The Rights Of Man

NEW REFUGE NETWORK FOR MALE VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Dawn Hardie and Rachel Allen have opened up a new network of refuges in Northamptonshire for male victims of domestic violence. The network through their Next Steps Housing Association has created 100 places in 35 refuge houses across Northamptonshire for husbands and partners of abusive women.Coverage was received here (link, link, link).

With the emerging evidence (link) through the British Crime Survey that 3.2 million men have been a victim of domestic abuse in their lifetime, is clear that some people such as Dan and Rachel are taking it seriously.

Now we wait on the Government, local authorities and others to take up the cudgels or are male victims going to be left with a clutch of refuges in Northamptonshire, Wales, The West Midlands and the South West and nothing else?

HARMAN DECLARES THE CITY GUILTY OF SEXISM EVEN BEFORE SHOWTRIAL BEGINS

At the end of last year, the Equalities and Human Rights Commission declared they would investigate the City because of the wide gender pay gap and harassment. The site covered the issue here.

Last week, Deputy Prime Minster and Minister for Women, Ms Harriet Harman, the UK's leading anti-male campaigner, wrote to the Commission asking them to investigate these issues especially as the gender pay gap in financial services is 40% (link, link).

In the UK, one of the founding tenets of the legal system used to be that you were innocent before being proven guilty. In the War Against Men, no such distinction counts in the Orwellian world that Harman and others live in. She has already declared that men in financial services are guilty.

She says "There is something rotten in the remuneration system of the banks and finance companies. Men paying themselves millions of pounds of bonuses each - and then saying that they didn't know what was going on." She denounced what she called an "old-boys' network" paying itself millions amid financial turmoil.

As covered here before, the gender pay gap is mainly down to lifestyle choices not discrimination. That many women choose not to work at the high-end of the financial services system because of the long-hours, time spent away from family and often the pure pressure. Many women, certainly not all, prefer not to have to deal with it and leave it tho their husbands whilst they look after their children. Also many women choose to work at bank counters etc because a lot of this work can be part-time and fits into their lifestyle.

To say it is down to discirmination (as if no woman got a big City bonus), it one of those classic Politically Correct lies that if you say it enough, people will believe it.

The City and the financial services industry have already been found guilty by Harman et al and now we have to put up with the unedifying witch unt and show trial.

What is a shame is that no-one in the City has the balls to challenge her.

MALE VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC ABUSE FEATURED ON BBC BUT GOVERNMENT STILL PLAYS THE GENDER STEREOTYPE CARD

On Tuesday 10th Feb the BBC covered the issue of male victims of domestic abuse and domestic violence extensively. The coverage featuring a victim and the ManKind Initiative (link) included BBC Radio 1 and 5 interviews  as well as other coverage - link, link, a phone-in, a blog, an editor's note and coverage across the regional network. 

This was based primarily on new Home Office figures (link) which show that 3.2 million men have been a victim in their lifetime (20% of men) and that 2.7 million men have been a victim of partner abuse. The BBC used the hook which showed figures highlighting that younger men (20-24) were more likely to be a victim than women of the same age.

One of the points made by the victim and others was the fact that as a man you are automatically arrested by the police and the ManKind Initiative stated that services for men were 35 years behind that for women. The Government, local authorities and the police are institutionally sexist.

In a bizarre sense of timing, the Government made an announcement that proves it (link).

On Tuesday, the Home Office teamed up with the British Banking Association, to give help to victims of domestic abuse and to help launch a small card for victims. The press release mentions and accepts that 3.2 million men are victims (a first) yet then falls back to the same old gender stereotypes:-

• It mentions a purse-sized credit card - not a purse or wallet sized credit card
• The quote from the Home Secretary only mentions women
• The quotes are only from groups that help women, none for men
• The actual credit card sized leaflet describes all victims as she, never he and she

What it shows is that the Government just does not get it. It may begrudgingly acknowledge the figures but it just cannot help itself and be gender -neutral.

The coverage on the BBC today was at least some recognition and this has gradually and glacially started to improve things but the Government are continually and wilfully burying their head in the sand.

Much work to do...

HOW CAN EQUALITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION CONTINUE TO IGNORE MALE VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Last week, the Equalities and Human Rights Commission launched its Map of Gaps (link) campaign, aimed at naming and shaming councils who do not provide adequate services for women who are victims of domestic violence. It is part of the End Violence Against Women (EVAW) who believe that 100 council's are at risk of being found guilty.

