Men’s Rights Issues

By Marc E. Angelucci, Esq., NCFM Vice President

“Discrimination itself, by perpetuating ‘archaic and stereotypic notions’ . . . can cause serious noneconomic injuries to those persons who are personally denied equal treatment….” United States Supreme Court in Heckler v. Mathews, 465 U.S. 728, 739-740 (1984).

INTRODUCTION

NCFM formed in 1977 to address men’s issues. Since that time, a men’s rights movement has been steadily growing globally to address men’s rights that have been seriously neglected in laws and public policies worldwide. Men have been systematically discriminated against in parenting rights, child custody, criminal entencing, military conscription, education, domestic and sexual violence laws that neglect male victims and support false accusations, reproductive rights, genital integrity laws, international forced labor laws, public benefits and more, while men and boys face societal misandry and male bashing. Men make 80-99% of homeless adults, job deaths and injuries, incercarated persons, combat deaths, dropouts and suicide deaths (“attempted” suicide rates are unreliable because it is unlikely men report failed suicides as often as women do). Men also die younger than women and have higher mortality rates for 13 of the 15 leading causes of death. But instead of hearing about these disparities we relentlessly hear about gender disparities at the top of society (government officials, CEOs), which exist mainly due to expectation gaps (women still seek men who can be primary breadwinners) and because women have more options than men to be the primary parent, an option most women choose. The so-called “pay gap” is only a snapshot of average yearly full-time salaries, which does not account for overtime (90% male), commute distances, work flexibility, and numerous life choices, which, according to a recent study by the U.S. Department of Labor, are more likely the causes of the pay gap than discrimination. The fact that men make the majority of elected officials and business owners does not mean men’s issues are adequately addressed. That is what Warren Farrell aptly calls “the myth of male power.” (See “The Myth of Male Power; Why Men Are The Disposable Sex” by Warren Farrell, Ph.D.)

FATHERS

Fathers have historically been denied equal parenting rights with mothers. The 19th Century “tender years” doctrine, which explicitly gave mothers custody over children ages 13 and younger, was later replaced with the “best interests of the child” doctrine, but the gender bias persisted. As late as 1971, the Minnesota State Bar Association’s handbook advised lawyers and judges that “except in very rare cases, the father should not have custody of the minor children. He is usually unqualified psychologically and emotionally.” Time Magazine, 11/11/03, “Father Makes Two,” www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101011119-183968,00.html

To this day in the U.S., fathers usually ask for 50% custody while mothers ask for, and get, 80% custody. Fathers become mere visitors and must pay draconian support amounts with little enforcement of their parenting time. See, Cynthia McNeeley, “Lagging Behind the Times, Parenthood, Custody and Gender Bias in the Family Court,” on the statistics and also debunking the myth that fathers get custody 70% of the time when they request it. www.law.fsu.edu/journals/lawreview/downloads/254/mcneely.pdf

According to an Urban Institute study entitled “What About the Dads?”, child protective services attempted to contact fathers of children at risk in their mothers care only a little over half the time, even though they knew the father’s identity in 86% of cases. http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/06/cw-involve-dads/rs.htm

In many parts of the world, discrimination against fathers is still explicit in the laws. For example:

– The European Court of Human Rights recently had to intervene on behalf of unmarried fathers in Germany because they were given no rights over their kids. www.thelocal.de/society/20101221-31945.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8395456.stm

– In Japan, fathers are automatically denied custody of their kids.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/36959398/ns/today-parenting_and_family/

– In the U.K. and elsewhere, fathers are denied equal rights to take parental leave and are stigmatized for taking it. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/8149702.stm www.radionz.co.nz/news/stories/2009/12/02/1245d8f7621c

Father involvement is a very important part of a child’s development, behavior and well-being.
www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/119405387/PDFSTART?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_article_id=513962&in_page_id=1774

Research also shows fathers are equal with mothers in nurturing instincts and capabilities. www.israelnewsagency.com/psychologytodaydivorcechildrencustodyfathersright48060307.html

Research on the laws in Holland, Belgium and Germany that controls for pre-existing conflict shows presumed joint physical custody is the best solution and reduces conflict. http://fkce.wordpress.com/2009/01/03/13/

Although we often hear about “deadbeat dads,” maternal resistance to father involvement (or, “maternal gatekeeping) is a significant factor in the shortage of father involvement.

www.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/health/03dads.html
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19092063/

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124519757969321229.html

In fact, research shows most men would quit their jobs or lower their pay if their partner could support the family. www.cnn.com/2007/US/Careers/06/13/dads.work/index.html

And despite strong negative stereotypes against teen fathers, research shows most teen dads are anxious to participate in parenting, and that 82% reported having daily contact with their children, 74% said they contributed to the child’s financial support, and almost 90% maintained a relationship with the mother. “Teenage Fathers: The Missing Father Myth,” Time Magazine, 6/21/05
http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1074862,00.html

Fathers also face widespread false accusations in child custody cases. Many state laws have automatic presumptions against custody when restraining order issues, creating an incentive to lie. The California State Bar has expressed concern about restraining order abuse. www.cafcusa.org/docs/family-law-news_TRO_RO_Pages%2026thru30_Vol27-Number4_2005-1.pdf

Proposed solutions: (1) Presumed joint, bi-locational, physical custody of children with equal timeshare absent a contrary agreement or clear and convincing proof of abuse/neglect; (2) Strong enforcement of court-ordered parenting time and penalties for violations; (3) No presumptions about custody from restraining orders; (4) Prosecution of false accusers; (5) Balanced, objective, science-based training of judges on domestic violence and other policies relating to children; and, (6) Fair and equitable support guidelines.

