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My response to the report of the Queensland Task Force on Family Violence

Ms. Annastacia Palaszczuk MP
Premier of Queensland and Minister for the Arts

Dear Premier

As you are aware, the Special Taskforce on Domestic and Family Violence released its report entitled ‘Not Now Not Ever’ on 28 February 2015. I am one of many people who earlier contributed a submission for consideration by the Task Force. I have now reviewed the Task Force’s report and wish to provide you with my thoughts on it.

Firstly some general observations

My first impression of the report was favourable in that its tone was generally inclusive and gender neutral in comparison to the more overt anti-male bias of many other reports regarding domestic violence (DV), such as The National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children, 2010-2022. The weakness of the Bryce report though was that the words were not followed-up with conclusions and recommendations when it came to the issue of female perpetration and male victimisation. In addition, there were many things left unsaid in relation to these aspects of DV that should have been addressed.

No mention was made in the report of the extent of anti-male bias in the pre-existing debate concerning DV, nor for example of the corresponding lack of resources devoted to male victims. Likewise no mention was made of the puzzling lack of family violence perpetrator intervention initiatives provided for violent or abusive women.

The report continues the trend of earlier reports in that it features an inflated emphasis and reliance on communication/education/awareness programs, without properly justifying what had been achieved to date – nor what gains might be predicted in the future. This is confusing as the problem does not seem to be that people are unaware of domestic violence, as was confirmed in the focus groups. How and why will more “awareness” result in lower rates of perpetration? Has this been achieved in Australia? In any other countries? Indeed no effort was made to detail the full extent of previous expenditure in this area, either absolutely or relative to total government expenditure related to DV.

The fact that a document word search of the Task Force’s report, using the terms ‘male survivor’ ‘male victim’ or ‘female perpetrator’, returned no results is indicative of the extent of gender bias present therein.

I am curious as to why copies of public submissions were not made available online (except of course those people who sought anonymity). Publishing submissions, as for example occurred with the federal Senate Inquiry, would have been consistent with the desire for awareness raising advanced in the report. I have no doubt that there would have been many submissions lodged that, like my own, challenged the dominant feminist narrative regarding DV. It is of concern that no extracts/quotes from such submissions featured within the body of the report, and that all of the references cited were written by those adopting and promoting a pro-feminist perspective. It appears, for all intents and purposes, that all such submissions were simply swept aside.

There is a major anomaly in that no ’round table’ was held with members of mens/fathers groups, yet special meetings were held with (for example) members of the Indian and African communities? This despite the fact that the need to involve men was stressed within the body of the report, and that men comprise a substantial number of the victims of DV.

It was pleasing to see that the LGBTI community was included in the discussion, as was the issue of elder abuse. Given the latter however I am unclear why (non-sexual) child abuse that occurred in the home was not also discussed in the report. Was this decision made because the pattern of perpetration was at odds with the dominant feminist narrative?

Comments in relation to specific matters raised in the report

Foreword: “Today there are more than 300 women’s refuges around Australia and there have been many advances in the past 40 years in how we deal with domestic abuse”

Why was there no mention of how many beds in refuges are currently available for men?

“It is through listening, sharing and understanding the experiences of those subjected to abuse and violence that we can start to understand how we can put an end to violence, and the action that must be taken.”

And yet no serious effort was made in the report to listen to and understand the circumstances of male victims, and men generally.

Executive Summary: “On average, across Australia, one woman is killed by her partner every week.” (p6)

Why was no mention made of the corresponding number of male victims?

“Initiatives such as White Ribbon (a male-led campaign) and Australia’s CEO Challenge (a workplace domestic violence prevention program) are driving campaigns to break the silence surrounding domestic and family violence.”

Yet no attempt was made to quantify the extent to which rates of perpetration have been affected. Does simply “breaking the silence” actually help survivors? Especially when the ‘awareness’ campaign relentlessly drive home a gender-biased and blame-ridden message of ‘men are violent/women are their victims’?

“The majority of people who experience domestic and family violence in Queensland are women. This is not to say that women cannot be the perpetrators of fear and violence upon male victims.”

On a positive note it was pleasing to see that the Task Force did not follow suit and use the misleading phrase “overwhelming majority” as has featured in many other similar reports.

“Men can be and are victims of violence and coercive control, and are victims of domestic and family violence homicides. Any domestic and family violence, regardless of who the victim and perpetrator are, is unacceptable.”

It transpired that this is/was essentially the report’s sole concession to specifically recognising the existence of male victims and their right to be heard and to receive support.

“The Taskforce recommends that Government commission specific reviews into the impacts of domestic and family violence for two targeted vulnerable groups – people with a disability and the elderly. There is a distinct lack of sound and helpful evidence on the impact of domestic and family violence for these two groups, and the Taskforce strongly believes that more is needed to understand the needs and dynamics of elderly and disabled victims”.

The inclusion of these two groups is to be applauded, but men should also have been included and discussed as an at-risk minority for the same reasons as given for including the other minority victim groups.

“The attitudes, knowledge and beliefs of individuals and communities can and do create a culture that justifies, excuses, perhaps trivialises or even condones or encourages domestic violence.”

I disagree with this assessment. Later in the report the Task Force offers, as its sole supporting evidence, the findings of a national survey that did not even bother to ask questions about the community’s views about violence towards men. Thus its findings were compromised by the lack of statistical context or any valid point of comparison.

(p8) “Culture and attitudes affect the ability of victims to report violence and seek help, and influence the willingness of the community to hold perpetrators to account. It affects the behaviour of the professionals within our police, justice, welfare and service-provider systems when called on to deal with and respond to domestic and family violence. Importantly, culture and attitudes inform and influence the decisions of bystanders to either intervene or ignore incidents of domestic and family violence.”

This is highly applicable to the situation of male victims yet no mention was made of them in this regard – a further reason why men should have been included as an at risk minority and consulted with via a separate round-table meeting.

(p12) “Leaving a violent partner or home situation is a difficult step for a victim. If a victim does not know where to go, or does not feel understood or supported by a service, or worse, if there is no service for the particular need, the victim may return to the violence and not try to leave again. Compassionate, coordinated responses provide much needed support to victims trying to leave and will ensure greater success than disjointed and disengaged services can.”

It would have been highly relevant to note here the fact that many helplines and related web pages pointedly assume that male callers are perpetrators and female callers are victims. All such information, and such services, should be made non-judgemental and gender neutral.

(p13) “Much of the focus in this report and elsewhere is placed on victims, but cultural change needs to happen to stop perpetrators from using violence and coercive control in their relationships. Any integrated service response must include programs to address perpetrator behaviour and hold perpetrators to account”.

Why was no mention made of the need for perpetrator programs for violent women? There is a cultural problem with the community ‘looking the other way’ in relation to abusive women and the Task Force report only perpetuates that situation.

No male perspectives were provided in section 3, and Section 3.3 made no mention of the mens/fathers rights perspective put forward in any of the submissions. This section of the report was given over to advancing one ideology, and one alone, that being gender feminism.

(p105) “Training and games provide opportunities to engage boys and men in conversations and actions around understanding domestic and family violence, without the involvement of women and in a traditional or stereotyped ‘masculine’ environment. Just starting the conversations will make significant steps toward changing attitudes and behaviours.”

This implies that men/boys are the problem and/or that girls don’t play sport, and/or that sporting venues constitute a “a traditional or stereotyped ‘masculine’ environment”. This is inaccurate, unhelpful, and simply conforming to dated stereotypes. Why not have the same program for girls/women? Why could this not have been written as:

‘Training and games provide opportunities to engage adults and children in conversations and actions around understanding domestic and family violence, without the involvement of members of the opposite gender’

(p142) “Further, in the National Crime Prevention Survey, one in four young Australians admitted having witnessed physical domestic violence against their mother and/or step-mother”.

It would have been more appropriate to report that ‘23% of young people between the ages of 12 and 20 years had witnessed an incident of physical violence against their mother/stepmother and 22% against their father/stepfather’ (Source)

(p151) “Alarmingly, the most recent national survey about community attitudes towards violence against women revealed that significant numbers of Australians believe there are circumstances in which violence can be excused. More than 1 in 5 agreed that partner violence can be excused if the person is genuinely regretful afterward (21%) or if they temporarily lost control (22%). These statistics are disturbing and indicate attitudes that trivialise violence by suggesting that violence against a partner can be excused. There is no excuse for domestic and family violence”.

It should have been noted that this survey did not ask about community attitudes towards violence towards men, thus there is no context in which the results may be interpreted. If the surveyors had bothered to ask about men, they might well have found that the community was even more complacent about violence towards men than women. This is not to suggest that any such complacency is good/better, but rather that the issue is one of social attitudes towards violence generally rather than sexism towards women.

(p152) Both Our Watch and White Ribbon ignore female perpetration of violence. There are other groups working in the field that hold a different perspective. Why was no mention made, for example, of the One in Three organisation?

(p154) “We will only achieve long-term and lasting change if we address the causes of domestic violence. International evidence shows the causes are complex – unequal distribution of power and resources between men and women, rigid or narrow gender roles and stereotypes, and a culture and attitudes that support violence”

The two references cited to support this assertion were written by a hardline feminist researcher and a feminist advocacy group. Feminists rely heavily on a theory known as the ‘Duluth Model’ in their approach to DV. Whether or not the factors they mention are, in fact, the primary “contributing factors” is highly debatable. Alternative perspectives should have been provided in this section of the report, in order to provide a more thorough and more balanced coverage of the topic. An example of an alternative perspective worthy of consideration is presented in this article.

(p155) “The most recent data released from the Australian Bureau of Statistics in August 2014 shows a widening of the wages gap between men and women in Australia with women currently earning 18.2% less than men.”

This is an average figure for all men and all women and cannot and should not be extrapolated as an indicator of gender bias or discrimination. The so-called gender gap is a complex issue and one that is routinely misrepresented by feminist advocacy groups

(p156 and again at p162-167) “There appears to be a significant gap between an individual’s belief that the violence is wrong, and the willingness to talk about the violence or take action to do something about it.”

It would have been relevant to note that this gap is greater in the case of people witnessing a man being assaulted than in the case of a woman

(p159-160) Mention should have been made of the fact that the media focuses overwhelmingly on male-perpetrated domestic violence, and on promoting a view that only men are responsible for such behaviour. This mirrors the message disseminated in most existing education/awareness campaigns such as those mentioned in the Task Force’s report.

(p171) “It is crucial for men to show leadership in the community in their actions to prevent domestic violence and to address the social and cultural causes of domestic violence. It is also important for them to demonstrate the value of healthy and respectful relationships.” Surely the same could, and in fact should, be said about women? Why wasn’t it?

(p173) The White Ribbon ‘breaking the silence’ campaign has been criticized for only focussing on the responsibilities of boys to treat members of the other gender with respect. It basically shames boys for being male and let’s girls ‘off the hook’ entirely in terms of how they act towards boys. This is not gender equality, it is gender bias or sexism.