At the same time last week, the Ministry of Justice published figures (link, link) that showed the numbers of women being arrested for violence had increased by 22% since 2004. This was covered on the site with regard to the correlation with domestic violence (link).

The key question is that with 40% of victims of domestic violence and domestic abuse being men (link), alongside an increase in violent women, why has the Equalities and Human Rights Commission not produced a similar campaign for male victims?

Why, if the Commission truly believes in equality, is it then ignoring people who make up 40% of the domestic violence victim population?

HARMAN AND BAIRD USE THE RECESSION TO ATTACK MEN

There was a TUC report last week (link) that said that female employment was being hit harder by the recession as many women work in the retail sector. The TUC said there had been a 2.3% increase in the redundancy rate for women even though the redundancy rate for men is just 6% and the female redundancy rate is just under 4% (graph).

The report received lots of media coverage, because It as about women, of course -(BBC) and had politicians rushing around to highlight their concern.

The way that this report though is being used by the anti-male feminists to inject some fervour about the fact that the redundancy rate is due to discrimination against women is an outrage and a clear abuse (link). There is absolutely nothing that Hariett Harman and Vera Baird won't use to attack men, make up stories about female discrimination with not one shred of evidence and generally show that their view of equality is to be free to attack men.

Whenever there is a recession, it hits both men and women whether they are in employment or not. A husband losing his job affects his wife and the wildcat strikes (link) show the effects on men. Also there tends to be a sharp increase in male suicide rates and depression when there is a recession as some men who are redundant feel worthless if they cannot provide for their family.

There is, of course, a queue to condemn the strikers but would it be the same if the strikes were being led by women. It is unlikely, very unlikely.

CMEC - WHERE IS THE EQUAL JUSTICE ON CONTACT ORDERS?

The new CSA - The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (link) announced proposals this week that would mean parents who were not paying for the upkeep of their children would be able to have their driving licences and passports taken away without the CMEC having to go to court. The issues on this are numerous.

Firstly, the use of the court system offers an independent legislative check and stops state officials believing they have unaccountable powers to harm UK citizens. It is fundamental to all the debates on ID cards, CCTV, using terrorist powers to spy on people going about their business etc etc. It is about the state controlling people and not people controlling the state, It is absolutely fundamental to the concept of liberty this once proud freedom loving country used as its foundation. Under this Government, it is no more.

The day-to-day incompetence of civil servants, bureaucrats and officials is legion so why does anyone think this organisation will be any different and more efficianet, transparent and fair than the awful CSA. An organisation that drove many men to commit suicide and why organisations like CSA Hell were set up.

Media Coverage

One of the issues constantly remarked here is the way that a story that is presented in a gender-neutral way is then twisted into gender stereotyping male bashing.

The story put out by the DWP was gender neutral - it said parents. But these newspapers just blamed it on fathers -  Daily Mail, Daily Mail 'Deadbeat Dads', Scotsman, Telegraph, ITV. As if there are no absent mothers!

The most remarkable anti-male article seen for a long while was the anti-male feminist par excellence Polly Toynbee. She is literally overflowing with her hatred of men, it's almost as if she cannot control her rage, she says "The truth is that marriages often break down when women escape from bad role models - the ones who become the won't-pay fathers." No wonder she recived some 739 comments on her post. She has form on this issue.

Where is the fair deal?

Ultimately though, whilst the draconian powers have been ramped up, nothing changes.

The same inhumane admin cock ups as the CSA, refusing to answer letters or check up whether those claiming are telling the truth will continue?

Where is the justice when a mother walks out on the father to shack up with a new man leaving the rejected man to still pick up the tab?

Worse and this is the real injustice. If parents (lets say a father) are going to lose their passports and driving licences then the parent (lets say a mother) with custody who refuses to abide by contact orders, should then lose her passport and driving licence. This would be one remedy the Family Courts could use rather than the usual spineless inaction.

In a world of joined-up Government and fairness, this would be the case. However, we live in a Britain where the state dislikes men and has no interest in fairness towards them.

FEAR OF MALE TEACHERS: A BYPRODUCT OF THE WAR ON MEN

The Daily Mail has long been the only newspaper in the UK who generally rejects the all-men-are-evil approach. They have some excellentwriters or accept contributions from the likes of Melanie Phillips, Erin Pizzey and Amanda Platell.

In this brilliantly written piece (link) by Carol Sarler, she highlights that one of the reasons behind the severe shortage of male teachers (article, report) is because some mothers have a negative view of men and also because they fear their children (especially daughters) will be at risk of some sort of sexual assault.

