The Rights Of Man

LEICESTERSHIRE TAKE MALE DOMESTIC ABUSE VICTIMS SERIOUSLY

As you know, this site has often complained that local authorities on the whole do not take make victims of domestic abuse seriously.

Leicestershire County Council and Leicester City Council are an authority that does take them seriously. Their excellent booklet 'It happens to us too' (link), is the best of its kind, and is well worth viewing.

GOVERNMENT CAUGHT PEDDLING MYTHS OVER 415 PLACES AVAILABLE TO MALE DOMESTIC ABUSE VICTIMS

One of the innumerable areas where this Government have paraded their anti-male credentials has been in the area of support for male victims.

It is bad enough when they spend £60 million per year through the Supporting People initiative on housing support for female victims but nothing for men.  Now they are trying in typical New Labour style to spin how much support male victims receive.

In a response to a e-petition (link), they claim there are 415 places available to male victims. This is based on a terribly misleading report from the Department of Communities and Local Government (report - see page 45).

The report makes this claim and also shows that 250 of these 415 places are in Yorkshire. However, after speaking to the ManKind Initiative (link), they said that these 415 places are actually in hostels for people on bail/recently released frOm prison/alcoholics etc. These are not proper refuge places with requisite care facilities (only six exist for heterosexual men, 1 for homosexual men whilst there are 500 for women).

The myth of the 415 places is deliberately misleading, it is a simple and typical untruth.

If anyone sees this being used by the Government, please alert this site or The ManKind Initiative. 

CROWN PROSECUTION SERVICE LAUNCHES DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CONSULTATION - PREMISE IS BIASED AGAINST MEN

The Crown Prosecution Service have launched a new consultation - Prosecuting Cases of Domestic Violence (link).

What is disturbing is that the premise for the consultation already shows it only really views women as victims of domestic violence and not men. This false premise has to be challenged. Indeed, if the CPS does not change its guidance and training then it would be liable for challenge under the Human Rights Act and the Gender Equality Duty.

Under the section What is Domestic Violence? it states:- "...the evidence shows that the overwhelming majority of victims are women and abusers men. Taking action against domestic violence is therefore included as part of the CPS Violence against Women Strategy."

The accompanying press release (link) also quotes this Violence Against Women Strategy (link).

Firstly, the CPS, like other Government Agencies, shows its knee-jerk institutionalised sexism against men. The overwhelming majority of victims are not women. That is an untruth. The British Crime Survey figures show that two and five victims are men with nearly as many men are victims of severe force in a domestic relationship as women (See previous post, Dewar Research and The ManKind Initiative). It is ratio of 60 (women):40 (men) and this is not an 'overwhelming majority'.

Secondly, of course, where is the Violence Against Men Strategy?

There is a clear need that for those organisations, such as male domestic abuse charities, who must respond to this, they must challenge the myths that the CPS are basing their consultation on. It goes back to first principles.

VIOLENT WOMEN INCREASE MEANS MALE DOMESTIC ABUSE VICTIMS CAN NO LONGER BE IGNORED

Police announced today that they can no longer cope with the increase in violent women (link) - 240 per day.

After listening to the story of a male domestic abuse victim on Radio 4 (link - click on latest edition and 35 minutes in), the lightbulb went off.

Wth such an increase in violent women in British society nowadays, some of this at least be coming out in domestic situations, whether it is reported or not. 

Therefore the needs of male domestic abuse victims must be made a high priority rather than being ignored by the Governement, police and local authorities. These figures show that male victims must be on the increase, this violence cannot just be confined to after-closing-time incidents.

It also means that those who believe that only violence is carried out  by men are WRONG. They have been proved wrong and must challenged.

Again, no comment from Harman, Baird or Eagle?

HOW LONG WILL MALE ANOREXIA BE IGNORED BY GOVERNMENT

The list is endless when it comes to issues where the specific needs of men are purposely ignored because of the anti-male Government etc.

Now new figures reveal that 137 men in England with the most severe case of anorexia saw specialists in 2007. Special hospital appointments increased by 32% to 1,700 from figures obtained by the Conservatives and featured in the Mail (link).

Now the Government has the statistics it not needs to look at what services/information are made available to help these men but importantly they must make sure that statutory agencies (especially the NHS and GP surgeries) do not dismiss those men who are suffering solely because they are men. This is what happens when it comes to domestic abuse when male victims are ignored as a matter of routine.

