The Rights Of Man

ARTICLES UPDATE

Just a quick update on some recent and varied articles of interest on male equality issues. Health warning - some may make your blood boil!

Channel 5 News - Shocking rise in male victims of domestic violence

The Sun - Dads in despair (Antonella Lazzeri)

Daily Telegraph - It's babies not discrimination that hold women back (Jemima Lewis)

Daily Telegraph - Mother's horror as court takes children after 15 minutes hearing (Nick Britten)

Office for National Statistics - Suicide statistics show three times as many men still commit suicide than women

Daily Mail - Jailed the solidiers cheating wife who made false rape claim

The Guardian - What is the nicest thing a man can do for a woman - shout at a bigot (Suzanne Moore)

The Independent - Men blew it (Janet Street-Porter)

Daily Mail - Escape from your husband and duck your duties as a mother (Daniel Bates)

 

ARTICLE UPDATE

Here are a few articles that have not been covered so far but may be of interest.

The Guardian - Welfare Reform Bill will trap women in their violent hell (Lisa Ansell)

The Observer - Review threatens companies with disclosure over number of women they interview (Andrew Clark) plus UK lags behind Nordic nations.

Daily Telegraph - Young women face £1,000 increase in car insurance (David Williams)

The Guardian - Paying the price for equality (Rupert Jones)

Daily Mail - One in three female offenders are thugs (Sarah Harris)

Warminster TImes - £80 fine for false rape claim 

Aberdeen Press and Journal - False rape claim woman faces jail

NPR (USA) - Love doesn't have to hurt (Michel Martin) About an appalling Pepsi Superbowl advert 

BBC Berkshire - Woman cautioned over false rape claim

Daily Mail - Female Chaplain sentenced over false rape claim 

The Independent - Boardroom quotas (Margareta Pagano)

Daily Telegraph - Lady golfers unhappy about law to end sex discrimination (Adam Lusher) 

Posted by Skimmington 

WHY DOESN'T THE GOVERNMENT RUN A SIMILAR DOMESTIC ABUSE SURVEY FOR MEN?

At the end of last year and the start of this, the site highlighted how the Government was purposely ignoring male victims of domestic abuse. This by running campaigns only for female victims, making £28 million in funds available to end Violence against Women and Girls (rape and domestic violence services) but none for male victims and also only announcing initiatives but 'forgetting' they apply to men too.

ANother example was seen this week when teh Home Office mentioned that it had run a joint survey with women's lifestyle site iVillage. The quotes were careful

Why doesn't the Government team up with a men's charity or other organisation to run such a survey?

Posted by Skimmington

DOMESTIC ABUSE PROGRESS FOR MALE VICTIMS AT A LOCAL LEVEL

Last week the site recounted the fact that the Guardian seemed shocked and aghast that there were services available to male victims of domestic abuse. Many in the media also still forget that men exist as the questions about cuts in domestic abuse services seem to forget what crumb-like resoruces for men are likely to be cut (probably the first in the queue) or even forget to make the point that there is barely anything to cut.

This Channel 4 News article is a case in point and as we know with the Ending Violence against Women and Girls strategy the government not even remotely interested in supporting male victims of domestic abuse and their continual campaigns that conveniently forget about men. This is despite the fact that as shown in a new updated 15 key facts briefing about male victims from the ManKind Initiative one in three victims continue to be male - these are from the Government's own updated British Crime Survey. I see ManKind also wrote to Dominic Raab MP.

At a local level though (ignoring West Yorkshire Police), there is a far more police, council and other grass roots recognition.

Cheshire police launched a campaign this week (This is Cheshire), East Berkshire Women's Aid says it helps two men per week, Bradford police are urging more to come forward and in Hartlepool the council is looking into it. In Merseyside there is recognition from the police as well.

This not only helps to put pressure on councils to ensure there are local services but also that the police take a more objective and fairer look at the subject. It all helps in changing police attitudes.

Much of this will driven by the fact that more men are coming forward, there are more violent women and the role of the Public Sector Equality Duty - the new powerful aid in ensuring there is male equality in the UK (more in a later post).

Also thanks must go to MRA's and organisations (The ManKind Initiative, Dyn, Abused Men in Scotland, Men's Network and others) that continually campaign for male victims to ensure they are not forgotten. It is only because of this combination and focused effort that things are gradually turning - albeit at an oil tanker-like speed.