Ms Sarler rightly points out that it causes a real problem for boys who don't have fathers in the home so have no male role model. And of course, it effects men who want a career in teaching.

As posted before, the anti-male culture we live in has a myriad of victims. One post recently highlighted the issue on adoption (link) and now we have male teachers being unfairly put under the microscope. False accusations abound, which means when a man is accused of sexual assault etc on a pupil, his career is ruined and it is irrelevant if he is innocent. That is why there is an organisation called Falsely Accused Carers and Teachers (FACT) (link).

There are two ironies that always get overlooked as well.

Firstly, as the article says "When the NSPCC reported this week that the police estimate some 50 allegations a day of sexual abuse against children, they meant, overwhelmingly, abuse at the hands of family or of parents' friends."

Secondly, there have been many stories recently about female teachers having unlawful intercourse with their male pupils (link, link). All I hear is a vacuum of silence from those who think women=good, men = bad on this issue.

In education, as with so many other facets of life in Britain, the war on men is having a serious effect. 

AMANDA PERTHEN WRITES BIASED COPY FOR DAILY MAIL ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Amanda Perthen, a freelance journalist writing for the Daily Mail, wrote some atrociously one-sided copy on domestic violence in the New Year (link).

In an article on 3rd January 2009 for the Daily Mail, she wrote about an increase in domestic violence because of the recession. This was because the National Centre for Domestic Violence reported a 40 per cent increase in victims seeking its support in December 2008.

The National Centre, to be fair, were gender neutral in their comments but the journalist skewed the whole feature towards men as perpetrators, female as victims. A comment from Womens Aid but none from Mankind Initiative or Men Aid. In addition, she just used the 1 in 4 women will be victims in their lifetime but did not use the 1 in 6 men.

Pure Bias as reflected in the comment at the bottom of her article.

PROGRESS IN NORTH EAST ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST MEN

Heartedly, there are some areas of the UK that treat male victims of domestic violence sensibly and equally.

The Sunday Sun reported this week (link) that a number of councils such as Wear Valley,  Blyth Valley and Stockton provide support.

Refuge support is needed of course but recognition will have to come first.

WHY BOLTON AND KEIGHLEY MEN SHOULD NOT VOTE LABOUR

In the Parliamentary seats of Bolton West and Keighley, Labour have banned men (link) from being their Parliamentary candidates at the next General Election.

Both enter the hall of shame, which now lists 29 Parliamentary seats where Labour have banned men from representing them in the next Parliament (see full list at end)(previous posts 1 and 2).

Labour's use of all-women shortlists in Bolton West and Keighley is an attack on men. It stops them from being able to represent these communities and constituents in Parliament, solely because of their gender.

Under election rules of course, any UK resident can stand in any constituency, but obviously if you are a Labour supporter, member or even councillor living in Bolton or Keighley you may have wanted to represent your local community and local people. Well, if you are a man, Labour have banned you from doing so.

In Bolton (link), Labour have 19 male councillors - all banned from applying to be their local MP. A large number are also Asian men and when people keep complaining that there are not people in Parliament from an ethnic background, what do they expect when Labour ban Asian men from applying to be the MP in their town?

In Keighley (link), it is harder to discern the political make-up (between Labour and the other parties) but plenty of councillors are men and also plenty are from an ethnic background so again, many Labour men already representing their town are banned from representing their town in Parliament.

One of the least explored and ignored areas of male discrimination in the past 12 years has been the introduction of all-women shortlists for Parliamentary seats which has lead to the political disenfranchisement of men by the Labour Party.

No man with any dignity, pride and self-esteem can vote Labour at the next General election in Bolton West, Keighley and the other 27 constituencies where Labour are operating all-women shortlists.

 Do not vote Labour because they stopped you and your fellow local men from having the chance to represent your local community in Parliament, solely down to the fact that you are a man.

Full list of Constituencies where Labour are using all-women shortlists at the next General Election

• Birmingham Ladywood
• Brighton Pavillion
• Bolton West
• Burton
• Camborne & Redruth
• Cardiff Central
• East Dunbartonshire
• Gravesham
• Hackney South
• Hemel Hempstead
• Hornsey & Wood Green
• Ilford North
• Keighley
• Kenilworth & Southam
• Leeds North West
• Leeds West
• Manchester Withington
• Nottingham South
• Nuneaton
• Reading East
• Rochester & Strood
• Scarborough & Whitby
• Selby & Ainsty
• Sunderland Central
• Walthamstow
• Washington & Sunderland West
• Wellingborough
• West Ham
• The Wrekin

MEN - MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT