Why is it so very hard for MSM to allow objective airing of men’s issues? The example of Triple J Hack’s ‘debate’

This evening ABC2/Triple J Hack are to broadcast what is billed as a debate on the topic of ‘Is Male Privilege Bullshit‘. In fact it will most likely be nothing more than yet another bigoted feminist soliloquy.

They have most likely scheduled this program due to the considerable amount of recent publicity concerning the screening of the Red Pill movie, and the feminist lobby’s desperate need to try to claw back some credibility.

For background or updates readers can peruse the Twitter streams for @ABC2, @TripleJHack @TomTilley and/or the corresponding Facebook pages.

ABC2 have invited the likes of Clementine Ford and Nakkiah Lui to join the panel. Of course, if you want to have a fair and balanced discussion you invite misandrists onto the panel. If worst comes to worst then the rest of the sisterhood can claim ‘not all feminists are like that‘, then rinse and repeat.

While Karen Straughan (‘GirlWritesWhat’) features in a promo video, sadly she will not be participating on the discussion panel. Cassie Jaye (‘Red Pill’) was to be interviewed (via satellite) during the show but pulled out stating:

“I already see so many warning signs of inherent bias based on the program’s marketing … I don’t see what I can gain by being a part of this when it’s clear that the show is going to give selective and limited airtime to certain guests over others.” (Source)

Additionally, yesterday ABC2 published this biased and misleading article about domestic violence (‘DV’). The focus of the article is an assertion that the Australian finding that one in three victims of domestic violence are male, is false. This is not the first time that Australian feminists have attacked this statistic.

The article quotes well-known anti-men’s rights advocates Michael Flood and Michael Salter, and includes various factual errors as well as misrepresentations of the MRA perspective on the issue of DV.

Here is a rebuttal of that article prepared by Greg Andresen of the One in Three organisation:

“I would greatly appreciate it if you could look into correcting the following factual errors from your article “What about men?: Challenging the MRA claim of a domestic violence conspiracy”:

  1. The article claims, “In the 2012 PSS, about 33 per cent of men said they had experienced an act of violence from a current partner in the last 12 months. The ABS warns the estimate has a standard error of 25-50 per cent (meaning the real figure could be 50 per cent higher or lower) and “should be used with caution”. If we look at experiences of domestic violence over a longer period, we find the proportion of male victims sharply falls.” The 2012 PSS also found that about 33 per cent of men said they had experienced an act of violence from a current partner since the age of 15. There was no standard error. This is the same proportion, not a “sharp fall”.
  2. It claims, “When we look at other stats, the proportion of male victims also falls below one in three… Emergency departments: Two-thirds of patients presenting for family violence reasons were female.” This is exactly one in three, not a fall.
  3. It claims, “When we look at other stats, the proportion of male victims also falls below one in three. Victoria’s 2016 Royal Commission into Family Violence compared several sources…”. The Royal Commission into Family Violence found (I quote), “Over the five years from July 2009, the proportion of male victims has increased and in 2013-14 male victims made up 31% (n=5,052) of total victims of family violence”. That’s pretty close to one in three.
  4. Dr Salter claims, “For men experiencing violence from a female partner, it’s primarily self defensive or it’s expressive in terms of a push or a slap” without citing any research to support his claim.
  5. It claims, “Some MRAs argue the one in three figure actually underestimates the number of male victims of domestic violence, because men are either too ashamed, too stoic, or too chivalrous to report being hit by their female partner… But apart from these anecdotal reports, there’s no other evidence to back up this claim, and no easy way of measuring this potential statistical bias.” The 2012 PSS found that men who have experienced partner violence are 2 to 3 times more likely than women to have never told anybody about experiencing current and/or previous partner violence; twice as likely as women to have never sought advice or support about experiencing current and/or previous partner violence; up to 40% more likely than women to have not contacted police about experiencing current and/or previous partner violence; and half as likely as women to have had a restraining order issued against the perpetrator of previous partner violence. See http://www.oneinthree.com.au/infographicrefs.
  6. Michael Brandenburg said, “Certainly there’s a cohort of men who experience family violence… In our experience a significant number of those experience violence not by intimate partners, but from other family members.” The 2012 PSS found the vast majority of partner and dating violence committed against men is perpetrated by females (94%). Only 6% occurs in relationships with a male perpetrator. See http://www.oneinthree.com.au/infographicrefs.”

The Australian mainstream media have apparently learnt nothing from the marked backlash against the rude and biased treatment of film director Cassie Jaye on The Project and Sunrise TV programs.

It is so incredibly frustrating that they are unable to address men’s issues in a fair and objective manner, and simply provide the public with the facts and different opinions and let them form their own views.

The debate tonight is designed to try to inflict maximum damage on the men’s rights movement. It will only dig the media an even deeper hole in terms of their credibility in the eyes of the community. Instead of bringing people together and fostering understanding and consensus, media stunts like this simply set the scene for more lobbing of grenades from trench to trench.