While at a national level, the government ignore male victims at least there are green shoots at a local level.

Posted by Skimmington   

PANORAMA SHOW ON FECKLESS DADS SHOW INSTITUTIONAL BIAS OF BRITAIN'S MEDIA ELITE

One of the enduring and underlying themes of documentaries about men is the fact that there always seems to be room for naysayers who want to undermine the concept of the show. Sometimes this can take away the overriding message or dampen its effect.

The site picked up on the negative comments from a Damian Carnell from Nottinghamshire Domestic Abuse Forum (in the BBC's excellent and well received Last Refuge  programme) whose sole remit seemed to be to try and make out that official statistics on male victims of domestic abuse were not as they seemed on paper. I felt his contribution had been shoe-horned into the programme and certainly on a documentary about female victims of domestic abuse, the BBC would not have someone on whose purpose was to undermine statistics on female victims.

Other documentaries scratch the surface in such a way as to not do the subject justice or skew things to such an extent that meaning or relevance can go missing. It can obviously skew meaning to the detriment of the subject matter and often this can be deliberate and add more weight to a stereotype. It's all so easy to do if you are a member of the the anti-male media, public sector and political establishment.

This is the case with the Panorama programme on Monday night called Britain's Missing Dads, which left viewers with the impression with the fact that men were feckless and the plight of single parent mothers was the sole fault of men and the benefits system (which mothers were happy to exploit). Even to the point where Frank Field berated fathers for being feckless and they used the worst possible case in the UK  (a man with endless children by endless mothers).

It was almost as if Panorama was trying to be the TV equivalent of the Daily Mail (better than the Guardian of course!).

The progamme did not cover the bias in the family courts, the ideological disdain for fathers by  CAFCASS, the CSA/CMEC or of course, the fact that some mothers do not want the father around especially if it means they cannot 'game' the benefits system. The latter two points were made out to be the sole fault of the father.

The man bashing agenda can be seen by the response from the Fatherhood Institute about the way their quotes had been taken out of context and their view that the programme just perpetuated stereotypes. It is an excellent response as is the response from the Men's Network.

The anger about the programme can really be felt by the comments left on the BBC website. Instead of looking at the issue in the round or concentrating on an issue where there is clear problem (the family courts for example), the BBC's Panorama chose the ideologically easy target - the feckless dad.

It is easier you see to concentrate your fire on men and fathers in this way because they are a not politcially correct victim group. It is far harder to produce a programme on the bias of the family courts denying children access and support from their fathers. All hell would break loose if the BBC told the truth about the family courts system.

Posted by Skimmington

PS There are lots of comments on the BBC's site but this one says it all in a nutshell (listed at 8.55pm). 

"Yet another program that only shows one side of the problem.What about showing the mothers that refuse to give fathers any access to children after a divorce, then spread rumours like, 'I think he may have been doing something to them', even when completely untrue.

 "I lost my career because my ex decided this was the best way to stop me having any access, and went from £25000 a year in 1990 to £9500 in 2010. I had difficulty paying bills, let alone maintenance, and as for contact I have recently found out she destroyed any letters I sent to my children or any they sent to me.

 "Is that the actions of a caring mother?

"How about another program showing the other side of the problems, not just the governments or mothers."

 

ARTICLES ROUND-UP

Just an update on a few recent articles worth looking at:

Daily Mail - My wife hugged me and then stabbed me in the back (Penny Marshall) Please read comments section.

This is Leicestershire - Support for male victims of domestic abuse (Ciaran Fagan)

Daily Telegraph - Poor white boys score lower than chinese classmates (Tim Ross)

Daily Telegraph - Mother stunned after being accused of kerb-crawling (Chris Brooke) : Mother attacks police tactics mentioning what would happen if it was a man accused.

Evening Standard - Fathers at risk from legal aid cuts (Martin Bentham)

Daily Mail - The children who never see daddy (James Chapman): 369 comments in this section

Daily Mail - More rights for women has led to fewer jobs in the recession (Harry Phibbs)

Daily Mail - My dad is number one role model

Posted by Skimmington

 

 

GOVERNMENT SHOWS NO INTEREST IN MALE VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC ABUSE - EXAMPLE 1,999

Just a quick post but yesterday we had the BBC running two features on male victims of domestic abuse on the same day the government confirms (as they did before Christmas) that they do not think they exist.

