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The Daily OrangeSU needs group for male domestic abuse victims
By Steve Krakauer
Posted: 10/5/05, 12:33 AM EST Section: Opinion
Every 20 seconds, a woman is raped or physically assaulted by an intimate partner, according to a 2000 Department of Justice report. This statistic is widely reported and used by women's rights groups to show the need for dating violence education. But what is rarely talked about, according to the same survey, is that every 38 seconds a man is raped or physically assaulted by an intimate partner.
The idea that a man can be a victim and not just a perpetrator is one of the most taboo topics in all of health education. Although far more women are raped each year, the fact that men are virtually without resource for help is appalling.
Last year the organization A Men's Issue was created to, according to its mission statement, "provide leadership among men who wish to live in a respectful environment free from sexual violence."
This goal seems to indicate a forum to discuss dating violence aimed at all genders. But, instead, the group rehashes old stereotypes.
The work of AMI is certainly done with good intentions. But to have a group of men dedicated to educating other men about how to respect women ignores the fact that the majority of males in society are not sexist, let alone abusers.
"Not surprisingly, the anti-male presumptions underlying (these groups) do not attract men readily to them," said Matt Campbell, co-administrator for MensActivism.org. "But nonetheless, they get acknowledgment and funding while men's interest groups that actually are about men's issues are much less likely."
AMI is a young organization that will have opportunity to grow. It should address the dating violence problem as a problem for both genders rather than an indictment of men.
"Something we're trying to have happen is to try to be more diverse. We're trying to get more men involved," said Jacob Bartholomew, president of A Men's Issue.
To accomplish this, maybe AMI can open its forums to the thousands of men around the country who are victims of domestic abuse, and to educate men to come forward and report dating violence.
"There is a lot of rape hysteria on college campuses," said Glenn Sacks, host of the nationally syndicated radio show "His Side." "If you have a men's group, why can't it address some legitimate grievances that men have?"
There is an alarming amount of violence against women, and every effort should be taken to quell it. AMI attempts to remedy the problem in a unique way. But to ignore that men are victims of dating violence as well would be an injustice to the SU campus.
The idea that a man can be a victim and not just a perpetrator is one of the most taboo topics in all of health education. Although far more women are raped each year, the fact that men are virtually without resource for help is appalling.
Last year the organization A Men's Issue was created to, according to its mission statement, "provide leadership among men who wish to live in a respectful environment free from sexual violence."
This goal seems to indicate a forum to discuss dating violence aimed at all genders. But, instead, the group rehashes old stereotypes.
The work of AMI is certainly done with good intentions. But to have a group of men dedicated to educating other men about how to respect women ignores the fact that the majority of males in society are not sexist, let alone abusers.
"Not surprisingly, the anti-male presumptions underlying (these groups) do not attract men readily to them," said Matt Campbell, co-administrator for MensActivism.org. "But nonetheless, they get acknowledgment and funding while men's interest groups that actually are about men's issues are much less likely."
AMI is a young organization that will have opportunity to grow. It should address the dating violence problem as a problem for both genders rather than an indictment of men.
"Something we're trying to have happen is to try to be more diverse. We're trying to get more men involved," said Jacob Bartholomew, president of A Men's Issue.
To accomplish this, maybe AMI can open its forums to the thousands of men around the country who are victims of domestic abuse, and to educate men to come forward and report dating violence.
"There is a lot of rape hysteria on college campuses," said Glenn Sacks, host of the nationally syndicated radio show "His Side." "If you have a men's group, why can't it address some legitimate grievances that men have?"
There is an alarming amount of violence against women, and every effort should be taken to quell it. AMI attempts to remedy the problem in a unique way. But to ignore that men are victims of dating violence as well would be an injustice to the SU campus.
Steve Krakauer is a senior broadcast journalism major. You can e-mail him at sakrakau@syr.edu.