Media coverage after the event:

Hack critique Pt. 2, by Gary Orsum (22 June 2017) Video

Hack Live: What happened when we debated male privilege (21 June 2017) with related Reddit discussion thread

Bettina Arndt tells why Cassie Jaye ditched Hack Live (20 June 2017) Video

Elsewhere in this blog you might be interested in reading:

Privilege, respect and entitlement

Female Privilege Check-list

Persistent pro-feminist and anti-male bias in the mainstream media

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)

Domestic violence is not a gendered issue – Why the pervasive sexist bias against men?

Domestic violence (DV), also referred to as Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) or Family & Domestic Violence (FDV), is a shocking blight on the community. This is a scourge that inflicts substantial negative impacts on the lives of countless men, women and children. Whilst definitions have evolved and broadened, DV is loosely defined as “physical, sexual, or psychological harm by a current or former partner or spouse“.

It is important to acknowledge that DV encompasses man on man, women on women, man on woman, and woman on man violence (both cis- and transgender). Further, in many instances violence is perpetrated by both partners as shown in the accompanying diagram. There is also a strong nexus between the incidence of child abuse/neglect and subsequent perpetration of domestic violence by affected individuals upon reaching adulthood.

IPV-Truthwgray

The Wikipedia entry for ‘Epidemiology of domestic violence‘ provides readers with useful background information on this topic. For those willing to read something a little meatier, I would recommend this paper by esteemed DV researcher Malcolm George. Malcolm walks the reader through the historical context to the current debate about gender differences in violent behaviour and the way that society responds to the issue.

Many of those working within the DV sector, particularly here in Australia, only choose to acknowledge one element of the problem – that part involving male perpetrators and female victims. It is no coincidence that most staff within these government agencies, universities and NGO’s are strongly influenced by, and biased towards, feminist ideology. The feminist position is unequivocal, and it is that domestic violence = men’s violence towards women. Here is an example of that mindset, and here are many others.

This routine failure by feminists to recognise and discuss male victims, female perpetrators and bi-directional violence is no accident or coincidence. It is a deliberate strategy to build their brand, and in so doing demonise the overwhelming majority of men who have never, and would never, hurt or abuse their partner.

As a result, and in order to support the feminist narrative, a great deal of ‘cherry-picking’ and misrepresentation occurs in relation to the statistics provided in DV literature. In addition, the design and implementation of survey instruments is too often tainted with bias. This issue, that of feminist efforts to hide or discredit legitimate research and/or generate false or misleading statistics, is explored in this further blog post.

You will note, as you scroll down this page, that there are a multitude of sources of DV statistics, particularly the United Kingdom and the United States. Here in Australia, much less research has been undertaken – particularly in relation to male victimisation. One of the more significant sources is the Australian Bureau of Statistics Personal Safety Survey 2012, which found that one in three victims of domestic abuse were male. The results of overseas studies generally found levels of male and female victimisation that were closer to parity, and in some instances even higher rates of victimisation for men that women.

Unfortunately many journalists display remarkable tunnel-vision when addressing the topic of IPV. Indeed some have suggested that the media is complicit in the same sort of systemic gender bias against males noted earlier amongst those working in the field of DV.

Turning to my first example, an article called ‘Til death do us part’ which appeared in The Australian newspaper. It consisted of five pages of heart-wrenching coverage of men’s violence towards female partners, but made no mention of any other form of domestic violence, i.e. m-m, f-f, or women on men. Similarly this February 2014 article from The Mail newspaper also neglected to mention that men can be victims too.

Fiona McCormack also ignores male victims and female abusers this item on Australian ABC TV … except in an aside where she implies that anyone who raises the issue of women abusers is only seeking to “excuse” the behaviour of male abusers. This is very much akin to the feminist predilection of labelling anyone who questions various aspects of sexual assault (e.g. false rape allegations) as being “rape apologists” “victim blamers” etc.

Now let’s turn to this article by Charlie Pickering (more about Charlie here). Charlie is concerned that more attention is paid to the issue of random one-punch attacks on men, than on the violence visited nightly on women people in their homes. He goes on to state:

“For a long time, the term domestic violence has softened and normalised what is really going on. A more accurate term is ‘men’s violence against women’. Not ‘violence against women’, because that takes the responsibility for it away from those who need to be made responsible.”

This belief, that by acknowledging male victims and female perpetrators, we are somehow ignoring the validity and the pain of female victims is absurd, yet unfortunately commonplace in public discourse. The fact that there may be somewhat fewer male victims does not, nor should not, make domestic violence a gendered issue.

A precious few writers, like this one, suggest a more practical and unbiased approach to the issue:

“When it comes to the statistics about domestic abuse, it doesn’t matter to me how many men to how many women experience domestic violence. Domestic violence is a power issue more than a gender issue. Intimate Partner Violence affects men and women, and I really do not care in what proportion …

Within anti-domestic violence advocacy, there seems to be a trend to pit female victims against male victims and vice-versa. I do not know who is behind it, nor do I know if there is a “who” to blame. I do know that blame has no place in this fight against domestic abuse, especially when victim blames victim for any reason …

In a perfect society, men and women are equally protected under the law not because more laws were made to protect one sex but because in each mind and heart of all people, women and men are respected equally, and the individual contributions or crimes are our only measures of judgment. However, this ideal is as far away from our current reality as the idea that no person would seek power over another.”

