Domestic Violence Against Men

Domestic violence against men is an all too real issuepopulace. The perpetrators for the most part are
that doesn't get as much attention as it should.men, but in the case of Dugard, the perpetrator was
There are an overwhelming number of domesticalso his wife.
violence statistical data illustrating domestic violenceWhat many people fail to consider is that domestic
against women. But, there is also plenty of evidenceviolence against men, like women, happen in many
of men being subjected to domestic violence, as well.different ways. Let's look at the very visible case of
Some statistics suggest that out of every 100Christopher Savoie. At face value, this may not
reported domestic violence cases, about 40 of themappear to be domestic violence, but the man is now
are against men.in jail because his wife abducted their children and
One of the biggest supporters against domestictook them to Japan. She was U.S. court had issued
violence against both men and women is Patti Austin,an arrest warrant for the mother!
the 2007 Grammy award winning singer / songwriter.According to a report by The Center for Disease
She was so moved by this "epidemic" that sheControl and Prevention, they studied 11,000 men and
started the Blue Movement in support of the victimswomen involved in domestic violence cases. What
of domestic violence. In fact, she was so moved bythey found was that in 50% of the cases, the
the story she saw on Oprah that she wrote a songdomestic violence involved both parties. And, an
called "By the Grace of God" as a way to speak outinteresting fact, the woman was the first to strike.
against domestic violence.One other interesting revelation was that when the
The month of October is designated as domesticviolence was one-sided, 70% of the time the
violence month. As such, it is important forperpetrator was the woman.
lawmakers and the general population to considerAnother interesting statistic shows that domestic
elevating the issue of domestic violence in support ofviolence against men has more than doubled in the
a gender neutral movement. According to one report,last 10 years. The actual numbers are probably even
there were an estimated 800,000 reported cases ofhigher, because like in many domestic violence cases,
domestic violence against men last year.they often are not reported. And, even when
Domestic violence whether against men or womenreported the victims and perpetrators often change
should not be tolerated. It's somewhattheir stories.
understandable how women might get a widerNo matter how you look at the information, domestic
audience of support, considering society views themviolence against men or women is a bad thing. It's
as more vulnerable. And, of course, cases like thebad for the parties involved, hurts communities and
Annie Le murder at Yale or the Jaycee Dugarddestroys families. Let's all just hope that we find a
abduction capture the minds of the Americanway to educate everyone of this terrible travesty.