(p176-179) This section is unbalanced and excessively influenced by feminist ideology. It absolves women of any responsibility whilst pushing all responsibility onto men (despite the fact that it admits that few men commit violence against their partners)

“Domestic violence is a men’s issue because their wives, mothers, sisters, daughters and friends are being harmed. We know that most men do not commit violent acts in the home, however their attitudes are pivotal to accountability and responsibility for that violence because the majority of violence against women is perpetrated by men.”

Instead of that wording, why not this version instead?

Domestic violence is a women’s issue because their husbands, fathers, brothers, sons and friends are being harmed. We know that most women do not commit violent acts in the home, however their attitudes are pivotal to accountability and responsibility for that violence because a substantial proportion of violence against men is perpetrated by women.

Women must also challenge violence committed by other women!

Some further revised wording for the Government’s consideration:

‘There are three key forms of action that people can take in helping to reduce and prevent intimate partner violence:

Avoiding the personal use of violence against their partner
Intervening in the violence of other people
Addressing the social and cultural causes of violence’

(p235) “Currently, there are 14 services funded by the Queensland Government to provide perpetrator intervention initiatives for the following regions: Townsville; Mount Isa; Gold Coast; Murgon; Toowoomba; Rockhampton; Brisbane; Cairns; Roma; Maroochydore; Ipswich; and Logan. In addition, there are two services funded by the Commonwealth”.

How many of these cater for violent women? Any of them? Surely this is relevant to the discussion?

Comments in relation to the Task Force’s recommendations

17. It was most pleasing to note that the monitoring and evaluation of programs was identified as a priority area

18-23. These recommendations demonstrate an excessive emphasis/reliance on communications. How will this help? Apart from just sounding good? No clear nexus between spending money here and actually fixing the problem

24-29. It should have been made clear that such programs should be aimed at both boys and girls (re: respecting the other gender) and not simply a platform for anti-male messaging.

Why was there no suggestion of using female role models? This goes against the general thrust of the report, and implies that it is only male behaviour that is the problem, and that no effort/adjustment is needed on the part of women/girls

31-37. The recommendations in relation to domestic violence leave should have clearly identified that both men and women would be eligible for such leave

67-70. The names of alleged perpetrators and victims should be protected to the same extent. If the victim’s name is withheld until such time as a conviction is recorded, then so to should the alleged perpetrators name be protected from publication

“… reviews and updates the Professional Practice Standards: Working with men who perpetrate domestic and family violence”.

To be consistent with the general thrust of the report it would have been desirable to have this document reviewed and re-launched as Professional Practice Standards: Working with PEOPLE who perpetrate domestic and family violence OR have a separate document written for female perpetrators. To do otherwise is simply to unquestioningly accept an unacceptable and gender-biased status quo.

84-88. Why was no mention made of the existing supply of and demand for shelter beds for male victims?

96-98. Why was no mention made of the fact that this type of specialist court has just been de-funded by the WA Government as they were found to be counter-productive? (Source)

Conclusion

The continued focus on the feminist perspective towards domestic violence, and the exclusion of other perspectives that are equally or perhaps even more valid, is deeply troubling.

Mens violence towards women is a very important issue, but at the same time we must remain mindful of the fact that it is but one component part of a bigger issue. Everyone is important and we need to focus on achieving a reduction in violence to adults and children whether they be male, female or transgender.

I believe that real gains will elude us until such time that we adopt a holistic, practical and non-ideological approach to this most pressing and complex social problem.

Domestic Violence NSW censors dissenting views (before lapsing into paranoid delusion)

I spent some time the other day browsing content within the ‘Facebook page of Domestic Violence NSW’. As a first-time visitor I was somewhat taken aback at the extent of anti-male and pro-feminist bias evident in the material posted there.

By way of background, Domestic Violence NSW is a Sydney-based charity that received over $6 million in government funding in the period August 2013 – August 2014.

During my visit I submitted a review of their site, noting that:

“When people google your organisation this is what they read: “Domestic Violence information site for Australian mothers seeking to leave abusive relationships, including contact details for various help services.” Yet when they arrive at your home page the message stated is that ‘domestic violence can happen to anyone, any gender, etc…’

My question is then, if you recognise male victims of domestic violence then why not amend the google summary to be consistent? ie. “information site for Australians seeking to leave abusive relationships…” The only reason to not do so would appear to be a desire to appease the feminists who seem to control the DV ‘debate’ in this country. Please consider and respect both sexes”.

At the same time I submitted that review, I contributed three comments in response to various items posted in the timeline. Whilst the review remained in place for a couple of days (I’m guessing they took a while to notice it), my comments disappeared within hours.

DV NSW then blocked me from making further posts on their Facebook page, and lodged a complaint with Facebook admin. Both of these moves are recognised as common feminist tactics used to try to silence those with whom they disagree.

I saw no evidence of dissenting views posted by others, and from that I assume that the timeline is regularly sanitised as is often the case with online feminist forums.

My crime? My crime was simply to put forward a view at odds with the material posted in the timeline. I can assure readers that my comments were quite cordial and offered free of malice, the most offensive terms included therein probably being “male victims” and “female perpetrators”.

Domestic Violence NSW forwarded this message:

“Hi Chris, All content DVNSW posts comes from credible media sources, using statistical information gathered by that source. We CLEARLY use descriptors when posting content that is an opinion or editorial. DVNSW does not prescribe to these opinions, we simply post the content. Our media monitors capture the daily media involving domestic and family violence and we share articles that meet our policy guidelines.

The issue with your post is that a) it comes from a source outside of Australia, which means it is not drawn from our ABS data collected here and b) it does not contain credible sources of information and references.

If you’d like to read about male victims of domestic violence, we would suggest looking into the work of Dr Michael Flood. He is well researched and knowledgable in this area and highly respected within our Australian context.”

I wrote back seeking clarification:

“I’m afraid I’m a little confused as to how I have infringed your posting guidelines. Your message refers to my post, but it would appear that you have removed several of my posts from your timeline. As far as I recall only one of my posts included a hyperlink, and that was linking to an Australian blog. That blog page did in turn include further links to a variety of sources, most if not all of which I would categorize as “credible”.

As I clearly have an interest in the subject and will no doubt visit your page again, I would like to better understand the nature of your concerns. Would you mind providing copies of the posts that you removed, in each case identifying the offending elements of each? Many thanks for your assistance. Chris

PS: I am aware of Mr Flood’s work and I regret to inform you that, outside of feminist circles, he is anything but “highly regarded”.

I’ll post their reply here should I receive one, but I’m not going to be holding my breath waiting for that to happen.

Postscript (later the same day): Oh (massive facepalm) this reaction is either juvenile beyond belief … or indicative of a generous measure of paranoia. Upon visiting the Twitter stream of Domestic Violence NSW I was alerted to the following announcement:

Dear followers,
Sadly we have become aware that our Facebook page is currently being targeted by troll groups who remain highly opposed to our exposure of latest boosts in media surrounding the current, credible statistics concerning the death rate of people (the majority women and children) from domestic and family violence this year and last. We are aware that these individuals are creating fake profiles and recruiting others to attack our page with spam from a particular mens rights website. As such, whilst we investigate this and proceed with a course of action, we are regrettably restricting all comments on our posts. We are incredibly disappointed by having to do this as we love your interaction and support of awareness and changing the culture that exists around Domestic and Family violence.
We have made this choice for several reasons, these are;
1. These individuals are posting links to websites and media that we believe could trigger and distress many of our audience who have had experience living with violence. We do not wish to risk the health and safety of any of our supporters.
2. Our media is unable to be monitored 24/7 and it is monitored by staff members, thus making it a work environment. As we would never allow our staff to work in an unsafe work environment, we feel that this content is inappropriate for staff members to have to work around.
3. We feel that whilst we investigate this behaviour, and possible breaches in legislation, we can actively end this continuing further and reach out to those who feel this behaviour is appropriate.
Please note: WE WILL STILL BE POSTING MEDIA AND THIS WILL BE ABLE TO BE SHARED BY YOU.
We can assure you we are still able to be contacted whenever necessary and you can contact us via the information on our website: www.dvnsw.org.au/html/contact.htm and we encourage you to do so.
We will aim to enable comments again ASAP and we thank you all for your continued support.
We all have a right to be heard and to present diverse opinions when this is done respectfully and with maturity.
Thank you and please be kind to one another.
The DVNSW Team

Assuming this is not droll humour, I’m embarrassed for these people.

Feminists reject the term ‘victim’ in favour of ‘survivor’. And yet dismissing those with alternative perspectives as trolls, and concealing or misrepresenting their message, embodies the very essence of perpetual victimhood. It is the behaviour one might expect from infantilized, narcissistic sissie-girls.

Those who are so invested in equality could begin by extending equality to others. You value inclusiveness? Then include others. You want to fashion meaningful reform directed towards achieving real social justice? Come back to the table when you’re ready to act like grown-ups.

Postscript 16 March 2015: A couple of days after DV NSW deleted my posts they inserted a statement in their timeline saying that they supported all victims of domestic violence (pictured). They also inserted a couple of posts about male victims and one about a girl bashed by her mum. In and of itself that’s a good thing, but I suspect it was done more ‘for show’ than to demonstrate real commitment to gender equality.

I also happened across an interesting post online which immediately struck a cord given that it mirrored my own experience with DV NSW:

“The fact is the people pushing this notion that Family Violence is a gendered issue know full well they are lying. I used to believe they were misguided or ill informed but I have had a couple of personal dealings with groups running online support and fundraising for the female victims of domestic violence. When I questioned them and presented some facts in a very polite, respectful manner, the same two things happened on three occasions. 1. My comments were deleted. 2. An article on male victims of DV was posted with a statement reminding everyone that anyone can be a victim of domestic violence. When I scrolled down their page I discovered this was the only mention anywhere on their page of male victims. They only put up that one because they want to cover their arses in case another informed reader questioned their bigotry.” (Source – See comment from Mark Mooroolbark)

I posted a brief response noting my experience with DV NSW, and then things got even more interesting when Mark replied to me in the following manner:

“That is one of the mobs I was referring to! Just this week I wrote a polite comment on their Facebook page and someone responded with that false statistic that DV is the leading cause of death and disability in women between the ages of 15 and 49. I responded by simply stating that this was not correct and listed the five leading causes of death and disability before adding a few more points-all reasonable and polite. I returned to find my comments deleted and a post explaining that due to trolling from a Men’s Right Group they are blocking all comments -they said the women monitoring the site may feel unsafe and that the comments posted were disrespectful, immature etc…

I was so angry that I immediately wrote to Moo Baulch the CEO of the Domestic Violence NSW organisation stating exactly what happened and asking for an explanation. She responded to my email and said she would ring me sometime this week. If the call ever takes place it will be interesting to hear her defence of this censorship”.

