http://www.tnhonline.com/letter-to-the-editor-women-initiate-domestic-violence-too-1.1372813

4/20/10

Dear Editor,

As a nonprofit organization that works with male victims of domestic violence, rape, and false accusations, we ask that you print this letter to give a side of the problem that was not mentioned in the article “Speaker Highlights Domestic Violence Issues” (4/15).

Jackson Katz is correct that rape is not just a women’s issue.  But that’s because males are victims too.  And it’s not true that “men commit 99% of rapes,” especially when you include statutory rapes of minors.  About 95% of all youth reporting staff sexual abuse in juvenile detention facilities say they were victimized by female staff.  And a student survey in New Mexico found 43% of teacher sex abuse comes from female teachers, but 92% of prosecutions are of male teachers.

Also, while men are less likely than women to report their victimization to police, virtually all randomized empirical surveys show women initiate domestic violence at rates similar to men and that men suffer about one-third of physical injuries.  We work with men who have been stabbed, cut with glass, or had their teeth broken with furniture.  There is no excuse for sweeping them and their children under the rug.

Finally, false rape accusations are a form of psychological rape that are too often ignored, and empirical research shows they are far more common than we’re told.

Marc E. Angelucci, Esq.
Board Member
National Coalition For Men