MEN’S HEALTH

The American Journal of Public Health (5/03) has declared that men are in a “silent health crisis.” www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/9475.php Almost every chronic illness affects men more often than women. Men account for 80-95% of homeless adults, job deaths and suicide deaths, are more likely than women to have mental disabilities but less likely to be treated for them, and die younger and have higher mortality rates for 13 of the 15 leading causes of death. www.aolhealth.com/medical-myths/is-being-male-hazardous-to-your-health-intelihealth-version

www.menshealthnetwork.org/library/TopCausesDeath2000.pdf

Boys make the majority of special education students and are more likely than girls to skip a grade, be expelled or drop out of school.

The California Dept. of Health Services recommended a men’s health office, but it never formed.

www.cdph.ca.gov/pubsforms/Pubs/OHIRleadingcausebygender1990-2001.pdf Meanwhile there are numerous federal offices of women’s health and similar offices at every level of government, but virtually no offices of men’s health. Breast cancer is known as a “horde” of cancer funds. The National Cancer Institute spent about four times more on breast cancer research than prostate cancer research for decades. www3.cancer.gov/public/factbk97/varican.htm All other sources, including the Dept. of Defense, fund breast cancer at far higher and disproportionate rates compared to prostate cancer.

The claim that women were excluded from medical testing is not only antiquated (from the 60s) but is also a one-sided story that has been refuted by experts like Dr. Sally Satel. Historically, women participated in 95% of NIH clinical trials going back to the early 1970s, and men were underrepresented in research on cancer, reproductive health and sex hormones. Today men represent about 37% of participants in NIH-funded research, and gender-specific budgets favor women by more than a 2:1 margin, according to this report by Men’s Health America. www.backlash.com/content/gender/2000/12dec00/acfc1200.html

For more, see, Young, C., Satel, S., M.D., “The Myth of Gender Bias in Medicine”; Satel, S.: PC, M.D.:, “How Political Correctness is Corrupting Medicine.”

CRIMINAL SENTENCING

Research has repeatedly shown that men get higher criminal sentences than women even when all other factors are accounted for. www.terry.uga.edu/~mustard/sentencing.pdf

See also, Seattle Times, “State courts unfair to men, minorities, UW study suggests,”
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/PrintStory.pl?document_id=2008782782&zsection_id=2003925728&slug=courtstudy25m&date=20090225

This confirms prior data showing men receive higher sentences than women for the same crime even when age, race, priors, family situation, and other factors are accounted for, and that “gender differences, favoring women, are more often found than race differences, favoring whites.” (Crime and Delinquency, 1989, v 35, pp 136-168.) A study published in Justice Quarterly in 1986 found that, for the same felony, being male increased the chances of incarceration by 165% (being black increased the chance 19%).

The gender of the victim matters as well. A drunk driver will receive an average of a 3-year higher sentence for killing a female than for killing a male (compared to a 2-year higher sentence for killing a white instead of a black). (“Unconventional Wisdom,” Washington Post, Sept. 7, 2000.)

Researchers Edward Glaeser (Harvard) and Bruce Sacerdote (Dartmouth) examined 2,800 homicide cases randomly drawn from 33 urban counties by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and found killing a female instead of a male increased sentences by 40.6% (compared to 26.8% for killing a white instead of a black).

FORCED LABOR

For years, the Forced Labour Convention of 1930 exempted “able-bodied males” between ages 18 and 45 from the ban on slavery and forced labor. See Article 11 at http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/cgi-lex/convde.pl?C029

And although the exemption was eventually eliminated, Article 2 still exempts prisoners and soldiers (90+% male).

Male slaves are frequently ignored by human rights laws and policies.
http://nationmultimedia.com/2007/05/14/headlines/headlines_30034148.php

For example, male slaves in China have had trouble getting their slavemasters prosecuted because only women were protected from slavery. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-06/15/content_895414.htm

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Male victims of domestic violence have been seriously neglected in public policy, outreach and services. But they are not rare at all. They’re just less likely to report it, which makes crime statistics unreliable especially for men.

Prevalence and Injuries

Although men still report it less to police, virtually all independent empirical survey data shows women initiate domestic violence at least as often as men in heterosexual relationships and men suffer one-third of physical injuries. Almost 300 of these studies, which use various methodologies, are summarized by Professor Martin Fiebert at www.csulb.edu/~mfiebert/assault.htm

For example, a major study funded by the Centers for Disease Control recently examined heterosexual relationships throughout the U.S. and found: “Almost 24% of all relationships had some violence,and half (49.7%) of those were reciprocally violent. In nonreciprocallyviolent relationships, women were the perpetrators in more than 70% of the cases.” www.ajph.org/cgi/content/abstract/97/5/941

The study also found: “More women than men (25% versus 11%) were responsible. In fact, 71 percentof the instigators in nonreciprocal partner violence were women.” As for injuries, the study found: “[W]hile injury was more likely when violencewas perpetrated by men, in relationships with reciprocal violenceit was the men who were injured more often (25% of thetime) than were women (20% of the time).” http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/42/15/31-a

A recent 32-nation study by the University of New Hampshire found women are as violent and controlling as men in relationships worldwide. www.unh.edu/news/cj_nr/2006/may/em_060519male.cfm?type=n http://pubpages.unh.edu/~mas2/ID41E2.pdf

This Canadian government report also recognizes the above data.
www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ncfv-cnivf/familyviolence/pdfs/Intimate_Partner.pdf

A recent study in the Journal of Family Violence found many male callers to a national hotline experienced high rates of severe forms of violence from very controlling female partners. www.springerlink.com/content/a7q0032j88817218/fulltext.pdf

According to the Centers for Disease Control, every year there are 4.8 million incidents of intimate partner assaults and rapes against women and 2.9 against men, with 25% of the deaths being men. www.cdc.gov/ncipc/dvp/ipv_factsheet.pdf

That said, now in 2014, services for men are still rare. Why? The reasons can be surmised from Patricia Stanley-Overberg, now deceased and the founding member of Valley Oasis Domestic Violence Shelter in Lancaster, California: 021101 NCFM ltr from Patricia Overberg

Discrimination

Many government-funded domestic violence programs still explicitly discriminate against male victims. In Australia and the UK, the government had to revoke funding from domestic violence shelters for refusing to help male victims.

http://express-advocate-wyong.whereilive.com.au/news/story/support-team-pulls-plug/#
www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/apr/05/domestic-violence-charity-funding

http://thedailycougar.com/2010/04/21/study-examines-domestic-violence/comment-page-1/#comment-1380

Others, like in Holland and Switzerland, have set aside funds for battered men’s shelters.
www.amsterdamnews.net/story/464390

www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48608

www.upi.com/Health_News/2009/12/11/Switzerland-opening-battered-men-shelters/UPI-81331260552897/

But in many countries, battered men’s shelters remain without any public funds.
www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1146783/First-refuges-battered-husbands-offer-support-male-victims.html

In October 2008, the National Coalition For Men won a landmark appellate case in California that held it is unconstitutional to exclude male victims of domestic violence from the statutory funding provisions or from state-funded services. Woods v. Horton (2008) 167 Cal.App.4th 658.

www.metnews.com/articles/2008/wood101508.htm

Most programs claiming to help men just refer them to a far-away program that actually does help men.

The federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) explicitly excludes American Indian men from its provisions on Native American. It is also implemented in a discriminatory manner nationwide and funds educational programs that spread one-sided misinformation about domestic violence. See Dr. Richard Gelles, “Male Victims: The Hidden Side of Domestic Violence.” www.ncfm.org/chapters/la/gelles.html

The very title of VAWA discriminates and stigmatizes male victims by leaving them invisible and downplaying the seriousness of male victimization, making them an afterthought at very best. We don’t have a “Men’s Occupational Safety and Health Act” just because 92% of occupational deaths happen to men.
www.bls.gov/news.release/cfoi.t04.htm

Self-Defense

Feminists often claim the studies showing women initiate domestic violence as often as men are based on the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) which, they say, is not contextual enough and does not account for self-defense. At the outset, this is a hypocritical argument because these same critics have used CTS-based studies for decades to cite figures on female victims and they only criticize CTS when it applies to male victims. Even the DoJ, which most feminist groups cite, uses CTS. It is the most common methodology used in science to measure abuse.

The criticism is also wrong on its face. In 1985 researchers updated the CTS to ask who initiated the violence, and they found the same results. Feminists then claimed one can “initiate” violence in self-defense. But to the extent this is true, it is true of both sexes. And, as Dr. Richard Gelles explains:

“Contrary to the claim that women only hit in self-defense, we found that women were as likely to initiate the violence as were men. In order to correct for a possible bias in reporting, we reexamined our data looking only at the self-reports of women. The women reported similar rates of female-to-male violence compared to male-to-female, and women also reported they were as likely to initiate the violence as were men.”

“The Hidden Side of Domestic Violence; Male Victims,” 1999, The Women’s Quarterly, re-printed with the author’s permission at www.ncfmla.org/gelles.html Professor John Archer further explains:

“It has often been claimed that the reason CTS studies have found as many women as men to be physically aggressive is because women are defending themselves against attack. A number of studies have addressed this issue and found that when asked, more women than men report initiating the attack. (Bland & Orn. 1986; DeMaris, 1992; Gryl & Bird. 1989. cited in Straus. 1997) or that the proportions are equivalent in the two sexes (Straus, 1997). Two large-scale studies found that a substantial proportion of both women and men report using physical aggression when the partner did not (Brush, 1990; Straus & Gelles, 1988). This evidence does not support the view that the CTS is only measuring women’s self-defense.”

“Sex Differences in Aggression Between Heterosexual Partners: A Meta-Analytic Review, Psychological Bulletin,” Sept. 2000. v. 126, n. 5, p. 651, 664.

Subsequent research asked about motives and self-defense and found self-defense is only a small percentage of the violence by either sex. For example, one of the largest studies ever done in England found not only equal perpetration by gender but that men and women assaulted their partners for the same reasons, most often “to get through to them,” while self-defense was one of the least common motives for both sexes and men were hitting in self-defense slightly more often than women were. Carrado, “Aggression in British Heterosexual Relationships: A Descriptive Analysis, Aggressive Behavior,” 1996, 22: 401-415.

California State University surveyed 1,000 college women: 30% admitted they assaulted a male partner. Their most common reasons: (1) my partner wasn’t listening to me; (2) my partner wasn’t being sensitive to my needs; and (3) I wished to gain my partner’s attention. Martin Fiebert, Ph.D., Denise Gonzalez, Ph.D., “Why Women Assault; College Women Who Initiate Assaults on their Male Partners and the Reasons Offered for Such Behavior,” 1997, Psychological Reports, 80, 583-590, www.batteredmen.com/fiebertg.htm.