Could it be that DV NSW interpreted two individuals independently offering feedback on DV NSW’s priorities as constituting a targeted attack by “troll groups“? Could they really be that stupid or delusional? What do you think?

The vitriol against the Safe Schools program reflects state-sanctioned homophobia (26 February 2016) Moo Baulch equates parliamentary debate regarding the value and appropriateness of a feminist-supported program in schools to “state-sanctioned hate speech“.

Why Do Feminists Cook Up Stories About ‘Misogyny’ When They Lose Debates? (11 June 2015)

A most informative Powerpoint presentation on the nature and treatment of paranoia (Come on ladies, it can’t hurt you just to have a look at this)

The CEO of Domestic Violence NSW, Moo Baulch, is quoted in this article indicating her resistance to free and open discussion of domestic violence, and criticizing the nature of statistics provided by the Police.

As one reader subsequently observed:

“Interesting how bigots like Jenna Price bemoan the ‘lack of context’ and a ‘proper breakdown of the statistics’ when the greatest concern most non feminists have about feminists is their complete and utter disregard for context and the the proper representation of statistics. In fact, it is feminists who are the greatest abusers of ‘statistics’ through misrepresentation.”

Hypocrisy? What hypocrisy

Footnote: DV NSW Annual Report 2022/23

Elsewhere in this blog you might be interested in:

On the censorship of non-feminist perspectives and opinions

The Unbearable Lameness of Being

So what exactly is the ‘Domestic Violence Industry’?

Australian taxpayer-funded organisations that do little/nothing for men (other than demonising them)

Dubious public policy borne from the denial of female violence

Whilst browsing the daily news I came across an article entitled Domestic violence register to protect women who fear their partners’ past (6 March 2015)

(If you haven’t already read my blog post about violent behaviour by women, then now would be a good time to do so)

Mike Baird (Premier of New South Wales, Australia) has proposed the establishment of a register of violent men. The intention is that potential female partners can check to see if their ‘person of interest’ has a track-record of abuse.

Mike’s proposal is based on a system now operating in the United Kingdom, known as Clare’s Law. Thus far I have been unable to locate any serious analysis of the efficacy of the UK system. The Premier has promised to introduce the system if re-elected. Has his staff determined that the proposed system would be likely to be effective? To be cost-effective? Does he really care? Or is the perceived potential for electoral mileage sufficient to justify a scheme that will no doubt involve a considerable outlay of taxpayer dollars?

“It is understood the list will first be made up only of men convicted of a charge of domestic assault, but the government will consider extending this to men who are the subject of an ADVO after consultation with the Justice Department.

Safeguards will be put in place so that people asking if someone is on the register have to prove they are in a domestic relationship.”

At this stage the operational details are unclear and many questions remain unanswered. For example:

How would women prove that they are in a relationship with the man in question?

What measures would be taken to prevent men being listed on the basis of false allegations?

How much will the register cost to establish and maintain, and will such a service significantly affect the rates of perpetration of domestic violence? Or will it, in fact, make any difference at all?

It is of concern that a political leader would contemplate such a ‘service’ without thought being given to the fairness and desirability of including violent women. That this fellow has done so demonstrates just how far under the spell of feminism our leaders seem to have fallen. And unfortunately the NSW opposition party offers the community no better alternative in this regard.

The proposal is sexist and discriminatory in that it reinforces the negative and inaccurate stereotype that domestic violence consists entirely of men abusing women, and that women do not perpetrate violence.

The proposal is sexist and discriminatory in that it denies to men whatever limited protection the register might provide to women.

It may well be that after Mike’s proposal has been subject to proper analysis and consultation, it will be found to be non-viable. If it is to proceed, however, then the records of everyone with a history of violence must be made accessible.

“Premier Mike Baird and Minister for Women Pru Goward said the groundbreaking registry, announced on Friday, would be set up if they win the state election on March 28. “Quite frankly, I’m sick of excuses,” Mr Baird said“.

Well quite frankly I’m sick of politicians pandering to the feminist movement by diverting millions of dollars of public funds each year to feminist NGO’s like these. Feminists whose voices, by the way, now represent only a small minority of Australian women.

My concerns would be mitigated if, at the end of the day, there were clear benefits for the Australian community. More often than not, however, the outcome is one that sees the Government achieve very little with regard to the problem/s that they originally claimed they set out to address. Conversely, the collateral damage and the wasted opportunities that result from such a course of action are not inconsequential. No matter, the next news cycle will no doubt provide some convenient diversion.

Update 2 April 2015: Mike Baird was re-elected and has now appointed feminist Pru Goward as the first ever ‘Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault’

Update 22 May 2015: The NSW Government has released a discussion paper on the DV register concept. The receipt of public submissions in relation to this document ended on 19 June 2015. I provided a submission noting, amongst other things, my concern that the discussion paper did not explicitly state that both men and women were to be included in the register.

Update 15 February 2019: Violent offenders on GPS trackers to lower domestic violence in Australia (15 February 2019) A tech-ed up variation on the register concept – but will it make any difference in terms of decreasing the incidence of DV?

Update 23 January 2023: NSW women and men will be able to check partner’s violence history online with disclosure scheme. Video of news item here. Here we go again #FacePalm

Update 25 January 2023: New domestic violence scheme is a quick fix for a massive issue. Zero mention of female perpetrators or male victims, but they happily predict that there needs to be “resourcing the specialist domestic violence sector to provide critical referrals and support to victim-survivors engaging with the scheme”. You can almost hear all those feminist hands rubbing together.

Domestic Violence Disclosure Schemes: A National Review, by Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre (June 2023)

Writer named in controversial ‘media men’ list wins round in court (4 January 2022) Relates to USA feminist writer, Moira Donegan, who later featured in coverage of the Depp-Heard court case (example).

And now a dating app that allegedly screens out dangerous men (20 December 2021) with a further reference here.

250 South Australians use Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme to check on abusive partners (10 October 2019)

The secret Facebook groups where women shame their exes (22 August 2019) UK

Queensland ‘initiative’ referred to here as an ‘Alternative Reporting Option’ (June 2018) I would imagine that there would be plenty of scope for abuse here

UK experience of domestic violence disclosure schemes is a cautionary tale for Australia (12 October 2016)

Violent offenders registers sound good, but are a costly, unproven distraction (8 July 2015)

Police call for family violence offender register (1 July 2015)

Is Michigan’s sex offender registry actually protecting us? (26 May 2015)

Early warning scheme for domestic violence (21 May 2015)

NSW domestic violence register to expose potential abusers (20 May 2015)

Put DV abusers on national register (14 March 2015) Features some interesting readers comments. The author, Wendy Tuohy, claims that the register will include violent women but I have been unable to obtain official confirmation of this. Even Mike Baird’s original media release is quite ambiguous on this point.

NSW state election 2015: Mike Baird beefs up domestic violence and sexual assault laws (6 March 2015)

Domestic violence register could lead to increased not guilty pleas, privacy experts warn (6 March 2015)

Video item on the proposal as featured in the ‘Sunrise’ TV show which has generated a large number of viewer comments with a definite majority being supportive of the inclusion of violent women on the register

Domestic violence register won’t work: ALP (6 March 2015)

Sex offender registers often get raised in conversations about domestic violence registers – so here is an article on that topic: Sex Offender Registries (SOR’s): Time for a change (16 August 2014)

Clare’s Law: a violation of our private lives (28 November 2013)

Now people can be told of their partner’s violent past thanks to new law named after tragic murder victim (8 March 2014)

Clare’s Law: a simple solution, or more confusion? (25 November 2013)

Epidemic of Restraining / Protection Order Abuse by women against innocent men (31 July 2013) USA

Baird promises domestic violence minister (6 March 2015) Google ‘affectatious‘. How about a Minister for Road Safety? Minister for Prevention of Substance Abuse?

When even the Prime Minister’s office imposes pro-feminist censorship …

On 4 March 2015 staff of the Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, uploaded this post to his Facebook page. It was all about Tony pledging his support to the pro-feminist #HeforShe campaign which I discuss here.

I then contributed my own thoughts on the matter. Oh, wait you can’t see anything. That’s because the site administrator filtered it out of the timeline. I assume this was because he/she is either pro-feminist, or anti-MRA, or both. I can’t think of any other reason, for example, there is no profanity in my post. It was not due to my post containing a hyperlink (many other visible posts include hyperlinks), and I note that there are some fairly strident pro-feminist posts left visible.

Anyway, after I logged into my account, there was my post (visible in the second screen save), just below the post by Henry Poulsen.

That, folks is what you call ideological censorship. Whereas the office of the Prime Minister should be right at the forefront of protecting our democratic right to self-expression, here they are seen to be inhabiting a very different place.

Yet another of the tremendous advances achieved by the feminist movement.

#sarcasm

Malcolm Turnbull (then Minister for Communications) uploaded a very similar post onto his Facebook page on 2 March, and I provided the same response. It’s pleasing to note that in his case my post was not removed.

Ah, but then in September 2015 Malcolm Turnbull was appointed Prime Minister, and guess who suddenly fell into lockstep with the feminist lobby?

“The PM told Today’s Lisa Wilkinson that “the issue of family violence, or domestic violence as it’s often called – which is just violence against women, which is the way I prefer to describe it – is an enormous one.” (Source)

No Malcolm, domestic violence is emphatically not “just violence against women”.

On 24 September 2015 the Prime Minister announced a huge swathe of public funding to address the issue of domestic violence. Here is the media release … you will see that public comments are enabled. That’s great, but unfortunately once the tide of comments turned against the Prime Minister’s position, the moderator stopped uploading all contributed comments (no matter how civil they were).

In the screen-save provided below (from my Disqus account) you can see a number of posts marked “pending”. Thus rather than deleting comments, the moderator simply didn’t approve/upload those critical of the Prime Minister’s approach.

George Brandis declines opportunity to address bias at the Australian Human Rights Commission

I have detailed my concerns about the level of bias reflected in the operation of the Australian Human Rights Commission elsewhere in this blog. On 11 December 2014, I sent an email to the Hon George Brandis QC, Attorney-General, Minister for the Arts and Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate sharing my concerns and seeking his support:

“I write to you in your capacity as Attorney-General in which you are tasked with the oversight of the operation of the Australian Human Rights Commission.

I am deeply concerned about what I perceive to be the application of biased and inappropriate priorities with regards to, in particular, the Commission’s role in addressing gender discrimination. I have detailed these concerns in the following blog post:

http://www.fighting4fair.com/promulgating-inequality/gender-bias-at-the-australian-human-rights-commission/

I believe that this situation may require your intervention in order to ease the Commission back onto the correct track – one that sees a heightened emphasis on striving for true gender equality and with a corresponding scaling back of the emphasis placed on pursuing the ideology of gender feminism.

I would consequently appreciate you reading the linked paper and providing me with your views in relation to the matters raised therein.”