The Parliamentary Question from Louise Bagshawe MP asks what action the government will take to push up conviction rates for domestic abuse and sexual offences. The Attorney General then talks about the Violence against Women strategy and how that and the governement will push up conviction rapes under this policy umbrella.

But Bagshawe never mentioned just women, her question mentioned no gender at all. Obvioulsy, male victims are so low down the government's food chain they don't get a mention, only female victims do.

Posted by Skimmington

REVIEW OF RADIO 4 PLAY AND DOCUMENTARY ON MALE VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC ABUSE

As stated at the weekend, BBC Radio 4 ran two programmes today about male victims of domestic abuse.

The play called Believe Me was extremely moving and showed the slow burn of domestic abuse that many male and female victims face. And it was very clever in the set up so it was not obvious what was to happen but showed the gut wrenching nature not only of the abuse Tyrone suffered but also the scandal of false allegations and the pain that many men suffer because of them.

All too real for so many men.

I have to say congratulations to the playwright and Radio 4 for making the play although there was not much made in the BBC's pre-coverage about the false allegation issue which was absolutely central to this.

If domestic abuse against men is one Britain's last taboos then false allegations by female perpetrators of domestic abuse against men, is the last of the last taboos.

In terms of the documentary, the Last Refuge, threading the case studies through the documentary, especially the one used throughout, added real weight. As did the comments made by the Dyn Project who added real depth and knowledge to the subject. Even though the commentator from Dyn raised the issue of screening, he at least explained why and also raised the fact that there may be a need to screen females as well. I liked the point about reiterating that many men get arrested even though they are the victim - not often you hear that on national radio!

One of the commentators was bizarre though - the guy from the Nottingham Domestic Abuse Forum, who seemed more intent in trying to undermine the case for support and awareness of male victims. His research and assertions involved 14 (yes, 14) people, that his screening tool is well established (has anyone heard of it?) and the way he bizarrely tried to dumb down men by saying the figure is the 2000 Scottish Crime Survey were wrong (based on research of 22 people!!) and that male refuges were never full.

The person from Dyn then contradicted him as obviously did the explanation at the start of the programme from the Montgomery Centre which offers housing support for men.The question is why was he included if the show was about supporing male victims? However, it was perhaps useful in showing the type of misandry that male victims face from many in the domestic abuse establishment.

The show did not really reach any conclusions but having said all of that, it is better it was aired because again it is another example of the issue being raised and placed on the radar.

We are still waiting though for the political elite and its officer class to take the plight of male victims seriously...

Posted by Skimmington

BBC RADIO 4 TO HIGHLIGHT MALE VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC ABUSE WHILE WELSH EQUALITIES COMMISSION IGNORES THEM

The BBC return to the subject of male victims of domestic abuse on Monday 10th January 2011. On BBC Radio 4 at 14.15pm there is a play called Believe Me   and then later on at 20.00 there is a 30 minute documentary called the Last Refuge.

Plays on this subject tend to deal with the issue respectfully but documentaries can be very hit and miss especially as it depends on who the production have interviewed and how it has been edited. Some trepidation can already be seen by the fact that the first helpline they advertise is for Respect who are only interested in men who beat up women. So let's see what happens when they are broadcast but the documentary has more potential to actually damage the plight of men.

Please put both in your diaries for Monday and they should be available for 10.

On another front, I was alerted this week to a response from the Equalities Commission for Wales about a complaint from the charity for male victims of domestic abuse, The ManKind Initiative. The charity complained about a campaign (Domestic abuse is your business) the Commission ran aimed at Welsh businesses which grossly ignored male victims in Wales. A press release is here.

This is a classic example of the covert discrimination by omission perpetrated by organisations such as the Oxymoronically (a new phrase (c) Skimmimgton!)) 'Equalities' and Human Rights Commission who are not remotely interested in issues around male discrimination. Here we have a campaign that does not mention male victims, how can this be justified?

Well the ManKind Initiative asked them and all they got was an ideological gendered approach to domestic abuse that had nothing to do with equality. They really do not care and are proud to say it!

It shows the barriers that male victims and those who support them have to face at a policy level let alone at a practical level. Let us hope that the BBC does not add further barriers in its documentary.