A 32-nation study of domestic violence by the University of New Hampshire in 2006 found women’s violence in dating relationships was just as controlling as men’s. http://pubpages.unh.edu/~mas2/ID41E2.pdf

Professor Don Dutton further refutes the self-defense myth. See Dutton, D., & Corvo, K., “Transforming a flawed policy: A call to revive psychology and science in domestic violence research and practice,” (11) 2006, 457-483 www.nfvlrc.org/docs/DuttonCorvo.policypaper.pdf

MALE RAPE VICTIMS

Historically, many rape laws excluded male victims from the protections women receive. The Model Penal Code, for example, defined “rape” so that only women could be victims. In England, funding for sex abuse victims is often denied for male victims. http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/CityandRegion/2007/06/25/4287949-sun.html

The federal government spent hundreds of thousands of dollars studying rapes on college campuses while ignoring rapes in prisons where men are frequently subjected to prison rape or sexual abuse, and not just by other men. In fact, consensual sex between prisoners and guards is considered sexual abuse, especially when the prisoner is a minor, and female guards commit this form of abuse in significantly high numbers.

“Approximately 95% of all youth reporting staff sexual misconduct said they had been victimized by female staff. In 2008, 42% of staff in state juvenile facilities were female.”
http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/svjfry09.pdf

“Inside youth prisons, scores of female guards violated boys.” www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA041107.01B.krod.3a6c8d4.html

See also, “Female Prison Guards Are More Likely Than Males to Have Sex With Inmates”
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=3024521&page=1

Rapes of males frequently occur in the form of statutory rape, and not just by other males. A student survey in New Mexico found 43% of teacher sex abuse comes from female teachers but over 90% of prosecutions are of male teachers. www.newsobserver.com/672/story/501955.html

A recent study found 2 out of 5 South African boys say they were raped, “most often by adult women.”
www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=ad3524cc-6076-4bc2-a015-23860553bd04

A large study in Canada found high rates of homeless kids being molested, with 3/4 of the molestations of boys being by adult women, but there were still no programs for the boys, only for girls.
www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=604d29af-5999-47ec-a156-0f5bc96954f2

www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/oct/04/uk-female-child-sex-offenders

Though there is little empirical research, adult women do forcefully rape men, including disabled men. For example:

African men being raped and battered by women in Namibia
http://allafrica.com/stories/200708210872.html

Quadriplegic man used eyes and toes to testify about female caregiver raping him. http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4090392a12855.htmlFemale Caregiver For Mentally Disabled Man Charged With Rape
www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/13766990/detail.html?rss=pit&psp=news

Tembisia police report women gang raping men.
www.sowetan.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=413523An increasing number of men in Tasmania are reporting sexual assaults.
www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/06/20/1957242.htm?site=idx-tas

Two Kuwaiti women convicted of kidnapping and raping a man. www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=iol1166947349660K326

Men are also frequently victims of “sexual coercion” by both women and men. (Sexuality and Culture, Summer 2000.) According to a May 2008 study by the University of New Hampshire, 28% of college women and 11% of college men experienced unwanted sexual contact and the perpetrator was a member of the opposite sex 98% of the time for girls and 91% of the time for boys. See Table 1 at www.unh.edu/news/docs/2006unwantedsexualexperiences.pdf

“Approximately 95% of all youth reporting staff sexual misconduct said they had been victimized by female staff. In 2008, 42% of staff in state juvenile facilities were female.” http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/svjfry09.pdf

FALSE ACCUSATIONS OF RAPE

Almost every month we read of another man freed from prison because the false accusations that caused their incarceration were later proven false or a woman recanted.

Even if there is no conviction, a false allegation of rape emotionally, socially, and economically destroys a person and their immediate and often extended families.

False accusations of rape is psychological rape. Yet, the names of the accusers are protected while the names of the accused are not.

False accusations are hard to measure and there is not much available research. However, what little research there is, that is scientific research, shows the problem is much more common than we are told. Moreover, it is politically incorrect to fund massive studies about false accusations of any sort.

Some studies show that 50% or more of allegations examined are false.

According to an expert quoted in the CBC News Story Barrhaven sexual assault never a happened…, “for a four-year period from 2003-2007, 31 per cent of sexual assault claims that Ottawa Police investigated were dismissed as unfounded — that is, they never happened — as opposed to unsubstantiated, where there isn’t enough evidence to follow the case.”

The claim that only 2% of rape accusations are false is totally unfounded and is purportedly based on FBI crime data (though we have yet to see this confirmed), and crime data is never a reliable source to project upon the population as a whole, as compared to empirical research. This myth, often falsely attributed to FBI data, is not credible and has been debunked. Greer, the Truth behind Legal Dominance Feminism’s ‘Two Percent False Rape Claim’ Figure, 33 Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review 947.

Regardless of what the numbers are, there is no excuse for the lack of attention to the problem. Falsely accused persons are victims too, and to ignore, deny or downplay the experiences of those victims is a worse kind of hypocritical form of victim blaming.

False accusers should be prosecuted (they rarely are) and face the same punishment their accused might have or did receive. Names of the accused should be protected as much as the names of the accusers. Pictures of false accusers should be posted like pictures of other types of criminals to warn others of potential harm. Furthermore, perhaps there should be a false accuser registration system like there is for sexual assault, child abuse and domestic violence. For more, see The Community of the Wrongly Accused.