On 2 March 2015, after a further approach from me, I received the following reply:

“Thank you for your email of 11 December 2014 to the Attorney-General, Senator the Hon George Brandis QC, concerning the Australian Human Rights Commission. The Attorney-General has asked me to reply to you on his behalf.

I have noted your comments in relation to Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick and the work of the Australian Human Rights Commission. The Commission was established under the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 to conciliate complaints of discrimination and provide advice to the Government on human rights issues. The Commission falls within the Attorney General’s portfolio responsibility, but it is independent from the Government.

The Australian Government supports the important role that the Commission plays in protecting and promoting human rights in Australia. That does not mean that the Government necessarily agrees with all the statements made by Commissioners, who do not speak for the Government in performing their functions. Commissioner Broderick is free to express her views, as all Australians are free to express their opinions.

If you have concerns that you wish to raise about the operations of the Australian Human Rights Commission or any of its Commissioners, you may raise these directly with the President of the Commission, Professor Gillian Triggs. Professor Triggs’ address is:

Professor Gillian Triggs President Australian Human Rights Commission GPO Box 5218 SYDNEY NSW 2001

The Attorney-General cannot intervene in the Commission’s handling of individual queries or complaints.

Thank you for taking the time to write about your concerns.”

Senator Brandis’ inaction is unfortunate but perhaps understandable given the currently torturous interaction between the Government and the AHRC, as detailed in the following articles:

‘A fatal perception of bias’: George Brandis admits he asked Gillian Triggs to resign (24 February 2015)

Human Rights Commission and Gillian Triggs not above reproach (27 February 2015)

Row involving Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs puts careers on the line (28 February 2015)

Opinion: Human Rights boss should be the last to cast the stone in relation to child protection (1 March 2015)

These recent developments involving Ms. Broderick’s boss suggest an entrenched culture within the Commission whereby it has become accepted that AHRC priorities shall be determined by political and ideological bias rather than on the basis of statutory responsibility alone.

** UPDATE: VIEW AND SIGN MY PETITION HERE **

ABC Q&A program highlights gender inequality in the domestic violence debate

Click here for details of the ABC Q&A program – entitled The Family Violence Special – that went to air on 23 February 2015.

Feminists and their white knight allies raved about the Q&A program, unsurprising given that it was tailor-made for the feminist palate. I found it’s tone and content entirely predictable, and its contribution to the domestic violence debate largely unhelpful. The program’s focus – heterosexual men battering heterosexual women – was so narrow (in terms of the actual breadth of family violence – that it would have been more accurate to call it ‘The Violent Men Beating on Women Special‘.

A great deal of fuss was made about the fact there was a male compere and three men on the panel, but it did not make a lick of difference in terms of either the nature of material addressed and the manner in which it was addressed. The most significant thing about the gender balance of the panel was the revelation that ABC had pointedly turned down Dr Elizabeth Celi as a panellist. The details behind that move are addressed in Bill O’Chee’s article (linked below).

I just read the sentence below earlier today and, while it’s not specifically about domestic violence, it did remind me a lot of the Q&A program:

“The opposite of compassion is not hatred,” wrote one Florida prisoner, describing the violence he’d endured. “It’s indifference.” (Source)

ABC TV Q&A Family Violence Special – Question from Male Victim (24 February 2015) Video

Comment from Darne Blaik in the OneInThree Facebook page (24 February 2015):

“As a member of last night’s audience and I sat right behind Mr Coe I went home devastated as I realised the gender inequality within the DEBATE of DV is worse than I had originally anticipated. I left in silence and shock as I realised the when it comes to male victims of DV … they have no voice.

The rudeness displayed by the women in the audience towards Mr Coe particularly directly in front if him was disturbing, palpable and audible denigrating of this man’s experience could be heard. The notable agitation shown by Natasha was clearly evident and appalling for a person in her position.

Furthermore I don’t believe that the greater society do believe that men should be ignored. From what I am hearing, most people want NO ONE TO SUFFER DV NOT JUST WOMEN so why do male victims not even get a voice in the discussion. No one doubts that they are in the minority (but I would argue more equal statistics if you only take into account emotional and mental abuse and take the sexuality and physicality out of the statistics) HOWEVER WHEN DID START IGNORING THE MINORITIES IN THIS COUNTRY??? It is just not good enough in our sophisticated society, we need to be a shining light in the discussion of this appalling worldwide phenomenon that is DV.”

In addition to the comments contained within the Q&A Facebook page and Twitter stream, I would suggest reviewing the reader’s comments that follow the articles listed below:

We need to speak out for all victims of family violence, by Roger Smith (2 March 2015) Good concise article with many valid readers comments

Q&A slammed on Twitter for choosing more men than women to discuss family violence (20 February 2015)

Q&A tackles “Family Violence”, by Greg Canning (22 February 2015)

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/comment/jessticulate/jessica-rudd-family-violence-not-about-gender-20150222-13lmwt.html (23 February 2015)

Rose Batty heads Q&A panel discussion on family violence (23 February 2015)

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/national/rosie-batty-launches-frank-and-heartbreaking-conversation-about-domestic-violence/story-fni6ulvf-1227236263041?from=google_rss (24 February 2015) with 235 reader’s comments

Q&A: Rosie Batty and Natasha Stott Despoja speak passionately on domestic violence (24 February 2015)

#NotAllMen Tweets Totally Slid Into Q&A’s Domestic Violence Special (24 February 2015)

Q&A domestic violence program ignored male victims, by Bill O’Chee (25 February 2015) Feminists should read and consider the comments that follow this article, comments like:

“Your comment makes me want to throw up. Not only am I a male victim of DV, I was also falsely accused of DV so that ‘SHE’could get an ouster order that effectively made me homeless and economically destitute. Because of HER committing DV, I lost my house and home, my business and income, my friends, cash, pets, car, and was introduced to the floor below the poverty line for a 2 year stint… I’m STILL here on this floor!!

My child under 3 (at the time) copped the biggest shock when HER greed and malevolence extended to the innocent and defenseless. The child’s outright rejection of HER as a mother had me playing defender from HER physical and psychological attacks with my child literally screaming “Don’t want mummy!” HER multiple, double digit bullying and harassment complaints against HER at HER work did nothing to convince he magistrate that something was very wrong as the court system swallowed HER lies, hook, line, and sinker and SHE played on societies expected role of her, the battered woman, when in reality, SHE is a rabid, sick werewolf dressed in Little Bo Peep clothing. A dangerous Narcissist by any standard.

The ease with which SHE has been able to manipulate the system, and lie successfully to the courts with breathtaking effectiveness, and the very keen willingness of police to accept HER “story” over mine for no other reason than I am male and here was violence involved, was a repugnant and contemptuous experience that no ‘person’ should have to go through. You should get your facts straight before posting such ignorant comments. Men ARE dying too, or didn’t you read that part? I’m not dead because of my child and my desire to fight this sexist idea that men are from hell.” ‘Roger’ (26 February 2015)

The ABC allows Feminists to use Q&A as a bully pulpit (1 March 2015)

The Unbearable Lameness of Being

Feminists. The things they do <facepalm>

I found out this afternoon that I had been blocked from a Twitter account – one belonging to an Australian journalist. The journalist in question is indeed a feminist, but by no means in the ‘barking mad’ misandrist league of Clementine Ford or Caitlin Roper, for example. Which makes her action all the more disconcerting.

I’m not sure how many others have blocked me from their Twitter accounts (and/or Facebook pages, etc), but there must be a few by now. Two that spring to mind are White Ribbon Australia and Our Watch, both of which are feminist advocacy groups.

Anyway, so there I was, reading a newly-minted article about domestic violence. More accurately, an article about that component of domestic violence involving male perpetrators and female victims. I posted a reader’s comment which failed to appear (other reader’s comments were uploaded). As I had some issues with both the article and certain comments that followed it, I sallied forth looking for another outlet through which to express myself. I turned to Twitter only to be greeted with the following message:

Had I been bombarding the poor woman with dozens of tweets? Nope, just one actually. Well, it must have been particularly vicious! Judge for yourself (by the way, that tweet became the basis for this blog post)

I haven’t ever blocked anyone from Twitter, etc, but I can certainly understand others doing so in situations involving persistent unwanted messages/posts of a threatening or obscene nature. But what I am talking about here and now are situations that are far more benign. Situations where it is simply a matter of ‘I don’t like what you have to say so I am not going to share information or communicate with you in any way, shape or form. So there.’

I have never sent or posted a threatening, abusive or obscene message to anyone, and I challenge anyone to prove otherwise. I choose not to, and I certainly don’t need to, in order to achieve what I am seeking to achieve.

My blog post about feminist censorship included the fitting observation that:

Personally, when I read material produced by feminists and see how they respond in online forums, my mind is drawn to the Credit Union Australia adverts shown on Australian TV. In those ads people block out information they don’t want to hear/consider by covering their ears and saying “la la la”.

That blog post also noted that, despite the very different perception that feminists seek to portray as reality, more men than women are subject to online abuse and bullying, and substantial number of women/girls are responsible for this type of activity. I also noted the increasingly common tactic of feminists lodging false or exaggerated complaints with the intention of having other people’s Facebook or Twitter accounts suspended.

Whether feminists are blocking people from posting to their Facebook pages, from interacting with them via Twitter, or adding a comment to their article or blog post (that is, when they allow any reader’s comments at all). I’ve got to ask … what’s the point?

I guess it all comes back to the question of what are feminists trying to achieve via publishing material online. Sharing and persuading with/to the broader community, or simply seeking a platform to propagandise to the converted and to gullible ingenues.

What do feminists hope to achieve by blocking out alternative perspectives and information at variance with their own stated claims? Do they not see any value in facilitating dialogue about gender issues? In being inclusive with regards to people who hold perspectives other than their own? Are feminists now so infantilized and imbued with victim-mentality that they see any disagreement as an attack?

I know. Call me biased. But the feminist response seems so juvenile, pointless and counter-productive.

Just … lame

Snap#1: Another feminist – @misskylie77 – just blocked me from her Twitter stream after I replied to one of her tweets (26 February 2015)

Snap#2: The organisation Domestic Violence NSW blocked me from posting to their Facebook page the very first time I posted there – and then employed another common feminist tactic by lodging a complaint against me with Facebook (12 March 2015)

Update 15 April 2015: Care to guess which feminist journalist ‘spat the dummy’ this morning and deleted ALL the readers comments (about a dozen of them) because not one of them supported her convoluted sexist perspective on violence in the community.

Footnote in relation to the following comment from the author of the article

DV-deniers? Really? Readers raised concerns about the fact you had built your case on a series of crimes in which none of the alleged perpetrators had yet been convicted. That’s not denial, simply fact. Readers raised concerns that you based your article on events within a period of just a few weeks, which could greatly misrepresent the reality over (say) twelve months. Again, not denial, just conventional wisdom in the realm of statistical analysis.

Readers also raised concerns that you had not provided any statistics in relation to the number of men killed by their female partners (or alleged to be killed by partners) during this period. And indeed, you admit that you had not researched that topic. Surely both the actual nature of the problem, and the most appropriate remedial action, might be quite different were similar numbers of men being killed?

