Fallen Angel

Facts About Domestic Violence you Will Not See In The Media

(disponibile il testo in lingua italiana)

We are sending this report to those persons and agencies who deal with domestic violence in the hope that we can correct a serious misunderstanding about the issue of domestic violence.
We want to make it clear that we were one of the original incorporaters of our local abuse shelter. We have worked for more than a decade to eliminate domestic violence. We are members of the "Century Club", those who contribute over $100 to the local women's shelter.We support the services they provide to victims. However, the women's shelter movementis seriously misinformed about the causes and scope of the domestic violence problem.
This misunderstanding of the domestic violence issue is so extensive that the courts, law enforcement, and other tax supported agencies are now structuring programs based on feminist propaganda rather than responsible scientific studies.
The following is a summary of domestic violence research. Please, help get this important research on subject of domestic violence to the public.
The Feminist View of Domestic Violence Vs Scientific Studies
One of the most pervasive myths of our society is that domestic violence is something men do to women. Solid scientific research reveals that domestic violence is something women do to men more frequently than men do it to women. While it is true that men account for most violence outside the home, women instigate most domestic violence and they injure men more frequently and more severely.
The Family Research Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire, under grants from the National Institute of Mental Health, recently finished the last of three national studies on domestic violence. The first two studies revealed results similar to the latest study. Anyone who would like a copy of the latest study may order it from the University of New Hampshire (ask for document V55). The data tape and documentation of the 1975 and 1985 studies are available from the Interuniversity Consortium For Political and Social Research at the University of Michigan. Original data is also available on CD-ROM from Sociometrics, Inc. in Palo Alto, CA.
The results in the "severe assault" category, are reported below:

Wives report they have been severely assaulted by husband 22 per 1000

Wives report they have severely assaulted husband 59 per 1000

Husbands report they have been severely assaulted by wives 32 per 1000

Husbands report they have severely assaulted wives 18 per 1000

Husbands & wives both report wife has been assaulted 20 per 1000

Husbands & wives both report husband has been assaulted 44 per 1000

There are dozens of other studies that reveal similar findings. For instance: women are three times more likely than men to use weapons in domestic violence. Women initiate most incidents of domestic violence. Women commit most child abuse and most elder abuse. Women hit their male children more frequently and more severely that they hit their female children. Eighty two percent of all people have their first experience of violence at the hands of their mothers. Women commit most child murders. Women commit 40% of all murders and the majority of their adult victims are men. Women commit 50% of spousal murders.
There is much confusion about whom to believe in the debate about domestic violence. On one side we have women's shelter advocates and feminists who rely on law enforcement statistics. On the other side we have social scientists who rely on scientifically structured studies. Unfortunately, the results of scientific studies do not receive media attention. America's press is seemingly more interested in political correctness than scientific accuracy. Therefore, the public perception, and the perception of many well intentioned domestic violence activists, is radically skewed away from the more balanced perception of social scientists.
The typical response of the abuse shelter feminists upon first hearing the results of the scientific studies is to "shoot the messenger". You can almost hear their minds snap closed. On the other hand, abuse shelter personnel who have not accepted the feminist "party line" are grateful to have accurate information upon which to implement rational programs for prevention, intervention, and treatment of abusers and their victims.
We could not find studies which compare the efficacy of scientifically based programs to programs based on feminist politics. However we are willing to wager that scientifically based programs are more effective than programs guided by feminist propaganda.
Domestic Violence in Other Countries
We think it is important to note that there have been the same kind of studies done in many countries. There is cross cultural verification that women are more violent than men in domestic settings. When behavior has cross cultural verification it means that it is part of human nature rather than a result of cultural conditioning. Females are most often the perpetrators in domestic violence in all cultures that have been studied so far. That leads many professionals to conclude that there is something biological about violent females in family situations. Researchers are now exploring the role of the "territorial imperative" as a factor in women's disregard for size difference. Women see the home as their territory. Like many other species on the planet, we humans will ignore size difference when we experience conflict on our own territory. So, the scientific results that reveal the violence of American women are not unique to our culture, and do not indicate a special pathology among American women. World wide, women are more violent than men in domestic settings.
One of the leading researchers in this field is Susan Steinmetz, Ph.D. Here is the list of studies of other cultures Steinmetz has done:
A cross-cultural comparison of marital abuse. Journal of Sociology, and Social Welfare, 8, 404-414. Married couples from 9 different cultures. .1: Finland, n=44; .2:Puerto Rico, n=82; .3:British Honduras(all), n=231; .4:B.H., Spanish speaking, n=103; .5:B.H., Creole, n=79; .6:B.H., carib, n=37; .7:USA, n=94;.8:Canada, n=52; .9:Isreal(all), n=127; .10:Israel Kibbutz, n=63;.11:Israel, city, n=64.

Below is a summary of the most recent and significant studies we could find about domestic violence in Canada. There were two waves of data collection. The first was done in 1990 the second was finished in 1992.