According to the FBI: “The ‘unfounded’ rate, or percentage of complaints determined through investigation to be false, is higher for forcible rape than for any other Index crime. Eight percent of forcible rape complaints in 1996 were “unfounded,” while the average for all Index crimes was 2 percent. See page 24 at https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/1996/96sec2.pdf

John Davis , author of How to Avoid False Accusations of Rape: Self-defense in the Feminist State…, explained it this way in a relate post on our Facebook page:

Please allow me to clarify something about the common mistake that the FBI says the rate of false accusations of rape is only 8%.

If you read the actual report that you have linked, the report does not say that. What the report says is boilerplate language (in all FBI statistic reports on rape) that “Law enforcement determines that 8% of accusations of rape are false.”

That doesn’t mean the other 92% of rape accusations are true.

I was a prosecutor 3 times in a 35 year career as a trial lawyer. What the 8% figure in the FBI report means is that the police determine that 8% of accusations of rape are so false that they do not refer those cases to the prosecutors.

The prosecutors determine that AT LEAST another 60% of the cases are false and they are dismissed at the request of the prosecutors because they are false. In many of those 60% of false accusations, the prosecutors never even file charges.

We know that the rate of false accusations of rape, from several solid scientific studies, is AT LEAST 65% and may be much higher.

The reason we don’t know the exact rate of false accusations of rape above 65% is that many men, fearing a 50 year sentence, will plead guilty, even though they are innocent, in exchange for a sentencing cap. Many convicted men are, in fact, innocent but we don’t know how many.

That figure is conservative. It does not include false claims never proven to be false or those buried as “unsubstantiated.” It also does not include false rape claims made to other sources besides police, such as universities. Private research have found much higher numbers.

In a nine-year study of 109 rapes reported to the police in a Midwestern city, Purdue sociologist Eugene J. Kanin reported that in 41% of the cases the complainants eventually admitted that no rape had occurred. In a follow-up study of rape claims filed over a three-year period at two large Midwestern universities, Kanin found that of 64 rape cases, 50% turned out to be false. Among the false charges, 53% of the women admitted they filed the false claim as an alibi. Kanin, EJ, “An alarming national trend: False rape allegations,” Archives of Sexual Behavior, Vol. 23, No. 1, 1994. Kanin was once well known and lauded by the feminist movement for his groundbreaking research on male sexual aggression. His studies on false rape received very little attention.

In a study by the U.S. Air Force, about one-fourth of rape accusers recanted just before taking a lie detector test or after failing one. Further research found 60% of the accusations were false. The most common reasons given were spite or revenge, feelings of guilt or shame, or to cover up an affair. McDowell, Charles P., Ph.D. “False Allegations.” Forensic Science Digest, (publication of the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations), Vol. 11, No. 4 (December 1985), p. 64.

Both the Kanin and the Air Force study are small samples, which does not make them wrong. Three different universities replicated the Kanin study. Consistent results from small samples indicate the need for more research, not that the findings are wrong. The Kanin study, FBI report and other research tend to indicate the rate of approximately 25%.

However, it may be much higher. According University of Ottawa Criminal Lawyer Blane Crew, “… for a four-year period from 2003-2007, 31 per cent of sexual assault claims that Ottawa Police investigated were dismissed as unfounded — that is, they never happened — as opposed to unsubstantiated, where there isn’t enough evidence to follow the case.” Obviously, and to reiterate, an unknown number of false accusations are buried somewhere in the unsubstantiated findings.

Moreover, a 1996 Department of Justice report shows that, “…in about 25% of the sexual assault cases referred to the FBI, the primary suspect has been excluded by forensic DNA testing. Generally, definitions and acts of rape involve a forcible and non-consensual act. Regardless, a DNA match alone does not prove rape occurred. Hence, the 25% figure substantially underestimates the true extent of false allegations. Connors E, Lundregan T, Miller N, McEwen T. Convicted by juries, exonerated by science: Case studies in the use of DNA evidence to prove innocence after trial, June 1996.

The article Delhi Commission for Women concerned with rise of false rape charges reports, The Commission for Women in India, hardly a men’s rights group, found 50% of rape claims are false and often made out of vengeance. Additionally, as reported in the Times of India, a five-year study in India found 18% of rape accusations are false and are often “coached.”

Falsely accused men are disproportionately African-American men. Innocence Project: Facts on post-conviction DNA exonerations.

According to a 1996 Department of Justice report, “in about 25% of the sexual assault cases referred to the FBI, the primary suspect has been excluded by forensic DNA testing. Note, rape involves a forcible and non-consensual act, and a DNA match alone does not prove that rape occurred. Therefore, the 25% figure substantially underestimates the true extent of false allegations. Connors E, Lundregan T, Miller N, McEwen T. Convicted by juries, exonerated by science: Case studies in the use of DNA evidence to establish innocence after trial. June 1996

Megan McArdle writing for Bloomberg in the 2014 article How Many Rape Reports Are False? The dark numbers behind one of the darkest crimes asked and answered, “How many women falsely accuse men of rape? A lot of statistics are floating around the Internet: Two percent, say many feminists, the same as other crimes. Twenty-five percent, say other groups who quarrel with the feminists on many issues, or maybe 40 percent. Here’s the real answer: We don’t know. Anyone who insists that we do know should be corrected or ignored.”

Feminist groups not only downplay the statistical reality of false accusations, but also have been eroding due process rights of the accused, especially on college campuses and in the military. Such as by lowering the standard of proof [sic] to a coin toss preponderance of evidence, removing the right to challenge the accuser, and placing the decision in the hands of ideologically driven college employees, professors and administrators who essentially conduct very biased kangaroo courts.