It looks a lot like you didn’t research the issue and then form an opinion, but cobbled together a somewhat dubious statistic that supported your pre-existing conclusion.

In fact the only denials about DV that I am seeing in this and in so many other articles, involve feminists denying men’s right to raise legitimate concerns about ongoing anti-male sexism and misrepresentation. Denials in particular about both the extent of male DV victimization and the substantial and growing level of female perpetration of violence.

Blocked: Silencing the public opinion (19 February 2015)

Facing the challenge of online harassment (8 January 2015) Jacques Cuze, when discussing this article in the context of his concerns about feminist groups suppressing free speech, suggested that “Twitter (and other sites) should be transparent and specific about who is banned and why. Transparency in who is blocked or banned and why is a critical part of making sure anti-harassment strategies are not abused” (10 January 2015)

https://twitter.com/sammieaurora/status/562367980529795074

Readers might also be interested in reading this related post within my blog:

On the inability to cope with criticism in a mature manner (You disagree with me = You hate women)

Male victims of domestic violence – How the scale of the problem is routinely minimised or ignored

TimWatts1

(Regarding the use of the term “overwhelming majority“)

Whilst Tim Watt’s heart is probably in the right place, a combination of immaturity, male self-loathing, and a compulsion to play the role of ‘white knight‘, seems to have blinded him to reality. And that reality is that many women are abusive, that many men are victims of abuse, and that acknowledging this in no way diminishes ones ability to recognise and empathise the suffering experienced by female victims.

So, OK, how many men are we talking about here? The answer depends on a number of variables, particularly the issue of how domestic violence is defined. As a consequence the ratio of male to female victims has been found to range all the way from one in four up to three in four. Even if one only accepted the lower end of that range, that still amounts to a considerable number of male victims – and certainly far too many to simply disregard as a statistical aberration.

Detailed data and analysis in relation to domestic violence can be found in this other blog post, but I’ll provide a few snippets of information below.

One Australian survey found for example that “the rate of men reporting current partner violence almost doubled (a rise of 175%) since 2005 (an estimated 119,600 men reported such violence in 2012)” (Source)

A survey in the U.S.A reported that “We analyzed data on young US adults aged 18 to 28 years from the 2001 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which contained information about partner violence and injury reported by 11,370 respondents on 18,761 heterosexual relationships. Almost 24% of all relationships had some violence, and half (49.7%) of those were reciprocally violent. In nonreciprocally violent relationships, women were the perpetrators in more than 70% of the cases.”

A survey in the U.K found that:

(And, for comparision purposes, click here to see the Canadian results for victimisation from violence generally)

**Male victims of domestic violence who are seeking assistance, and who live in Australia, should read this information**

On the level of support provided for male victims of domestic violence

“On the societal level, women’s violence against men has a trivial effect on men compared to the devastating effect of men’s violence against women” (Source).

“Shelley Serdahely, executive director of Men Stopping Violence, in Decatur, Ga., questions the validity of studies showing women are more violent. “Women might be more likely to get frustrated because men are not taught how to be active listeners and women feel like they are not being heard,” she said. “Often women are more emotional because the relationship matters a lot to them, and while that may come out in a push or a shove or a grab, all of which are considered dating violence, it doesn’t have the effect of intimidating the man.”” (Source)

This is the mistaken belief of many within the pro-feminist domestic violence sector whose philosophical approach is proscribed by the so-called Duluth Model. An attitude that underpins the chronic under-resourcing of services for male victims of DV.

“There are thousands of shelters in the U.S. for women and even thousands for our pets, but not a single independent shelter just for men (and no federal funding). The Domestic Abuse Project of Delaware Country, PA (where I grew up) was the first to campaign to assist victims of both genders but that only meant they were one of the first to allow mothers with teenage boys to find assistance as most still see 12-18 year old teenage boys as members of the “almost clinically and psychologically dead” (as per Dr. Helen Caldicott) “foreign male element.” Many states claim to help men somehow but not a one can provide any data on the number served.

England built their first men’s shelter in 2003 after 423 shelters (now 7,500) had been built for women (forced to open in secret due to fear of violent protests). All public funding for men’s shelters in England (like most countries), however, have since been pulled as men are now told to go to women’s shelters (a 2008 House of Commons report claimed there was no need or desire for male-only shelters with the issue only being distorted by a deep-seated contempt for women). Battered men around the world are routinely told to go to homeless shelters (what, no possibility of ingrained contempt for men?).

A few countries like Holland, Serbia, and Switzerland have set aside funds for battered men shelters but they are scarce and underfunded compared to homes for battered women. Most men are still waiting for their country’s first governmentally supported refuge. We must identify the violence done by women against men, see it as a serious social problem, and face the reality domestic violence is more likely mutual or female-initiated and so our public service announcements and federal service funding urgently need to be de-gendered.

The 1975 National Family Violence Survey (Behind Closed Doors: Violence in the American Family, Straus et al.) found men and women equally abusive. The myth of subjugated women (Gelles, 1988; Kaufman, 1990; Straus, 1991) has but “crippled prevention and treatment efforts” (Scott, 2006). In 2008, Drs. Douglas and Hines conducted the first-ever national survey of men who sought help for heterosexual partner violence. It regrettably showed a large proportion of men who seek help from American domestic violence agencies (49.9%) or hotlines (63.9%) are specifically told, “We only help women.”

Many men seeking assistance from DV agencies (40.2%) or DV hotlines (32.2%) end up accused of being the batterer, a third of male victims who call the police end up arrested, and less than a third of those who consult with any mental health professionals are offered details on how to get help from a DV program. The investigation concluded the worst places for men to get help were “those that are the core of the DV service system: DV agencies, DV hotlines, and the police. The qualitative accounts in our research tell a story of male help seekers who are often doubted, ridiculed, and given false information.”

“I vividly remember accidentally walking into a “safe room” for victims of domestic violence at the court house and being pounced on by a bunch of quite militant women and told in no uncertain terms to get out of the room, for no other reason than I was male and they assumed I was the guilty party. It didn’t even occur to them that I , a male, was the VICTIM of domestic violence. The irony is that my extremely violent wife would have been welcomed with open arms in the same situation and been showered with empathy by them.” (Source: Readers comment)

“I’m not suggesting that violence against men doesn’t happen, of course it does, but it is actually really rare.” Karen Willis, Executive Officer for Rape and Domestic Violence Services in Australia (Source)

(Source of the table above)

Men who are abused by women are ignored (9 July 2024) Sweden

‘We start the day with 60 people waiting’: the lawyers helping the ‘never-ending list’ of Australia’s DV victims (21 May 2024) Sixty women, they mean

Male victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence: A steadily increasing phenomenon (January 2021) An Italian university study

Prioritising women’s safety in Australian perpetrator interventions: The purpose and practices of partner contact (April 2020). An example of the work of ANROWS, brimful of gender bias but substantive enough to the naïve, or biased, eye to have a significant influence on the manner in which DV-related funds are dispensed.

Why do male victims of violence seem to disappear like magic? (27 October 2022)

1IN3’s submission in response to the discussion paper: Implementation considerations should coercive control be criminalised in South Australia (12 April 2022) The actual submission lists a number of ways that male victims are routinely discriminated against and denied support services.

Male domestic abuse: Lack of refuges ‘inexplicable’, charity says (31 March 2022)

Men’s Aid chief says male victims of domestic abuse are ‘forgotten’ due to lack of support (1 March 2022)

What Happens When Someone Calls The National Domestic Abuse Helpline? [Short Answer] (27 November 2021) UK

An attendee at today’s Mankind Initiative conference writes … (17 November 2021) UK

Understanding the Profile and Needs of Abused Men: Exploring Call Data From a Male Domestic Violence Charity in the United Kingdom (28 June 2021)

One in Three Campaign – News Articles About Family Violence – How gender bias in research and the use of misleading language harms male victims of family violence – a case study (9 September 2021)

Live chat on how police hate enforcing unfair feminist laws (thinkspot.com) (20 July 2021) Bettina Arndt interviews a former police officer

Homicide research reveals society ‘blind’ to male victims of domestic violence | University of Cumbria (30 June 2021) UK

Men with nowhere to turn (1 September 2020) Australia

Male victims are being left off the domestic violence conversation (20 August 2020) Canada

A question for the(ir) ABC and Scott Morrison (8 May 2020)

Who is best placed to help male victims of domestic violence? (21 December 2019)

The hidden male victims of domestic violence, by Augusto Zimmermann (5 December 2019)

Gamma Bias: Cognitive distortion in thinking about gender (17 July 2019)

What about the male victims? Exploring the impact of gender stereotyping on implicit attitudes and behavoural intentions associated with Intimate Partner Violence (2018)

Male domestic abuse victims ‘suffering in silence’ (1 March 2019) UK

OPINION: The Violence Against Women Act Is An Insult To Fairness (7 December 2018) USA

Who reports domestic violence to police? A review of the evidence (25 September 2018) It’s not newsworthy that men are less likely to report being victims of domestic violence

Domestic Violence programs discriminate against male victims, by SAVE (undated)

‘Marginalizing the Battered Male‘, by Todd A. Migliaccio, University of California (undated)

Relationships Australia (WA) tells their only male consellor to resign or be sacked after he mildly criticizes their feminist bias (May 2018)

Feminist-run domestic violence helplines guilty of anti-male sex discrimination for assuming male victims were perpetrators (27 November 2017)

Female victims of violent crime ‘should receive more compensation’ (10 August 2017)

Greedy feminists clutching DV funding are ruining men’s lives (19 June 2017)

Feminists against men’s domestic violence shelters (24 May 2017) Video

John Robson: Why are there almost no shelters for male victims? And why is asking that question so controversial? (23 May 2017)

Book review: ‘The Silent Man’ (2 May 2017)

Male victims of domestic violence are being failed by the system (13 March 2017) UK

Do Gay and Lesbian Victims of Domestic Abuse Get Less Attention from Cops? (8 March 2017)

“According to study author Brenda Russell, a psychology professor at Pennsylvania State University, the officers surveyed rated male perpetrators of IPV as more “dangerous” to others than any other gender or sexual orientation.

In contrast, male victims of female perpetrators were considered “responsible” in some way for the abuse they suffered. Victims of lesbian and gay male violence were also considered more culpable and more likely to demonstrate thoughts and behaviors indicative of mental illness.”

A submission by the One in Three organisation to the Victorian Victims Support Agency (2 March 2017) Well-worth a read!