Watch this space.

TWO MORE CASES THAT SHOW RAPE LAW MUST CHANGE

Rape is one of the worst things that can ever to occur to a woman or a man. Those who falsely accuse a man of rape not only let down those women who have been raped but also blight the lives of the accused.

Both Tracy Winfield and Erin Casson are two such women who made false rape allegations (link) ruining the lives of innocent men.

This site has long argued that men accused of rape must remain anonymous unless they are found guilty. They should not have their lives blighted by this and anonymity would give equality of treatment before the law. Importantly, there is no evidence that this would stop any women who was raped from coming forward.

WOMEN FOUND GUILTY OF POISONING MAN

Yesterday, the site featured an article about changing the law on murder and how this anti-male Government believes in everything it says and does that only men are perpetrators of domestic abuse.

The case of Linda Lees who put poison in her husband's food, shows why this is wrong (link).

Again, no comment from Harriet Harman, Angela Eagle or Vera Baird? 

WOMEN FIGHT BACK AGAINST HARMAN'S MURDER CHANGES

The Government announced last week (BBC , Ministry of Justice, Telegraph, Times , Guardian, Mail) that it was reviewing the murder laws to clarify the law on provocation where the partial defence of provocation would be scrapped and replaced with two new defences.

These would be if someone killed over fears about serious violence, or if they could show they were "seriously wronged" by the victim's actions. According to the Home Office, they said the existing law "is designed to cater for anger killing, but it is not significantly well tailored for killings that are a response to fear".

Justice Minister Maria Eagle said: "For men and women who kill their partners, these changes will mean that the letter of the law finally catches up with judges and juries, who in recent years have been less prone than people think to let men off lightly and punish women harshly."

The issue raises a number of issues but as ever with this anti-male Government it is the tone and interpretation that is so damaging to men. Harman has abolished fatherhood, wants to allow men to be discriminated in employment law and now wants it easier for women to justify killing a man.

Harriet Harman, Eagle and Vera Baird, all Government Ministers, kept, during their interviews, using the example of women suffering from years of domestic abuse and that their fear should be taken into account if they subsequently murdered their husband. A change based on constant abuse rather than a momentary loss of temper which has led to a tiny minority of men to kill their wife. It means that it will be harder for a man to claim a momentary loss of control but easier for a woman to say it was after years of abuse.

Neither type of murder is right and cases should be based on their individual merits, not used as another tool in the armoury of the gender war. Of course, they purposely overlook the 87,200 woemn arrested last year for violence (link)

A number of issues arise:-

Firstly, because society, the media, the politicians, the police/social services/NHS and the courts believe that only women are victims of domestic abuse and not men, and also if a women claims she is a victim, it is automatically believed to be true, the level of proof a women will need to claim provocation will be lower.

Secondly, because all the examples that were given were against men it means it has set a tone of interpretation which will bear heavily on the minds of the prosecuting authorities.

Lastly, what was gratifying was that the backlash against these proposals were led by women and that this was simply another excuse by Harman, Eagle and Baird to demonise men. They are right of course. Women defending men and castigating these three stooges as being anti-men resonates far more powerfully than if it was made by men. 

Melanie McDonagh in The Times called it "An unjust, feminist view of murder" (link) which was coupled with a long debate.

Erin Pizzey in The Mail said "Harman ...which treats men as either second-class citizens or a menace to society." (link) . Erin also featured heavily on the TV and radio.

Jimmy Young in the Express heaps praise on Erin (link)

SAVE THE MALES - NEW BOOK ON THE PLIGHT OF MEN IN TODAY'S WORLD

American columnist Kathleen Parker's book "Save The Males" has now been published in the UK (link). It was also the subject of a two-page article in the Daily Mail by columnist Amanda Platell (link).

After decades of subjugation, there is an ever increasing library of books on the plight of men. As ever, a well recommended read.

UPDATE 4th AUGUST - Book with debate featured in The Sunday Times (link)

INSIDE HOUSING - ARTICLE ON LACK OF SPACE FOR MALE DOMESTIC ABUSE VICTIMS

Inside Housing, a magazine that specialises in the social housing sector, produced an overview about the lack of space available for men. Hopefully this will open a few more eyes in the public sector. Perhaps.

The article is here (link).