Consequently, many college men are now suing their colleges for expelling them without a proper hearing. UPDATED: List of Lawsuits against Colleges and Universities Alleging Due Process Violations in Adjudicating Sexual Assault Also see: NCFM Carolinas for comprehensive information. And, they are winning… Case in point, ”

Columbia University settled for an undisclosed amount with a former student branded a rapist by his mattress-carrying classmate, by Emma Sulkowicz, commonly referred to now as Mattress Girl. The university underscored that he was found “not responsible for any misconduct.”

Brian Banks spent years in jail before his accuser recanted her false charges. His professional football career was stolen from him. He reportedly said, “’I wasn’t physically raped, but I was raped in a sense of my freedom…I was kidnapped, taken against my will, placed in a box for five years and two months. I was denied all human rights. When I screamed and pleaded and begged, it fell on deaf ears. It’s a different form of being assaulted and taken advantage of. I know what she is going through.” His accuser lived lavishly on a $750,000 settlement, was eventually ordered to repay that amount and over a million dollars more. She disappeared. Brian now works for the NFL but will never regain the five-years of his life spent in prison.

Scandals that are more recent include the Duke Lacrosse case in which Chrystal Magnum falsely accused members of the team of sexual assault. Her false accusations threw the university into turmoil, eventually led to the disbarment of a district attorney, and disgraced university professors, the Committee of Eighty-eight, who rallied to her defense. She eventually ended up murdering a boyfriend. Perhaps had she been held accountable for the Duke debacle the boyfriend would probably still be breathing? Read Until Proven Innocent by Stuart Taylor Jr. and KC Johnson.

Rape hysteria was taking root especially on college campuses. Rolling Stone took a hit after being embroiled in a gang rape scandal that wrongly defamed an entire fraternity.

The non-existent rape epidemic on college campuses and rape hysteria propelled the United States Department of Education to threaten post-secondary schools with the infamous Dear Colleague Letter, which decimated the due process rights of the accused. So hideous were the directives 21 law professors released an open letter accusing the U.S. Department of Education of unlawfully expanding how colleges must process sexual assault accusations.

NCFM, especially the NCFMCarolinas Chapter, has since the issuance of the Dear Colleague Letter worked diligently on behalf of hundreds of falsely accused college students who have had their families, education, chosen careers and lives horrifically impacted because of the hideous Machiavellian outcomes of the letter. Click here to read our press release of July 14, 2017.

No matter what the numbers are, there is no excuse for the lack of attention to the problem. Falsely accused persons are victims not perpetrators. To deny or downplay the experiences of those victims is horrifically hypocritical victim blaming.

Much more attention and research is needed in this area. False accusers should be prosecuted (they rarely are) and face same punishment their accused could receive. In addition, the names of the accused should be protected as much as the names of the accusers.

Here are a few more stories about false accusations:

Innocent man jailed for 24 years after being framed | Daily Mail Online Feb 18, 2017 – Innocent man jailed for 24 years after being framed over British …. Soon, two or threeguys a month I knew were dying, from conditions like …

Rape accusation ‘traumatizing,’ former suspect says – CNN.comSep 18, 2009 – Four young men falsely accused of raping an 18-year-old student at Hofstra … Friday after an ordeal that two of them described as traumatic.

Sexual Assault: The Accused Speak Out – The Daily Beast Jan 28, 2016 – Young men accused—they claim unfairly—of college sexual assaults describe traumaticinvestigations, and the aftermath of … a false accusation, Matthew lived in fear of further retaliatorycharges. … In January 2014, President Obama launched a special task force to investigate rape and sexual assault on …

Man released on rape charge after 22 years in prison.
www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2007/10/22/planes.collide.in.midair.news12longisland

New York woman faces 2 years in jail for fake rape claims | Daily Mail … Jun 16, 2017 – Former college co-ed, 19, who falsely accused two football players of rape at a party to … Man, 28, is arrested for raping 13-year-old girl after.

Women falsely claims rape to justify lover’s attack on ex-boyfriend.
www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?
in_article_id=454224&in_page_id=1770&ICO=NEWS&ICL=TOPART

Man wrongly accused of rape finally released from prison, Jul 21, 2015 – Man wrongly accused of rape finally released from prison … about intelligence community’s Russia assessment wrong, calls it ‘fake news’ … Weiner was a 52-year–old manager at the local Food Lion, perhaps not … Mills did call the police, who tried to contact Steiniger, But she had turned off her phone after …

Innocent man falsely accused of rape to win back lover.
www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=444298&in_page_id=1770

U.K. judge jails “skillful actress” who falsely accused man of rape.
www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,1939368,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=11

False accusations of sexual assault are rape of a different color.

MILITARY CONSCRIPTION

No gender oppression is comparable in magnitude to the deaths of males in war, which includes forced conscription. Over 20 million male soldiers died in WWII alone, about 500,000 of them U.S. soldiers. www.hitler.org/ww2-deaths.html

Historically, a large percentage of men were drafted before they were old enough to even vote. The Vietnam Memorial has 58,000 male names and 8 female names. Males throughout the world are still forced to fight wars, even at ages as young as 6 in some countries. In the U.S. males must still register for the draft by age 18, including “only sons” and even disabled men if they can move about.

People who say “men make war” are the same ones who find it sexist to say men make science, medicine, etc., as women were restricted from participating and still did contribute in many ways. The same is true of war. Women leaders supported and declared wars, and women in the general population have supported wars at almost the same rate men have. E.g., 76% of women and 86% of men supported the U.S. military attack in Kuwait and Iraq during the Gulf War.