Why some Survivors are more equal than others. And the case for inclusion & integration (15 February 2017)

The Duluth model is working as designed; you won’t smart mouth her again (3 February 2017)

Male victims of sexual violence are being ignored by the government, by Ally Fogg (21 December 2016) UK

One man’s grassroots insight into the Duluth Model domestic violence perpetrator programme (15 December 2016)

Women won’t be equal until they’re punished for beating up men (13 December 2016) UK

From the Home Office to the Independent: crying out for gender-inclusive policy, by Ally Fogg (9 December 2016) UK

The fox now guards the hen house ~ Bettina Arndt (17 November 2016) Concerns a negative aspect of the NSW Government’s recent allocation to support male victims of domestic violence.

Denied and dismissed (18 November 2016) Canada

Until we treat male and female domestic abuse victims the same, we’ll never be rid of it (8 November 2016)

Male family violence victims on safer pathway (7 November 2016) A positive development from the NSW Government in Australia

Feminist group, the ‘Women’s Liberation Front’, lobbies against allowing trans-women into DV shelters … men obviously out of the question! (1 October 2016) Australia. Reddit discussion thread and linked article

Domestic Violence Is Far More Than A Simple Story Of Good And Bad (27 September 2016) It’s very disappointing that we are still seeing the publication of biased and one-sided articles such as this, which undermine any nascent recognition of, and support for, victims of female abusers.

BBC & Notts Police Chief publicise non-existent “hate crimes” against women whilst ignoring fatal domestic violence against men (22 September 2016) UK

Spanish web site takes down a documentary about male victims of domestic violence following complaints from people who claimed it was sexist (2016)

Building stronger and safer communities for everyone (9 September 2016) Australia. But then in first paragraph I note the funds are to be used to “help reduce violence against women and their children”, so presumably men are included in the “everyone“.

The shame of being a male victim of domestic violence (3 September 2016) Australia

Domestic violence against men (August 2016) A video by female MRA ‘shoeonhead’

The Denial of Female Domestic Violence (Dr Augusto Zimmermann, Quadrant, July-August 2016)

According to figures quoted in this video featuring journalist Martin Daubney, only 10% of male victims of domestic violence in Britain report incidents to the police (versus 26% of women)

Vital research into male domestic violence under threat – because victims won’t come forward (15 June 2016) UK “Currently only 10% of male victims will tell the police, only 23% will tell a person in an official position, and only 11% will tell a health professional”

The Other Side of the Coin: Breaking the Stigma of Male Domestic Violence Victims (20 May 2016) Canada

Bob McCoskrie: Family violence is still not just a male problem (13 May 2016) New Zealand. Reddit discussion thread here

Action Opportunity: Reject Overt and Illegal Discrimination Against Domestic Violence Victims Based on Sex and Sexual Orientation in British Columbia, Canada

The Hen-pecked husband (30 April 2016) Spain, and then further on this theme:

Husband shares the hilarious (and VERY long) list of reasons why he’s had to apologize to his wife: ‘My steak knife touched the plate for one second’ (19 October 2022)

Submission by Bethlehem House (#43) to the 2016 federal Senate Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality (4 April 2016) Australia

Why female violence against men is society’s last great taboo, by Martin Daubney (15 March 2016) UK

Male domestic violence victims can’t get help even when their lives are at risk, says brother of lawyer killed by his wife (13 March 2016) UK

‘I was covered in blood from her punches’: Male victims of domestic abuse speak out (28 February 2016) Scotland

Male victims still overlooked (28 February 2016) Australia

Reddit AskMen discussion thread seeking men’s personal experiences of DV helplines (26 February 2016)

Male victims of domestic violence: A hidden battle (18 February 2016)

What percentage of male victims of domestic violence are arrested for Domestic Violence after calling the police? (16 February 2016) Reddit mensrights discussion thread

The blind spot in our domestic violence crisis (10 February 2016) This article written by a CEO of a Women’s Shelter – no prizes for guessing her sole focus. I’ve included it here though for the readers comments.

Details concerning an Australian campaign to lobby for changes to the current discriminatory manner in which male victims of domestic violence are dealt with (January 2016)

Baird’s Police website doesn’t provide a single support resource for male victims of domestic abuse – she’s Twitter blocking such organisations instead (7 January 2016)

How feminists and a Police Commissioner’s Office conspired against male victims of domestic violence on Twitter (5 January 2016) UK

Northumbria Police domestic abuse posters ‘should be torn down’ (31 December 2015) UK

The Empathy Gap in Domestic Violence, by Krista Milburn (2 December 2015)

How can we stand by and do nothing for male victims of domestic violence? (26 October 2015)

Mythology Is Killing The Solutions To Domestic Violence, by Jasmin Newman (October 2015) Australia

A Plea to Women (28 November 2015)

Why will no one fund male domestic abuse charities? (26 November 2015)

Story of domestic violence against men is hidden, complicated and disputed (24 November 2015) Australia

Silent Victims, by Bettina Arndt (14 November 2015) Australia

‘Domestic violence debate dominated by women’s perspectives’ (11 November 2015) NZ

Men exposed to domestic violence more worried about not being believed (6 November 2015)

Ireland does not have official statistics on male domestic violence (1 November 2015)

Why I’m backing QLD Labor Premier on male victims | Talk About Men (25 October 2015)

Domestic abuse charity for male victims could close (23 October 2015) UK

Annastacia Palaszczuk warned: don’t put domestic violence against men above women (19 October 2015) Australia

It’s Time to Acknowledge Male Victims of Domestic Violence (16 October 2015) USA

Why we don’t hear about male victims of domestic violence (13 September 2015) Whilst any coverage of male DV victims is a positive, this article is typical in the manner in which it downplays/minimises every aspect of male victimisation.

Handcuffed man, 48, dies in lobby of Texas jail after officer ‘put knee to his throat’ when he ran in saying his wife was trying to kill him (2 August 2015)

Pets of family violence victims to be offered protection in Victoria (5 July 2015) No men’s DV shelters but support for pets, hmm.

Astute Dr Elizabeth Celi UNRAVELS Truth about Men in todays Feminist world (11 June 2015) Video. Australia

Willow Domestic Violence Center: Beginning the path to healthy change (12 June 2015)

Time for fresh thinking on domestic violence (4 June 2015)

Two sides of the same coin: Domestic violence affects everyone (31 May 2015) Canada

Australian feminist journo, Sarah Farnsworth, agrees we should provide DV shelter accommodation for men too … “violent men” … so the police can track them down more easily! No mention that males can be victims (29 May 2015)

New voices: The ‘minority’ man? (May 2015) Journal of the British Psychological Society – Recommended reading

“Forty years of feminist campaigning and the influence of gender stereotypes have had a major impact on how society views IPV.” “Gender biases are highly influential in affecting people’s perceptions of the severity of IPV.”

Helpline for male victims of domestic violence in India receives more calls for help in its first year of operation than the government’s own helpline (which only caters for female DV victims) May 2015

Man Begins Hunger Strike at Queen’s Park Until Gov Promises to Open Shelter for Abused Men (11 May 2015) Canada

How ‘One in Three’ (an Australian advocacy group for male victims of DV) was uninvited from the Strathfield Council Domestic and Family Violence Forum, 13 May 2015

This April 2015 article by Attila Vinczer provides some interesting historical perspective on how society views/ignores male victims of domestic violence.

The ABC allows feminists to use Q&A as a bully pulpit (2 March 2015)

Here in Australia, to get an idea of the level of resistance to acknowledging male victims of DV, one only has to observe the response from feminists on the few occasions when some agency or individual (e.g. Tanveer Ahmed) publicly discusses male victims. The most recent example was when the NSW Police service featured male DV victims in a campaign in early 2015:

NSW police have started a controversial discussion about domestic violence on their Facebook page (20 January 2015)

NSW Police fail victims of domestic violence with flippant social media post (20 January 2015) Australian feminist journalist attacks NSW Police for recognising male victims of domestic violence. Somebody fetch me a sick bucket

Police Facebook post stirs debate on controversial issue (19 January 2015)

When it comes to Domestic Violence, she says she wants equality – however evidence to suggests otherwise (6 February 2015)

Two posts from the Facebook page of ‘Exposing Feminism’ concerning accommodation provided by ‘DV Connect’ for male & female DV victims in Brisbane – here and here (8 July 2014)

Abused boys and men: feminism’s acceptable losses (4 July 2013)

Malestrom pt 2: When anger is justified, by Ally Fogg (23 June 2013) Be sure to study the many thoughtful readers comments here

Male Victims of Domestic Violence (4 March 2011) USA

My wife hugged me to say sorry for beating me up… then knifed me in the back (13 January 2011) UK

Mom’s Abuse Makes Man Afraid Of Women (2 November 2010)

If you are really against Domestic Violence (13 May 2010) USA

General references pertaining to male victims of domestic violence:

Male domestic violence survivors say they feel the Depp-Heard trial is a turning point (25 May 2022)

Why better understanding male victims of domestic abuse is vital (10 November 2020)

Coercive control is a form of intimate terrorism and must be criminalised (6 October 2020) Australia. ‘Coercive control’ is the current buzz-word within the Domestic Violence Industry. This Guardian article is typical in that it infers that all perpetrators are male.

Figures reveal shocking extent of domestic abuse against men (22 June 2020)

Research on male victims of domestic abuse, by Mankind Initiative (April 2020)

Yet another study finds equal levels of abuse by men and women (2 February 2020) Australia

Domestic abuse by women triples in a decade with female attackers carrying out almost a third of assaults (26 January 2020)

Domestic violence against men: No laughing matter (19 November 2019)

Domestic abuse: The latest lie (19 July 2019) UK. This article addresses, amongst other things, the feminist myth that most men who suffer domestic violence are the victims of other men.

Recent Australian intimate partner violence research finds high rates of male victimisation (30 May 2019)

Brutal post details the harmful ways in which teenage girls abuse boyfriends (6 June 2017) UK

Charity reveals 128,767 men told police they were a domestic abuse victim during 2015 (17 December 2016) UK

More than 650,000 men said they suffered domestic abuse over the last year as gap between number of male and female victims falls to record low (8 December 2016) UK. See related Reddit discussion thread here.

Domestic abuse myth busting #2: So few heterosexual male victims report abuse because of shame (26 September 2016)

Domestic violence against men soars to record levels as number of cases treble in past decade (17 September 2016) UK

Men are also victims of domestic abuse, by Corrine Barraclough (31 August 2016)

Domestic violence not just a female problem: Documents reveal more than 10,000 males across NSW affected (12 August 2016) Finally some support for male victims (NSW, Australia)

AIFS “Experiences of Separated Parents Study” reveals high levels of domestic violence against men (29 June 2016) Australia

Men also suffer from domestic abuse (23 June 2016) Canada

Rise in men taking out domestic violence orders against mothers and partners at Southport Court (18 May 2016) Australia

How male victims of domestic abuse often end up getting arrested themselves (16 January 2016)

Domestic Violence Is Gender Blind, Unlike the Activists (30 November 2015) South America

‘Victims and Witnesses of Crime Court Support’ is an Australian organisation that supports male victims of violence (incl. domestic violence) in the court system

What happens when you fall in love with someone who’s aggressive? (18 November 2015)

“Across almost every study, gender came out as a significant factor: the male participants were more tolerant and more willing to stay in relationships that involved aggressions. This was unexpected, but may reflect a reluctance within men to define their partners as aggressors and themselves in some sense as victims, as seen in low reporting rates of domestic violence against men.”

