6. Men As Victims of Intimate Violence by Marc Dubin
Marc Dubin responds to a series of articles addressing the
alleged failure to recognize men as victims of intimate violence.
There have been a series of articles published recently
in major American newspapers addressing the question of the
degree to which men are victims of intimate violence. (Cathy
Young , “In abuse, men are victims, too”, published
in the Boston Globe, June 16, 2003, and Karen S. Peterson,
“Studies shatter myth about abuse”, published
in USA TODAY, June 24, 2003).
As a man who has prosecuted domestic violence, served as Special
Counsel to the Violence Against Women Office at the Justice
Department, and serves as Executive Director of CAVNET (Communities
Against Violence Network (www.cavnet.org), a nonprofit that
networks experts and advocates and provides a comprehensive
online database on the subject, I want to try to respond to
some of the issues raised in these articles:
Karen Peterson reports that “(T)he newest findings
challenge the feminist belief that “it is men only who
cause violence,” says psychologist Deborah Capaldi of
the Oregon Social Learning Center. “That is a myth.”
Feminists make no such claim, and I challenge anyone to find
any feminist who has said that. Rather, feminist scholars
ask merely that we get the facts right - women far outnumber
men as victims of intimate partner violence, and intimate
partner violence is deadlier for women. What do I base this
on? Try reading the Justice Department’s studies, which
are conducted impartially, and which are based on police reports,
FBI reports, and the National Crime Victimization Survey.What
does the Justice Department say about intimate partner violence?
That women are victims of violence by intimate partners far
more often than are men.
How much more often? Well, according to the Justice Department,
which oughta know, 85% of intimate violence is committed against
women. Only 5-15% of intimate violence is committed against
men. And, please be sure to notice that that figure includes
same sex violence. The real myth? That feminists (or anyone
else with any credibility) claim that “it is only men
who cause violence”. Perhaps Karen and Deborah should
read the Justice Department’s study, and perhaps they
can give us a source for their mistaken assertion.
Karen Peterson reports that: “The number of women who
hit first or hit back is “much greater than has been
generally assumed,” Capaldi says. She says she is surprised
by the frequency of aggressive acts by women and by the number
of men who are afraid of partners who assault them.
It is essential that before we debate the question of the
importance of the “number of women who hit first or
hit back” that we understand this question in the context
of intimate partner violence.
Intimate partner violence, also often referred to as “domestic
violence”, is more than merely a question of hitting
or aggression. Intimate partner violence is about a pattern
of conduct, over time, in which one individual exercises power
and control over another, characterized by isolation from
friends and family, control over money, belittling, diminishing
of self esteem, and physical violence. It is distinguishable
from situational violence which may occur episodically in
the course of a relationship, such as someone throwing a plate
in anger or frustration during an argument. One needs to examine
the motivation and purpose of the abuser’s activity
- is it a pattern of conduct, over time, designed to exercise
power and control?
We also need to distinguish intimate partner violence from
self defense (the women who hit back). Self defense is not
intimate partner violence - it is a legal response to criminal
behavior. Perhaps Ms. Capaldi is surprised by what she refers
to as “aggressive acts by women”, but she needs
to understand that aggressive acts are not the same thing
as intimate partner violence. Aggressive acts can be used
in intimate partner violence, but there are many ways that
batterers engage in intimate partner violence without being
aggressive, and plenty of acts of aggression and self defense
that are not intimate partner violence.
Karen Peterson reports that: “Capaldi and two other
female researchers call for a re-evaluation of treatment programs
nationwide. Such programs focus on men and ignore women....”
Focusing on men in treatment programs makes sense, since 85%
of intimate partner violence is engaged in by men, including
gay men.
According to the Justice Department, 588,490 victimizations
by intimate partners in 2001 were against women. In contrast,
in 1993 men were victims of 162,870 violent crimes by an intimate
partner. By 2001 that total had fallen to an estimated 103,220
victimizations. Before we debate this though, let’s
recognize that there is no consensus that treatment programs
for male batterers actually work. Far too many courts make
the mistake of ordering perpetrators into “anger management”
classes, in the mistaken belief that intimate partner violence
is about anger, a mistake that is similar to equating “aggression”
with intimate partner violence. Classes that ignore the issues
of power and control present in intimate violence do not work,
and far too many perpetrators learn how to appear to be in
control of their anger while simultaneously engaging in power
and control and revictimizing their partners. Treatment programs
which address the issues of power and control have a better
likelihood of success, but unfortunately there is no hard
evidence that these programs work either. Jail, not treatment,
is sometimes the appropriate response – this is criminal
behavior, after all.
By all means, let’s increase funding to programs that
address intimate partner violence by women - this will mean
more money for research into lesbian battering, an understudied
and underserved population.
While we are on the subject of programs addressing intimate
partner violence, let’s all commend the police, prosecutors,
judges, and victim service agencies that have been addressing
this problem - their work is having profound success. The
most recent Department of Justice reveals that intimate partner
violence is decreasing, for men and women. The Department
of Justice reports that:
The rate of intimate violence against females declined significantly
between 1993 and 2001, dropping by nearly half (49%). The
rate of intimate violence against males fell 42% between 1993
and 2001.
Source: Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2001, U.S. Department
of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, February 2003. NCJ
197838 www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/ipv01.htm
Victim blaming is an old tactic of those guilty of wrong-doing
- let’s try to focus on why so many men engage in intimate
partner violence, rather than placing the blame on the ones
they choose to victimize.
Let’s also recognize that for women, intimate partner
violence is deadlier than for men. Women are at far greater
risk of fatal victimizations by an intimate than are men.
The Department of Justice reports that:
In recent years, about 1/3 (33%) of female murder victims
were killed by an intimate. In contrast, 4% of males were
killed by an intimate. The number of men murdered by intimates
dropped 68% between 1976 and 2000, the year of the most recently
available data. In 1976, an intimate murdered 1,357 men; in
2000, 440. The number of women killed by an intimate was stable
for two decades but declined after 1993. Between 1976 and
2000 the number of women murdered by intimates fell 22% from
1,600 to 1,247. These statistics include same sex relationships.
Source: Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2001, U.S. Department
of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, February 2003. NCJ
197838 www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/ipv01.htm
The article by Cathy Young contains similar errors. She writes:
But the underlying approach is still one that assumes the
perpetrators are men and the victims are women, ignoring the
complex picture of family violence that emerges from nearly
three decades of research.
I do not assume that the perpetrators are men - I simply
recognize that the Justice Department has shown that in the
vast majority of cases of intimate partner violence, the perpetrator
is male (and that this includes gay men). She writes, without
citing any studies at all, and ignoring entirely the Department
of Justice’s work, that: (S)tudy after study shows that
anywhere from one-third to half of spousal or partner assaults
are female-on-male. Wrong. Asking men in a bar does not a
study make.
She also writes:
Earlier this month, a New York woman was charged with beating
her former boyfriend to death with her high-heeled shoe.
She fails to note that the Grand Jury did not indict her,
found that she had been abused and acted in self defense,
and that the woman was released.
Shoddy reporting does not a true reality make either.
Perhaps the editors should review the research before allowing
this type of reporting to pass as helpful.
For more information on intimate partner violence, visit
http://www.cavnet.org.
Please feel free to republish this, with attribution to CAVNET.
Marc Dubin is the Executive Director of CAVNET, the Communities
Against Violence Network in the US. Website: www.cavnet.org.
E-mail: mdubin[at]cavnet.org. This piece was posted on the
CAVNET website on June 29, 2003.
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