In his report, “War and Gender,” University of Massachusetts political scientist Joshua Goldstein documents how women have actively encouraged military adventurism, both in modern and indigenous societies, and that in the face of imminent conflict, women goad their men into combat. For example:

– During the American Revolutionary War, women were known to withhold sexual favors from reluctant fighters.

– During the American Civil War, Southern belles refused to accept suitors who did not take up arms.

– In World War I, British women organized the White Feather campaign in which they gave a white feather to men who refused to fight, as a sign of their unmanliness.

– Among the Bedouin, frenzied Rwala women bare their breasts and urge their men to war.

– Before the 1973 coup in Chile, women threw corn at soldiers to taunt them as “chickens.”

– During the era of the Soviet Gulag, female interrogators were just as ruthless as their male counterparts in extracting confessions.

– In the Rwanda genocide, Hutu women played a major role in killing Tutsi men:

“Women of every social category took part in the killings. … Some women killed with their own hands. … Women and girls in their teens joined the crowds that surrounded churches, hospitals and other places of refuge. Wielding machetes and nail-studded clubs, they excelled as “cheerleaders” of the genocide, ululating the killers into action.” African Rights report, Rwanda – Not So Innocent: When Women Become Killers, August 1995.) www.gendercide.org/case_rwanda.html

As Warren Farrell, Ph.D. put it, “Forcing only men to register for the draft in case the country goes to war is just as sexist as forcing women to register to get pregnant in case the country needs more babies.” Warren Farrell, Ph.D., “The Myth of Male Power.”

THE “PAY GAP”

The “pay gap” only exists because men work far more hours at high-stress jobs they hate with longer commutes, less flexibility, more physical risk, etc., just to be breadwinners and feed their families, only to die younger and get bashed for “earning more.” The “pay gap” is only a snapshot of average yearly full-time incomes that does not account for overtime (about 90% male), type of work, or other factors. The Dept. of Labor funded a study that shed light on this issue.
www.consad.com/content/reports/Gender%20Wage%20Gap%20Final%20Report.pdf

See also, Prof. June O’Neill, Ph.D. (former director of Congressional Budget Office), “The Gender Gap in Wages, circa 2000,” American Economic Review, 5/03.)

In “Why Men Earn More,” Warren Farrell, Ph.D. examined 25 career/life choices men and women make (hours, commute times, etc.) that lead to men earning more and women having more balanced lives, and that showed how men in surveys prioritize money while women prioritize flexibility, shorter hours, shorter commutes, less physical risk and other factors conducive to their choice to be primary parents, an option men still largely don’t have. That is why never-married childless women outearn their male counterparts, and female corporate directors now outearn their male counterparts.

www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN0752118220071107?feedType=R

Farrell also lists dozens of careers, including fields of science, where women outearn men.

Women simply have more options than men to be primary parents, and many of them exercise that option rather than work long, stressful hours. That is why 57% of female graduates of Stanford and Harvard left the workforce within 15 years of entry into the workforce. http://edition.cnn.com/2005/BUSINESS/03/15/optout.revolution/

This is an option few men have (try being a single male and telling women on the first date that you want to stay home). The latest research shows women still seek men who earn more than they do.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/8237298/What-women-really-want-to-marry-a-rich-man.html

Blaming men for women’s choices is unfair. In fact research shows most men have no problem with their wives outearning them. www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23413243

Research also shows most working dads would quit or take a pay cut to spend more time with kids if their spouses could support the family.

www.cnn.com/2007/US/Careers/06/13/dads.work/index.html

Research also shows that parents share workloads more when mothers allow men to be primary parents.

www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-05-04-equal-parenting_N.htm

For more, see:

ABC News: “Is the Wage Gap Women’s Choice? Research Suggests Career Decisions, Not Sex Bias, Are at Root of Pay Disparity”

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/GiveMeABreak/story?id=797045&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

http://money.cnn.com/2007/06/04/magazines/fortune/muphy_payact.fortune/index.htm

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23413243

GENITAL INTEGRITY

The Royal Dutch Medical Association recently declared that male circumcision is an infringement of a child’s rights to bodily integrity and personal autonomy, that its risks are underplayed, and that to reject all forms of forced female genital cutting while allowing forced male genital cutting is ethically inconsistent. It also analyzes the flawed distinctions made between female genital mutilation and non therapeutic male circumcision, and it finds that “there is growing concern regarding complications, both minor and serious, which can occur as a result of circumcising a child,” from bleeding, infection, meatal stenosis (urethral stricture) and panic attacks to the risk of death. In relation to long term sexual damage, the paper points out that the foreskin is an important erotogenic structure, and that the history of its removal is, “rooted in the desire to control male sexuality”

www.norm-uk.org/news.html?action=showitem&item=1306

Both the Australian College of Physicians and the British Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons have recently come out against routine infant male circumcision and the latter addressed the human rights violations involved as well.

www.smh.com.au/national/letters/no-evidence-to-support-routine-circumcision-20090911-fkna.html

www.cpsbc.ca/files/u6/Circumcision-Infant-Male.pdf

The male foreskin is a highly-functional sexual organ that has been present in all mammals for over 60 million years, but is most highly developed and erogenous in the human male. In addition to protecting the glans and producing chemicals such as pheromones and anti- viral substances it contains a profusion of nerves that are highly sensitive to fine touch and are also found primarily in our lips, eyelids and fingertips.The president-elect of the International Society for Sexual Medicine, Dr John Dean, has commented on his netdoctor entry on circumcision that a reduction in penile sensation is an “almost universal’’ result of the surgery.