The Number of Male Domestic Abuse Victims Is Shockingly High — So Why Don’t We Hear About Them? (26 October 2015) Almost 800 readers comments

Male Domestic Abuse Victims | World Have Your Say (BBC World Service) (8 October 2015)

What I’ve learnt from speaking to male victims of domestic abuse every day (25 March 2015)

YWCA says more men report being victims of domestic violence (24 March 2015) and related reddit mensrights discussion thread

An open letter to Rosie Batty, by Mark Dent (15 March 2015)

Time, Human Rights Watch ignore male victims of violence, report that female victims are ignored (13 March 2015)

Only women get help for spousal violence, while men are ignored – Barbara Kay (11 March 2015)

Interview with Canadian Association for Equality about getting recognition for male DV victims (10 March 2015) You Tube video also discussed in this article (features a number of good readers comments)

How funding changes in NSW locked women out of domestic violence refuges (9 March 2015) Male victims of domestic violence don’t even register as a blip on the radar screen of the feminists orchestrating the DV ‘debate’.

Men’s issues group unveils billboard in reaction to Ontario’s ‘sexist’ campaign against domestic violence (9 March 2015)

Domestic violence against men ignored (2 March 2015) Canada

The Myth Women Are The Only Victims Of Domestic Violence (3 February 2015)

Ray J Allegedly Beaten By His Girlfriend – Are Men Finally Legit Victims of Domestic Violence? (17 February 2015)

Stop violence against who? by John The Other (6 November 2011) Youtube video

Men’s ignored suffering from serious domestic violence injuries (undated)

Why is there such resistance to recognising male victims of domestic violence? (12 November 2014)

Why I’m fighting a charity that support female domestic violence victims (14 November 2014)

October 2014 reddit/r/todayilearned discussion thread on the lack of recognition and support given to male victims of domestic violence

I’m going to stab you’: Calls for more support for male domestic violence victims (22 October 2014)

Central Victorian man calls for more support for male victims of DV

Hospital’s undercover legal service latest check on violence against women (28 September 2014) But no similar service for men … why not? I mean other than stereotypes about men not needing help, etc.

Blog post on the lack of recognition of male victims of DV (18 October 2014)

Can male victims of domestic violence get the help they need? Conference presentation by Denise Hines, Clarke University, USA

The only DV services for men in Berlin are for perpetrators (23 September 2014) DV agency brochure plus linked reddit/mensrights discussion thread

Men are victims of domestic violence too by Bill O’Chee (3 September 2014)

Domestic violence against men hits record high (4 November 2013) Ireland

Abused boys and men: feminism’s acceptable losses, by Hannah Wallen (4 July 2013)

The Help-seeking Experiences of Men Who Sustain Intimate Partner Violence: An Overlooked Population and Implications for Practice (2011)

600 shelters for abused women in Canada but zero for men. Only 8% have ever admitted a man – usually elderly and/or disabled

Domestic violence refuge provision at crisis point, warn charities (4 August 2014) A good response to this article was then penned by Ally Fogg entitled ‘Throwing domestic violence victims to the wolves‘ – well worth reading. Despite there being very few beds available for men, when cutbacks are made (or accountability enforced) then men are blamed. The same thing is happening now in Australia. Women demand empathy from men (regarding DV) but when men seek support they are shamed.

The situation for women’s refuges is desperate – but we need to start admitting men, too (6 August 2014)

In Australia millions of dollars more to be poured into protecting “women and their children”, but no mention whatsoever of female perpetrators or male victims (July 2014) And a subsequent lobbying campaign by Men’s Rights Sydney

Male Domestic Violence victims need more support, by Mark White (30 December 2013)

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/why-no-refuges-male-victims-domestic-violence-075147102.html#hshyx6n (6 July 2014)

Are women nagging husbands to death? Research shows henpecked men twice as likely to die young (9 May 2014)

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/how-would-you-react-hardhitting-film-suggests-male-victims-of-domestic-abuse-arent-taken-seriously-9434867.html

Ground-breaking study shows need for unbiased domestic violence services (15 March 2007)

Men Shouldn’t Be Overlooked as Victims of Partner Violence (3 August 2007)

Gender bias in domestic violence treatment (31 August 2005)

http://www.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/236g8o/canada_does_not_have_a_single_shelter_for_male/ and http://www.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/23e3hf/so_ive_been_calling_feminist_groups_in_canada/

Inquiring Bryony House About DV Shelters in Nova Scotia (30 March 2014)

It’s time to challenge the myth of the male victim (24 March 2014)

Women’s Shelters and Domestic Violence Services Save the Lives of Men, by Katherine van Wormer (11 December 2010) This feminist author puts forward the argument that funding more women’s shelters is actually a bonus for men, because otherwise the women who couldn’t escape their homes would have to kill their partners

1994 TV debate between feminist and man running refuges for male victims of domestic violence (video)

(Source of the graphic shown above)

This blog contains many other posts that discuss the issue of domestic violence – for example:

On violence carried out by women and girls

Please click here to see a list of other relevant posts.

Posts addressing other related issues can be accessed by clicking on the relevant topic ‘tags’ at the base of this page

Men do more of most things … and earn a target painted on their backs

Way back at the start of my career I was responsible for coordinating the undertaking of a major social survey. It was a face-to-face survey using randomly selected households across an area of the city. It asked people a wide range of questions about their leisure pursuits and many related issues. It covered the whole range of leisure activities from solo and/or passive and/or indoor pursuits to team sports and various outdoor activities. I designed the questionnaire in conjunction with staff from an internationally-recognised market research company.

The results of the survey were very interesting indeed. One of the most striking, and unanticipated findings was the huge degree of difference along gender lines, but not in terms of participation rates in specific activities, in terms of participation in anything. There were very few activities in which girls/women participated more than boys/men, and many in which they rarely/never participated. I remember thinking “what on earth are they doing with their time?” And no, this disparity could not readily be put down to obvious factors like a lack of facilities for women/girls.

Now many years later I know that there are many other areas of life, in which men are much more actively involved than women. I know there are contributing factors applying to some women in some situations, for e.g. many women are more involved in child rearing than are men. Feminists will no doubt point to further unseen patriarchal forces at work that, they say, prevent or discourage the participation of women in many fields. Whatever. For the purpose of this post I won’t delve into minutiae. And i’m not judging either men or women on the basis of this situation. Let’s just run with the simple premise that, overall, men do more of most things.

If men are doing more of most things then it follows that men are probably doing more bad things (including relatively benign things that feminists think of as being bad). And they are doing most of these things in the public gaze. This includes everything from driving more, being elected to government more, starting and running companies more, fighting more, etc.

The fact that men are doing more ‘bad’ things makes them an easy target for demonisation. It attracts a swathe of criticism in and of its own right. Women are also doing all of the same things but to a correspondingly lesser extent, so can more easily be portrayed as ‘better’ persons.

Today I came across an old article that took it one step further. It was in that tedious and censorious pro-feminist rag, ‘The Guardian‘.

In this article men are doing more of a good thing, but are still being castigated for doing so. Because if men are more actively involved then it can only be because women are being excluded, or men are going behind their back, etc. Feminist logic 101.

The article is called ‘Why are so many white men trying to save the planet without the rest of us?‘ (8 May 2014) and here is the related reddit mensrights discussion thread

This author – again, in the Guardian – says that men leave more comments in online fora … and this is mens fault? silencing/oppressing women? He even suggests that women are using male names online for “protection” – huh!? When surveys show that men attract more online harassment/trolling than do women? There is some serious denial going on here.

What can I say? I’ll come back later when I’ve cooled down a bit, and tell you

Promoted Comment: What have men ever done for society? (29 August 2015) Reddit mensrights discussion thread

Pray men never take a day off (18 September 2013)

Negative (and invariably false) portrayals of the Men’s Rights Movement

The nature of criticism put forward in relation to the men’s rights movement says a lot about both the MRM and it’s critics – just not in the way most authors intended.

At the outset let me note that while writers may claim to be directing their criticism towards the men’s rights movement, they are frequently either unknowingly or deliberately inaccurate.

As I’ve said elsewhere in this blog, one of the great things about those people who are supportive of the men’s rights movement is their extraordinary diversity. They may not agree with every aspect of MRA beliefs, nor us them, but they have taken the time energy to research and to present their views.

A selection of related papers:

Masculinity Experts “Map the Manosphere” and Find Nothing Good, by Janice Fiamengo (22 March 2026) Recommended reading

Experts call out big issue with new Louis Theroux ‘manosphere’ doco (20 March 2026)

Society may have overestimated risk of the ‘manosphere’, UK researchers say (13 June 2025). And here is one of a number of Twitter threads about this article.

The Tweet that Launched a Thousand Quips, by Janice Fiamengo (27 November 2024)

The sad truth is that anti-feminist backlash helped propel Trump to victory (6 November 2024) Watch the woke use terms like ‘MRA’ as being synonymous with ‘men’, ‘Trump Supporter’, sociopath, etc. etc. And see this related piece entitled ‘No sex, no babies: 4B Movement goes viral after Donald Trump US election win‘ (8 November 2024)

Radical anti-feminism the most prevalent form of violent extremism in Australia, report finds (18 July 2024) This article in news.com.au provided further information including a link to the actual report produced (26 July 2024).

Bi-Annual Report From ‘Diverting Hate’ (March 2024) This project is funded by the US Department of Homeland Security’s Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships

FBI documents associate internet slang like ‘based’ and ‘red pill’ with ‘extremism’ (11 April 2023)

Schiff, Durbin demand Google and YouTube crack down on dangerous Incel content (25 October 2022)

Yes, I Am Afraid to Write About Men’s Rights (12 July 2022)

This is why I’m teaching my nine-year-old son about incels (12 September 2021)

Men who hate women and their online refuge of scoundrels (28 November 2020) Australia. Staggeringly one-eyed and biased coverage of the issue from the feminist perspective.

Goodbye Spectator (21 November 2020) UK

The “manosphere” is getting more toxic as angry men join the incels (7 February 2020)

Are men’s movements a new form of terrorism? (25 November 2018) Australia

Did you forget International Men’s Day? Don’t worry – the men’s rights activists did too (22 November 2017) Australia. Another offering from the poison pen of Jane Gilmore, who produces many such cookie-cutter hatchet-jobs on the men’s movement.

One Nation has reached an inexcusable new low (26 October 2017)

‘Men’s rights’ movement rooted in ignorance (27 September 2017)

Discussion thread regarding an MRA meet-up that was promoted in the Reddit Los Angeles forum (August 2017) Many of the comment illustrate the negative knee-jerk reaction that any mention of men’s rights commonly elicits

The Privilege Discussions We Need To Have (21 June 2017) If I get time I would love to write a rebuttal of this post. A classic example of someone who clearly thinks they know a great deal about the men’s rights movement but whose understanding is in fact deeply flawed.

