“End Violence Against Women”- Galway event.

by gosimeon Mon Dec 10, 2007 15:25 mark at mindless dot com

This is just silly. Why protest for the end of violence against women? Campaign for an end to domestic violence altogether.

People like these seem to feel it's women that are by far the main victims of domestic violence. Perhaps they should do their homework a bit better.

A HSE report that sampled men from Monaghan found that "The majority of
these men (72%) had suffered some form of physical abuse and an even higher proportion (82%)
had unsubstantiated allegations made against them, while all had suffered mental abuse such as
threats to report the male victim as perpetrator. However only 45% contacted the Garda
Síochána and, of those, 97% claimed that they had not been taken seriously or were treated as if
they were the perpetrator. Seventy percent said they had found it difficult to leave their home
because of concern for their children's safety."

AMEN is a support group for men suffering from domestic violence, and the stats are alarming. What is even more alarming is the stigma attached to men being bullied and being victims of domestic violence; an almost foreign idea here thanks to groups like the one in the article.

Domestic violence is something that affects many people, and is far more gender-balanced than people seem to think. End it all.

by Chrissie Tue Dec 11, 2007 13:31

Sexism cuts both ways! There is a pressing need for enforcement of laws against domestic violence here, but world wide there is a huge need to win women's rights, for instance against Female Genital Mutilation in sub-Saharan Africa.

by Portia Thu Dec 13, 2007 20:53

What about the men???

Notice the way the HSE has come up with figures.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, bless them, but I would not believe a word they say or write, because their treatment of women is discriminatory and

Supports the abuser....

Oh NO , I can hear you say, but how does one know what happens in secret courts where male judges still tell women to go home and obey violent husbands and if they dont- they are MADE HOMELESS.

You see- this is how it is- OPPRESSION of the quiet peaceful human whether it is male or female.

What needs to be written is PATRIARCHAL SYSTEM supports violence and oppresssion.

Why??? Because after much real research I found the truth.

Violence creates wealth for the elite- so why stop violence and then there is no one to line their pockets.

All the ways that abuse affects society is the great money machine from hospitals to medicenes to psychologists to psychiatrists , lawyers, judges,etc........all making a living from the misery of the abused.

Who in their right mind would want to stop the gravy train???????????

by Sceptic Thu Dec 13, 2007 21:15

Portia,
That is a rather silly argument and if that is what your research shows your methodology is suspect. You might as well argue that funeral directors have a vested interest in death. No right thinking person supports domestic violence or opposes measures to end it. It cannot be ended entirely human nature being what it is especially in a drink addled society – you can’t have a police officer in every home in the land. The point women’s groups tend to miss is that nobody, male or female, should be the victim of unprovoked or unwarranted harmful violence. The fact the majority of victims will be women obscures this point but women are not the only victims. The point made about women abroad is quite valid. There are parts of the world where there really are severe patriarchal societies and the most horrendous abuse of the female takes place with impunity. Bad and all as your problems here might be there are pretty minor compared to those societies. One should not be too negative.

by Victim Fri Dec 14, 2007 12:32

Of course all violence is wrong. From what I can see this protest was not only about domestic violence, but all violence perpetrated against women. Of course violence against men is equally as wrong, but that does not mean that there is anything wrond with protesting against violence against women.

Some of the points made here were plain silly. As a recovering gang rape victim, I realise that I am damn lucky to have doctors, psychiatrists and support groups to help me recover. To suggest that violence is a result of these people wanting to make money is ridiculous. Were I raped in another society I would not have access to such help, and could even be ostracized by friends and family, punsihed by law etc. Help exists here because the problem exists, not the reverse, as if this were the case violence would not occur in other societies.

To protest against violence againist women does not mean one is a man-hater or has no problems violence against men, anymore than protesting against violence perpetrated against childre means one hates adults or thinks it's acceptable to abuse them. If the detractors feel strongly about violence against men, why not organise your own event to highlight the problem??? Particularly as it has rightly been pointed out that this problem is far more widespread than most people realise and recieves little attention. It's not the fault of the women who defend themselves that this is the case. It takes a hell of a lot of courage to finally speak out I know, but unless the victims do so, they will never receive the support they deserve.

Those of us who have suffered from violence have a hard enough time standing up for ourselves without being expected to take on the issues of others on top of it all. Women's groups were started by women and for women. I see no reason why men cannot do the same. The issues, the psychological effects etc are not identical. Men and women realte differently, and for a victim of either sex it can be difficult or impossible to open up to a member of the opposite sex and in both cases, what is important is the the person recovering is given the best possible support in the safest possible environment in order to take back their lives as quickly and as easily as possible. I know that I myself could never feel safe discussinig my experiences in the presence of men, even if those men were also victims themselves. Violence does strange things to one's subconscious and leads to irrational feelings of fear and shame which can be triggered by the very presence of any reminder of what happened.

It is mean-spirited and cowardly to attack those who protest against violence towards women simply because men aren't doing it for themselves. Are we female victims supposed to fight your battles for you as well as our own???

by Sceptic Fri Dec 14, 2007 21:54

It should not be an issue that divides men and women. All decent people are against criminal violence against anybody. There may be circumstances in which certain victim women don’t want to be in the company of men when discussing the issue but that does not excuse the National Women’s Council making a full meal of the issue as if they have a franchise on it.

by victim Sat Dec 15, 2007 21:01

"the National Women’s Council making a full meal of the issue as if they have a franchise on it. "

Please explain this comment...

To "MHS" there may well be differences in funding for men and women in violent situations. But how do you think women got that funding??? We stood up and shouted, that's how. Once again, if you feel strongly about any injustice, make your voice heard!!! We live in a democracy. You won't get arrested for peaceful protest you know, even if you are a man!!!

There are areas where women are favoured over men unjustly. So get off your asses guys and redress the balance!!! But don't knock those of us who think we have the right not to be beaten, raped etc. and are willing to stand up for ourselves. FFS... As I said, being against the rape/beating/mutilation of adult women doesn't mean youare pro rape/beating/mutilation of adult men or children of either sex. It's not a devisive issue. I love men. The good ones. I hate violence and would defend anyone against it.

Where are the men's groups???? Form one, fight for women AND men, and come back to me. Then you will have a leg to stand on. You don't need bloody funding to form a lobby group. If you did, there would be none!

by Sceptic Sun Dec 16, 2007 18:48

This is the link to the National Women's Council recent campaign on the issue. They are a body which is very well endowed with public funds on an annual basis.

by victim Tue Dec 18, 2007 01:41

Fair play to the women's council... voluntary... set up 30 years ago... helping women and kids... What problen do you have with this???? Do tell....