A recent study using fine-touch medical instruments for the first time ever to study the sensation on the penis found circumcision removes the most sensitive part of the penis and that an intact penis is much more sensitive than a circumcised penis. Sorrells, Snyder, et al., “Fine-touch pressure thresholds in the adult penis,” British Journal of Urology International, v. 99, issue 4, p. 864, April 2007. www.livescience.com/health/070615_penis_sensitivity.html

The full study is posted at
www.nocirc.org/touch-test/bju_6685.pdf

Prior studies – which had mixed results – were unreliable because they were based upon self-reports of men who were either circumcised as adults for medical purposes or were circumcised as children and could not compare the difference. One of the study’s authors, Dr. Robert Van Howe, explains that the male foreskin is concentrated with high-sensory nerve endings that are only found in our eyelids, lips and fingertips. The foreskin has many other roles as well, such as acting as a buffer and lubricant.

A subsequent study in China confirmed the same thing. Yang DM, Lin H, Zhang B, Guo W. [Circumcision affects glans penis vibration perception threshold]. Zhonghua Nan Ke Xue 2008; 14: 328-30, Dept. of Urology, the First Hospital Affiliated to Guangzhou Medical College, Guangzhou,Guangdong 510120, China.Non-religious circumcision has been traced to the prevention of masturbation. And historically circumcision has been a cure looking for a disease, constantly being claimed to prevent one disease after another and repeatedly disproved afterwards. For more, see www.circumstitions.com/

HIV Prevention

There has been a flurry of media coverage over three studies in Africa that found male circumcision reduces the risk of contracting HIV. This is contradicted by other research and experts. See, www.circumstitions.com/HIV.html#bailey

Dr. Dean Edell called the African/HIV conclusions “silly” and warned, “it will backfire.” He recognized the gender double standards, the loss of sensation in the penis, how condoms and education are the solution, and how the U.S. has the highest rate of circumcision in the West and also the highest rate of HIV while European men don’t circumcise and have lower HIV rates. www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlsUg0sdAtE

The Royal Australasian College of Physicians reviewed the Africa/HIV studies and concluded there is “no evidence to support routine circumcision of newborn and infant males,” and suggested parents wait until their child is old enough to give informed consent. www.smh.com.au/national/letters/no-evidence-to-support-routine-circumcision-20090911-fkna.htmlThere is also research showing female circumcision also reduces the changes of contracting HIV. Stallings, R. Y., and E. Karugendo. “Female Circumcision and HIV Infection in Tanzania: For Better or for Worse?” Abstract of paper given at Third International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment. Rio de Janeiro, July 25–27, 2005. But even the least intrusive form of female circumcision is illegal to perform on an infant girl.

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

Men’s reproductive rights include issues such as false paternity claims or paternity fraud, adoption rights, abortion, rights over frozen embros, choice for men, etc.

The American Association of Blood Banks reports that, out of 300,000 DNA paternity tests performed annually, 30% exclude the man as the biological dad. Over 70% of paternity judgments in L.A. County are obtained by default. (“Examining Child Support Arrears in California; The Collectibility Study,” 3/03, p. 16.) Many of these men are inadequately served or respond late due to language barriers, mental disabilities, fear, or mistaken belief that they do not have to respond because the child is not theirs. They often first learn of a paternity judgment when their wages are attached or their driving privileges are suspended. By then it can be too late. Even if DNA excludes them, they can still be forced to pay support, despite having families of their own to feed. Military men are particular targets of paternity fraud because of the benefits they carry.

In 2004, NCFM helped pass a law to protect paternity fraud victims (AB 252, enacting Family Code § 7646 et seq.). While this law is helpful, it is not enough. Judges still have discretion to force a man to pay even after DNA excludes him as the biological father, and many men still find themselves trapped by the existing two-year deadline to challenge a paternity judgment from the time they “knew or should have known” of it. If they are late by one day, they are locked in with no escape, and courts have no discretion to relieve them. Stronger laws and more public education are needed to combat this problem. For more, see www.paternityfraud.com/Choice For Men is an attempt to bring gender equality to reproductive rights and responsibilities. Although women have far more contraceptive choices than men, men are deemed at least as responsible as women when an unwanted pregnancy occurs, but women have the entire say in whether to abort or keep the child, and have much easier access to adoption or safe-haven abandonment. As a result, when an unwanted pregnancy occurs, either by accident or when men are lied to about birth control or fertility, women can surrender their parental rights and responsibilities, while men cannot. “Choice for men,” as a matter of gender equity, would give men a certain period of time to surrender their parental rights and responsibilities.

For more on men’s reproductive rights, see www.nationalcenterformen.org/

THE “HOUSEWORK” MYTH

The media has repeatedly publicized studies that purportedly found men do not do their share of housework. These studies, including one by the United Nations, were seriously flawed as they did not account for work outside the home and/or failed to factor many traditionally male forms of housework. The mass media also virtually ignored subsequent studies that disproved the housework myth. For instance:

A recent 25-nation study by economists from Berlin, Brussels and Texas, which included rich and poor nations, found men do as much work as women when all types of work are combined. www.slate.com/id/2164268/

A University of Maryland study found the total workloads of married mothers and fathers is roughly equal when paid work is added to child care and housework, at 65 hours a week for mothers and 64 hours for fathers.
www.parapundit.com/archives/003838.html

A University of Michigan study found women work an average of 11 hours more housework per week more than men while men an average of 14 hours per week more than women outside the home.