One of the things that would have been clear in any analysis in the changing position of the Government, statutory authorities and the media on male victims is the weasel acknowledgement.
Years ago there was no acknowledgement but now there is the weasel acknowledgement. This is where, to give the false impression of gender neutrality, there is a description in an article/publication/report on the lines of - "Men can also be victims of domestic violence but the vast majority of victims are women" - An untrue assertion (link) as 40% - 43% of victims are men. The article/publication/report then ignores male victims and only mentions female victims.
The Guardian's Joan Smith's article (link)from this weekend is a case in point (worth viewing the debate on the article).
The article states:- "Plenty of middle-class women, and some men, are beaten and humiliated by their partners, but there's growing evidence that the global recession is making people more vulnerable to physical and mental abuse".
It then just goes into the usual diatribe about how women suffer at the hands of men, without presenting the alternative view. All very predictable and just adds to the stereotype that only women can be victims.
Don't let the weasel acknowledgement fool anyone.
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