How the ‘pissing pug’ became a perfect metaphor for the men who hate feminism (3 June 2017)

I am so sick of people acting like “misandry” is equivalent to misogyny (1 June 2017)

“Stop referring to them as Men’s rights activists” (undated)

New Hampshire State Rep Who Created Reddit’s ‘Red Pill’ Resigns (17 May 2017) Feminists can be as hateful and biased as they like but has one ever been forced to resign from public office? This selective and media-endorsed persecution of anti-feminists and MRA’s is why so many opt for anonymity in the first place.

‘You can’t tell me women don’t lie, of course they do’: why Men’s Rights Activists hate AVOs (12 May 2017) Except pointing out that the AVO process is sometimes abused is not the same thing as hating AVOs.

The conservative young men who need a trigger warning when women are around (1 May 2017) Australia

Professor says she felt raped by white male student’s paper touting men’s rights (25 April 2017)

The Anger Bias (29 March 2017)

Holden and Kia pull ads from YouTube as Google boycott widens (26 March 2017)

Well met, Professor Sullivan (13 March 2017) Video with Karen Straughan

Men’s rights movement infiltrates political parties, Calgary prof cautions (8 March 2017

On International Women’s Day, don’t forget men, by Ben Pobjie (8 March 2017) Australia. The secret to witty caricaturization is knowing your subject, and this guy is clearly clueless about MRA’s and the men’s rights movement. Then again, if he understood the movement, he’d be less inclined to mock it.

Don’t call it men’s rights (6 January 2017) Canada

Philip Davies MP interviewed by radfem Jane Garvey, BBC Woman’s Hour (20 December 2016) Reddit discussion thread with linked video

Hannah Wallen comments on feminists accusing men’s rights advocates of being “angry” (15 November 2016) Video

Can feminist men open up a useful dialogue with men’s rights activists? (1 November 2016) Australia. See related Reddit discussion thread here.

Men have problems – but men’s rights activists aren’t solving them (24 October 2016) with related Reddit discussion thread here.

David Futrelle is a high-profile critic of the Men’s Rights movement. “Futrelle is considered the go-to expert on the Men’s Rights Movement by many mainstream journalists”. This web site discusses his work.

Karen Straughan (Female MRA) dissects a negative review of the film ‘The Red Pill’ (13 October 2016) Video

The MGTOW group really, really don’t like women (8 October 2016) You’d think feminists would be delighted to have more men disengaging from women, but no it’s just too good an opportunity to mock and misrepresent. This article is a knock-off of another article in The Independent (UK) a week earlier.

Comment: Hanson’s policies on family law equally dangerous, by Jane Gilmore (15 September 2016)

“Hanson’s audience is, as it always has been, bitterly angry white men, furious that their place at the front of every queue is no longer guaranteed by the power of their tiny, white penises”

Men’s rights activism and the mad rush to victimhood, by Caitlin Johnstone (14 September 2016)

Guy at party mentions the issue of violence against men and a women spits her beer in his face and mocks him. Other people at the party encourage HIM to apologise (video)

Why I’ll never date a feminist (9 September 2016) Check out the readers comments, many of which attack the author regarding his physical appearance, etc etc. Further discussed here and here

Backlash: Angry men’s movements, by Michael Flood

Why don’t mens rights activists fight for men’s rights? by Jane Gilmore (25 August 2016) Australia. It being extremely hypocritical for this feminist writer to level this criticism – see this post

Suspend the rightwing Tory MP Philip Davies? No way, he’d love it, by Michael White (15 August 2016) UK. Then see the video of his presentation

The burning question I didn’t get to ask Pauline Hanson on Q&A (21 July 2016)

“In response to Sonia Kruger’s comments, radio personality Meshel Laurie stated the bare facts: “The most dangerous people in Australia are Australian men who kill Australian women at a rate of one a week.”

“That’s more than any terrorist has ever done,’ pointed out her co-host, Matt Tilley. Following One Nation’s logic, is the solution to domestic violence to ban all men from entering Australia?”

Dylan Jones: men have never had it so good (9 August 2016)

Cracked’s 5 Lies and Strawmen Attacks on the MRM (5 July 2016)

Deluded men’s rights activists are conspiracy nutjobs – don’t believe a word they say (23 May 2016)

Swallowing the Red Pill: a journey to the heart of modern misogyny (14 April 2016)

Being blocked is not the same as being censored, by Clementine Ford (8 April 2016)

Mum angry about son uploading meme concerning society’s expectations on men vs women, and feminists rush to her defence

Do you think the ‘Disrespect Nobody’ ad campaign is horribly sexist? (28 February 2016) Note the many stereotypical negative comments against any suggestion that men’s victimisation should be acknowledged. Here is the ad itself with comments an MRA. Strangely, the Disrespect Nobody website itself is gender-neutral.

How creating outgroups manufactures outrage (27 February 2016)

Laurie Penny (for it is she) says all you do is “hang out on forums talking about raping and beating up women” in an open letter to Who Don’t Need Feminism (21 February 2016) Reddit mensrights discussion thread

The men hijacking family law reforms (Februrary 2016) by Nijole Cork. Revelations regarding trolling activities allegedly undertaken by this author here.

The fact is, I like men. Just not these men (8 February 2016) by Wendy Tuohy. Australia

Here’s what we think of you and your ‘rape van’ (18 January 2016) Australia

Why the MRA ‘Manosphere’ Isn’t Actually Helping Men Cope with Rejection (4 January 2016)

Men’s Rights, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and Hate (1 January 2016)

What The Media Fails To Tell Us About The Men’s Rights Movement (28 December 2015)

Men’s Rights Activists are cave dwelling idiots (21 December 2015)

“Red Pill”: Feminist hit-piece gets decimated in the reader’s comments section (13 November 2015) UK

Barbara Kay: Anti-male ignorance on parade at the CBC (13 November 2015) USA

Equality, Feminism, and the Zero-Sum Game (18 October 2015) Reddit mens rights discussion thread

Miranda Devine and Men’s Rights Activism, by Naomi Fryers (3 October 2015)

Malcolm Turnbull on domestic violence: Some people will hate what the PM had to say (24 September 2015)

” … there will be voters out there who really object to the Prime Minister calling out their attitudes towards women …”

So if you disagree with the Prime Minister’s ill-informed comments and/or the nature of his package of funding, then it’s because you hold negative attitudes towards women.

How MRAs and the MHRM help men (16 September 2015) YouTube video that rebuts some of those feminist criticisms

Men’s Rights Agency – Feminism (undated) Australia. Includes reference to comments by Judge Alistair Nicholson, who “publicly accused those who disagreed with the practices of the Family Court (mostly men), as being “discontented litigants, sometimes obviously dysfunctional“. Nicholson, the Chief Justice of the Family Court further abused his advantaged position, (i.e. protected from rebuttal under the secrecy provisions within the Family Law Act), by claiming “most persistent critics behaved in a way which cannot stand up to public scrutiny, particularly in relation to issues of violence against women and children“.”

Feminist collective supports violence against men’s rights advocates (14 September 2015) Australian video

Why does speaking out about the issues men face always trigger a furious reaction? (8 September 2015)

Hilarious ‘men’s rights’ campaign urges people to stop ‘Mancrimination’ (29 June 2015)

The Men’s Rights Movement: Feminism’s Mirror Image (25 June 2015)

The propaganda of toxic feminism Part 31 (21 June 2015) Video

‘There’s a group of men who believe you are trying to ruin their lives. And I met them’ (17 June 2015)

Possibly a Guiness record for unashamed feminist hypocrisy: sticky post, “Tell Pride to ban CAFE”. Two post further down: “Why are MRAs blaming feminists for Pride CAFE backlash” (10 June 2015)

What if we awarded men danger pay for getting married? by Janet Bloomfield (8 June 2015)

The propaganda of toxic feminism part 28 (4 June 2015) Youtube video

No, I will not take the Men’s Rights Movement seriously (28 February 2014) with related reddit mensrights discussion thread

#BlameOneNotAll reveals feminist hatred for men, by Jack Barnes (28 May 2015)

Ten of the worst anti-feminism arguments: DEBUNKED (20 May 2015) In this article the author subsequently rebuts criticism of the men’s rights movement provided in an original article

Five Feminist TV Hosts Vs MGTOW – Peter Lloyd, author of ‘Stand Up For Your Manhood’ (7 May 2015) Youtube video of Australian TV show

New ‘bro-bible’ claims feminists have turned men into 2nd class citizens (23 April 2015)

Yes, Men Have Problems — But The Men’s Rights Movement Doesn’t Come Close To Dealing With Them (20 April 2015)

Why we should probably stop paying attention to men’s opinions (20 April 2015)

4 ways men’s rights activists actually hurt men, by Amanda Marcotte (17 April 2015)

Pickup artist: Women with short hair are committing self-harm, should be monitored by authorities (17 April 2015)

The AgainstMensRights forum on reddit.com

6 Cheap Ways People Dismiss Feminism – And How To Hold Your Ground When They Do (30 March 2015) with related reddit mensrights discussion thread

David Futrelle redefines the words “sick motherfucker” (27 March 2015) Notorious mangina seeks to blame Germanwings tragedy on MRA

Milo Yiannopoulos vs. Feminism: A response to The Big Question (20 March 2015)

“There is much fudging of stats by the Father’s Rights movement and IMO many (not all) of the men in those groups are [domestic violence] perpetrators posing as victims.” Reader’s comment by Barbara Roberts, Author of “Not Under Bondage: Biblical Divorce for Abuse, Adultery & Desertion.” Co-leader of A Cry For Justice (Source) 21 March 2015

Inside men’s rights groups (21 March 2015) and related reddit mensrights discussion thread

Are you man enough for the men’s rights movement? (March 2015)

Responding to GQ’s “Are You Man Enough for the Men’s Rights Movement” (20 March 2015)

I’m an MRA-bashing Feminist—But Because I’m Male, Trolls Leave Me Alone (11 March 2015) Please tell me this guy isn’t serious

MRA Group Attacks Ontario’s Anti-Sexual Violence Campaign with an Idiotic Billboard (10 March 2015)

Leah McLaren: How men’s rights groups are distorting the debate about equality (13 March 2015)

Men’s rights campaigners should work with feminists instead of fighting them (9 March 2015)

To the Male Supporters of the Men’s Rights Movement (19 February 2015) Rubbish article but do take time to peruse the reader’s comments

How To Be A Man, According To A Woman (29 December 2014)

Why It’s Time For Male Allies To Fight Men’s Rights Activists (24 December 2014)

Men’s rights groups resorting to macabre blackmailing stunt (24 September 2014)

In Which a Grumpy Lesbian Offers Her Feminist Understanding of Men (3 February 2015)