a universal phenomenon.
• Women are subjected to different forms of violence – physical, sexual, psychological and economic – both within and outside their homes.
• Rates of women experiencing physical violence at least once in their lifetime vary from several per cent to over 59 per cent depending on where they live.
• Current statistical measurements of violence against women provide a limited source of information, and statistical definitions and classifications require more work and harmonization at the international level.
• Female genital mutilation – the most harmful mass perpetuation of violence against women – shows a slight decline.

I am sure anyone that is interested can find a wealth of statistics therein, but we here hardly need them. We can see the anger that is generated merely by writing about violence against women.

more statistics

One in three women suffer trauma from spousal abuse. Women constitute more than 85% of those suffering from domestic abuse. More than 30% of all women killed are killed by their partner. Only 3% of murdered men are men killed by their partner.

The fact that Stats Can reports declines in violence against women in the last 20 years is interesting. Some of that decline is the result of fewer women reporting abuse out of fear of even worse reprisal, but most is a result of the institution of dual arrest policies. Police, when called to domestic disputes, and being confronted with conflicting stories, are arresting both parties. Abusive men, and antifeminist conservatives, have found the dual arrest policy to be a great support for their claims of gender symmetry.

When involved in abuse that may lead to potentially serious legal issues, and worried that the police might soon be knocking on the door, men have resorted to self-inflicted injury and being the first to call police. Which further distorts reality by creating stats that show more women, than in the past, are showing up on the “abusive” list.

paisley claims,“the study indicated that women were more likely to act violently(strike the first blow) against their spouse.” This is typical of most arguments that try to bait and switch. The studies are pretty clear; researchers don’t deny some women are, or can be, abusive. But when you dig deeper into the details and start examining things like context, meaning and motive … and find that the women that struck the first blow has been repeatedly physically, psychologically and sexually abused by her partner over the duration of the relationship… striking the first blow is meaningless. Not only that, there’s a world of difference between a slap, punch, scatch or knee to the groin men might receive, and the broken jaw or “marital rape” inflicted on the woman.

hmmmm...anger?

Women are 10 times more likely than men to be the primary caregiver for children - yes, 10 times. Therefore, one would expect child abuse by women to be 10 times greater than that of men, but it isn't so.

The real issue here is why some men feel compelled to deny the reality of violence towards women - after all, no one denies the reality of female violence. What is it that gets y'all so hot and bothered?

what am I reading?

I don't know where you get your facts, but I think that anyone who is not lying to themselves is aware of the basic facts of who does the violence and to whom. Are there 30 or more missing men killed by serial killers in various cities in Canada, or is it missing women? Do women pimp men out on the streets? Do women make as much money at the same jobs? Men have the economic power and the physical power and the tendency to violence. There is no point arguing reality with people clearly not interested in admitting it. This is just more ranting by men who want to power trip on women to keep them shut up, and it makes me sick that it happens in Canada in this day and age; but that said, it is clear that this day and age is ruled by Harper and the types that cater to power. Bullying is their way and that attitude is permeating our society. In daily life women had better learn to keep their mouths shut, otherwise they will be beaten in one way or another--losing a job, losing their children and assets in divorce, or being physically threatened. It is very real and this country is a hotbed of mysoginy. Anyone who thinks otherwise is perpetrating falsehoods for reasons of power and control.

VLD

What is it that gets them so hot and bothered? It’s actually quite simple: The fear of losing power and control.

There was a brief period when women were making great strides in terms of equal treatment, pay equity, suffrage and the right to own property. But it soon became apparent to many men that they stood to lose, and they weren’t having any part of a profeminist world that allowed women greater freedom. After all, the machinery in our patriarchal history has worked tirelessly to instill men with the belief that they are entitled to power and control. And if you lose power and control you become …. Heaven forbid, a woman.

Pickton, Lepine and Williams are the visible symptoms of attitudes and policies towards women that have become systemic: hidden and institutionalized.

The real problem in ending violence against women goes beyond recognizing violent actions of perpetrators. It requires exposing attitudes and policy.