This study was done by "Ms." Reena Sommer, Ph.D., a research associate with the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy and Evaluation. We emphasize the "Ms" to call attention to the fact that scientific studies of DV are dominated by female social scientists. Someone mentioned that the figures might reveal a gender bias as if all scientists are male. In this field many of the recognized experts are women.
female vs. male perpetrated violence as a percentage of all respondents:
% of females % of males
Minor Violence
threw an object 23.6 15.8
(not at partner)
threaten to throw object 14.9 7.3
threw object at partner 16.2 4.6
pushed, or grabbed 19.8 17.2

Severe Violence
slapped, punched, kicked 15.8 7.3
used weapon 3.1 0.9

A survey of couples in Calgary, Canada found that the rate of severe husband-to-wife violence was 4.8%, while severe wife-to-husband violence was 10%. Brinkerhoff & Lupri, Canadian Journal of Sociology, 13:4 (1989)
Abuse shelter advocates and feminists have severely distorted the DV picture and deliberately produce fraudulent statistics and disinformation. Even when they quote well grounded statistics, they misuse the information. Here is an example: One of the favorite statistics quoted by abuse shelter advocates is that a women is the victim of domestic violence every 15 seconds. This statistic is deduced from a well conducted piece of
research which was published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, a well respected professional journal for marriage and family therapists. The Abuse Shelter advocates arrived at this figure by using one of the conclusions of the study, i.e.; 1.8 million women suffer an assault from a husband or boyfriend per year. What abuse shelter advocates always ignore is another finding of the same study, i.e.; 2 million men are assaulted by a wife or girl friend per year, which translates as, a man is the victim of domestic violence every 14 seconds. This is typical of the wide spread deception practiced by abuse shelter advocates. America's press establishment is a party to this deception and shares the blame
for exacerbating the DV problem by perpetuating a false diagnosis.
Women usually initiate domestic violence episodes (they hit first), and women hit more frequently, as well as using weapons three times more often then men. This combination of violent acts means that the efforts of finding solutions to the domestic violence problem need to focus on female perpetrators. We need to recognize that women are violent, and we need nationwide educational programs that emphasize the women's role as perpetrators. Other studies show that men are becoming less violent at the same time that women are becoming more violent. Educating men seems to be working. Educating women to be less violent should now be the main thrust of public education programs.
Any domestic violence program which accepts the "male abuser - female victim" paradigm is based on a false premise. These kind of domestic violence programs actually perpetuate the problem of domestic abuse.
Let us quote from a book on the subject by McNeely, R.L.. and Robinson-Simpson, G (1987) "The Truth about Domestic Violence: A Falsely Framed Issue" : "Yet, while repeated studies consistently show that men are victims of domestic violence at least as often as are women, both the lay public and many professionals regard a finding of no sex difference in rates of physical aggression among intimates as surprising, if not unreliable, the stereotype being that men are aggressive and women are exclusively victims."
Here is an exception to the usual media boycott of the science based stories about domestic violence:
The Washington Times,Jan 31, 1994
Section A, Joyce Price
Murray A. Straus, a sociologist and co-director for the Family Research Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire, blames "women in the battered [women's] shelter movement" for denying that women physically abuse husbands, ex-husbands and boyfriends, or playing down such abuse.
"There's this fiction in the shelter movement that in all cases, it's him, not her" who's responsible for domestic assaults, Mr. Straus said in a recent interview.
Mr. Straus said at least 30 studies of domestic violence - including some he's conducted - have shown both sexes to be equally culpable. But he said some of the research, such as a recent Canadian national survey, "left out data on women abusing men ... because it's
politically embarrassing."
Women and men "are almost identical" in terms of the frequency of attacks such as slapping, shoving, and kicking, Mr. Straus said.
Using information on married couples obtained from 2,994 women in the 1985 National Family Violence Survey, Mr. Straus said he found a rate for assaults by wives of 124 per 1,000 couples, compared with 122 per 1,000 for assaults by husbands.
The rate of minor assaults by wives was 78 per 1,000 couples, and the rate of minor assaults by husbands was 72 per 1,000, he said. For the category of severe assaults, he said, the rate was 46 per 1,000 couples for assaults by wives and 50 per 1,000 for assaults by husbands.
* "Neither difference is statistically different," Mr. Straus wrote in the journal Issues in Definition and Measurement. "As these rates are based exclusively on information provided by women respondents, the near equality in assault rates cannot be attributed to a gender bias in reporting." (end quote)
* Dr. Straus's comments do not reflect the 1995 National Family Violence Survey However, part of the feminist agenda is to make men look as bad as they can. The American press cooperates with this libelous portrayal of men. The feminist view of domestic violence is part of the problem. The media boycott of news about the scientific studies is part of the problem. The scientific view gives us hope for solution.
Please do your part to share this very important information with your community.
Thank you for your attention to this important issue.
Sam & Bunny Sewell
e-mail [email protected]