Posted by Skimmington

2010 - ANOTHER BAD YEAR AND ANOTHER BAD GOVERNMENT FOR BRITISH MEN

When the coalition government came together (also with lots of new MP's) there was some hope that the prospects for equality for men would improve after 13 years of a proudly anti-male Labour government with Deputy Leader, Harriet Harman, proudly proclaiming her anti-male credentials.

When the coalition government came to power, there were a number of positive things it outlined. Family law reform (still pending), anonymity for rape defendants unless found guilty and a commitment not to implement the controversial 'positive' discrimination sections of the Equality Act specifically designed to undermine the employment chances of men. Plus there was a general feeling that there would no longer be the harsh anti-male tone of the previous Government.

There were still troubling issues such as the fact that there was again a Minister for Women but no Minister for Men (how can a government state it believes in equality and have a Minister for one gender and not for the other, if it has to them at all). It also talked about equality in the boardroom (now going ahead), continuing with pension age discrimination and also nothing on men's health or education.

So what has happened, well its worse than we feared:

(1) The government performed a heinous u-turn on anonymity for rape defendants.

(2) The controversial section (section 159) of the Equality Act was implemented (on the link see latest news on 2nd December 2010) and hidden in the small print on its announcement on its Equality Strategy (see 8 below). This pernicious part of the Act was substantially covered on this site (1 and 2 ) and the u-tunr was covered in the Telegraph, Daily Mail, Metro, Daily Telegraph 2, Daily Telegraph 3

(3) Still no Minister for Men

(4) The government adopted the End Violence against Women & Girls strategy which has meant that male victims of rape and domestic abuse do not feature in government, police or local authority plans in tackling rape or domestic abuse. The outcome can be seen by the way the government handled its trials on 'stop' orders which were framed at female victims (thereby setting the tone for the way the police will handle the issue) or its Christmas campaign. For an example of how it percolates through the system, see a response the ManKind Initiative recently received from the Equalities Commission.

(5) Its continuing and deliberate misinterpretation of the gender pay gap, even though we now know younger women earn more than younger men. Plus resurrecting the issue that there are not enough women in the boardroom (1 and 2) and stating it has an aspiration to ensure 50% of appointees to public bodies are female.

Lord Mervyn Davies who is leading the taskforce looking at the female make up of boardroom has already declared "let's put women first for 2011". I kid you not. With this and the Equality Act, men are being shut out, make no mistake. Academies for female executives, board internships and now the 30% club.

Equality should mean the best people, now basing people on their gender but that is now what is happening and in many circumstances men (and of course that means their wife/partner or daughter as well) will lose out because good men will be held back to allow a woman with less skill to take their place. How can this be equality, gender is irrelevant.

Can Lord Mervyn Davies hand on heart say that a black boy from a run-down council estate attending a sink school has more chance of being on a board of a FTSE-100 company that a white girl living in Knightsbridge and going to a private school. Davies thinks so. 

(6) No action on boy's education, men's health (Prostate Cancer society article shows why) or suicide (80% of young people committing suicide are men).

(7) No one in Parliament (including the 232 new MP's - 35% of the total) and certainly no one in the Government is standing up for men and men's issues. It means the anti-male feminists in all parties are again riding roughshod over the true meaning of equality and doing all the can to marginalise men. 

(8) And finally - the coup de grace - the government's shiny new Equality Strategy - Building a Fairer Britain. At no stage (except fleetingly on Caribean boys)  does it ever mention men and boys or the isuses facing them. None of them in this post are ever mentioned. Nothing on education, higher rates of unemployment, health, suicide - just example after example on issues affecting women.

The Equality Strategy published this month, makes it completley clear - this governement is no better and no more interested than the last in tackling issues that affect men & boys (and consequently their mothers, sisters, daughters and wives/partners/girlfriends).

It actually wants to make things worse not just by the overt discrimination (see 1, 2,3,4 and 5 above) but the covert discrimination of discrimination by omission. And with Parliamentary terms lasting five years now, we have over four years of this to go.

There have been a few advances, equality of pesnion age, a family review still pending (who know what the result will be) and Mirko Fischer's BA win. Plus some organisations seem to be pushing more and more (Men's Network, ManKind Initiative, Prostate Cancer Society, Families Need Fathers, Parity, False Allegations Support Organisation, Men's Health Forum amongst others) and they will need to be encouraged by us all to continue.

However, looking back, the hopes at the beginning of the year have proved unfounded and it is clear that things have got worse in 2010 for men and boys.

Posted by Skimmington