50 drops

As a male I find the comments more unsettling than original article. Those attacking the suggestion that women live in an environment of threatened or actual violence are living in an alternative and imaginary universe. The vast majority of males dont worry about taking a walk at night or to walk to their car in a parking lot in the dark. Women do - both because of the actual risk and equally due to the articles that cover violence toward women. I would suggest anyone who doesnt believe this imbalance exists speak to police - professionals who deal with the real world on an ongoing basis

@VivianLea

Women are 10 times more likely than men to be the primary caregiver for children - yes, 10 times.”
Since you brought it up, that women are 10 timesing us men in the child nurturing department why I ask, are you women nurturing such violent individuals and it appears you have been doing it for some time? What on earth could you women be doing or not doing so disastrously as to influence such behavior? Perhaps it is a quality issue? To much housework cutting into “Quality Time”, I suppose.
Considering that over 80% of all wealth spent in our western society passes through the hands of women( if that isn’t power and influence I don’t know what is) and that there are more female voters than male(again if that isn’t power) and your fact that women spend far more time raising our children yet still men are brow beaten to embrace feminism because….why? Because men should help more to make our kids get big and fat too. Help teach our children to embrace the “keep up with the Jones’s” mentality.

You have to wonder no longer Vivian why men get upset about Dec. 6. This day, we as men are to feel ashamed that we are men because our society as a whole failed to prevent a newly immigrated obviously disturbed man raised in a home that embraced a religious doctrine that classifies women as “less than a man” of which, more so than not, also, within the bounds of a society that embraces the religious “woman less than man” concept. Sorry, no thanks. I, as a man, am not taking any responsibility for the acts of violence against women in our society and I ask, how can the feminists actually qualify that men solely should? For every act of violence that is attached to a repeat offender there exists an enabler(s). It is easy to understand who these enablers are.
What I have mentioned here is just the tip of the iceberg of why men are so sick and tired of taking all the blame for the ills of our society when it is so obvious that men are truly not running the show in our western society yet are expected to take the blame for it.

http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/pi/fv-vf/facts-info/sa-vc.html

According to the GSS, women and men experience similar rates of both violence and emotional abuse in their relationships. The survey found, however, that the violence experienced by women is tended to be more severe - and more often repeated - than the violence directed at men. For example, compared to men, women were:

•six times more likely to report being sexually assaulted
•five times more likely to report being choked
•five times more likely to require medical attention, as a result of an assault
•three times more likely to be physically injured by an assault
•more than twice as likely to report being beaten
•almost twice as likely to report being threatened with, or having a gun or knife used against them
•much more likely to fear for their lives, or be afraid for their children as a result of the violence
•more likely to have sleeping problems, suffer depression or anxiety attacks, or have lowered self-esteem as a result of being abused, and
•more likely to report repeated victimization.
Some researchers have noted that the survey also found that women experience higher levels of certain types of emotional abuse. Compared to men, women:
•were four times more likely to report being threatened, harmed, or having someone close to them threatened or harmed
•were four times more likely to report being denied access to family income
•were more than twice as likely to report having their property damaged or their possessions destroyed
•reported a higher incidence of being isolated from family and friends, and
•reported a higher rate of name-calling and put downs.
Homicide data reveals that women are also at higher risk of being killed by their husbands. In the past two decades, three times as many wives were killed by their husbands, as husbands killed by wives.10 The rate of spousal homicide is much higher for Aboriginal women and men.
No national data on the prevalence of spousal abuse in same-sex relationships is available, however, there is a growing body of research that indicates that spousal abuse is a serious problem among both lesbian and gay couples.

responsibility?

Well, just because you asked, paisley, women apparently are 12 times as likely to be doing the housework. So: the majority of women work (old figures were 74% of women in Canada), and they also are the primary caregivers for children, and they are also doing the housework. Sounds like a recipe for breakdown to me.

What I don't get is why you would infer from this article, or from my posts, that men should be blamed for the problems of this society.The problems are societal and we are all responsible. (Well, we can except the children.) The first step in solving any issue or problem is in getting it out in the open - public discourse, and some exchange of views. Both you and sludge seem to want to minimize or deny the problem - why? Acknowledging that the problem of violence towards women exists does not preclude acknowledging that there are many other societal problems...

When I read or hear of women who perpetuate violence, I don't hang my head in shame at being at woman. I do reflect very deeply though, on the kinds of structures and supports and equalities we should put into place in order to prevent these tragedies - for both men and women. In case you haven't heard, feminism is about the equality of women...now just think on that for a moment...equality of men and women. Equal means equal, not lesser than or greater than. It's a fine and noble concept.