Many others within the wider community have, however, embraced a biased and incomplete representation of DV, liberally salted with misinformation, at face value. Who could blame them, given that so many sources are bellowing out the same relentless message about male perpetrators and female victims, whilst studiously ignoring other elements of the issue.

Here in Australia, let’s look at this page within the web site of the Department of Social Services entitled ‘Women’s safety’, and the linked 28 page literature review prepared by ‘Urbis’ consultants at a cost of $220,000. One would have assumed, especially given the enormous cost, that the review would have encompassed all forms of abuse and perpetration. But, unfortunately, it did not.

In fact the review states that “Male perpetrators of domestic violence or sexual assault against men and female perpetrators of either offence against men have not been considered in this literature review. It is acknowledged that in practice the great majority of programs will be targeted towards men who commit domestic violence or sexual assault against women.”

Yes, that makes perfect sense … there are no programs for female offenders so let’s pretend they don’t exist. Such circular logic is (almost) unbelievable. And no, there is no corresponding ‘Mens Safety’ page within the DSS web site.

To be fair, the authors of some studies do admit that there are many female perpetrators and male victims, and that little research has been directed towards these groups. They also admit that there are probably many similarities between male and female perpetrators of IPV. They then invariably proceed, however, to offer a variety of justifications to continue their focus on the ‘domestic violence = Mens violence towards women’ model (example).

When misleading statistics are repeatedly exposed the feminist reaction is to move the goalposts by expanding the reach of the definition of domestic violence to encompass sexual violence, and less tangible forms of non-physical ‘violence’. This serves to both maximise the perceived magnitude of the problem, as well as support the anti-male narrative.

Naturally those areas where female perpetration is substantial, such as child abuse and elder abuse, are totally ‘out of bounds’. This theme is explored in this separate blog post. The same approach has been taken by feminists to prop up the notion of the existence of a ‘rape culture‘ in western societies.

Those of us concerned about men’s rights seek to have all aspects of domestic violence considered, as well as seeking remedies to specific issues such as:

  • the lack of resources to assist abused men and their children
  • laws and legal procedures that are based on the assumption that the male in the relationship is the abuser
  • negative and biased behaviour towards men who seek assistance, for example the screening of (only) male callers to abuse help-lines to determine if they are in fact perpetrators (example)

A selection of statistical sources that haven’t been doctored to support the feminist narrative

A graphic depiction of the latest statistics relating to domestic violence in Australia, by the One in Three group (15 August 2022)

Domestic Abuse Offenders by Sex/Gender (28 October 2021)

Half-Truths, Falsehoods, and Lies: New Report Documents Long-Running Domestic Violence Misinformation Campaign (USA) (20 September 2021)

Coercive control and domestic violence, by Prof. Nicola Graham-Kevan (7 June 2020) You Tube video of conference presentation

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

New AIC paper appears to cherry-pick data to fit “gendered violence” narrative (30 October 2019)

Male Victims of Domestic Violence Suffer Severe Effects, Canadian Study Reports (15 April 2019)

Assessing the risk of repeat intimate partner assault, by NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics & Research (December 2018)

Are a third of domestic abuse victims men? (6 December 2018) UK

Dunedin study gender violence truths (13 June 2016) Video

References examining assaults by women on their spouses or male partners: An Annotated Bibliography by Martin S. Fiebert. This bibliography examines 286 scholarly investigations: 221 empirical studies and 65 reviews and/or analyses, which demonstrate that women are as physically aggressive, or more aggressive, than men in their relationships with their spouses or male partners. Here is a link to an updated June 2013 version of Fiebert’s bibliography.

Partner Abuse, Volume 1, No. 1, 2010 The first edition of a new journal created to showcase academic research into domestic violence without gender bias

Partner Abuse State of Knowledge Project – Facts and Statistics on Domestic Violence at-a-Glance. Sponsored by the Journal Partner Abuse, November, 2012. This study is also discussed in this article
Male Victims of Intimate Partner Violence in the United States: An Examination of the Review of Literature through the Critical Theoretical Perspective, by Caroletta A. Shuler (2010) and related reddit discussion thread

Extensive listing of mainly North American research findings related to domestic violence (29 April 2015)

Family violence in Canada: A statistical profile (27 January 2011) Almost equal numbers of male and female victims of DV

Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Men who Sustain Intimate Partner Violence: A Study of Help-seeking and Community Samples (2012)

Partner Violence as Female-specific in Aetiology

Intimate partner violence: Facts and statistics (1 September 2014) Included some discussion of ‘Patriarchal Dominance’ theory

Domestic violence rates are higher for homosexual couples than for heterosexual couples (18 November 2013)

Preliminary Examination of a Mutual Intimate Partner Violence Intervention Among Treatment-Mandated Couples (2013)

Male victims of domestic violence: A Substantive and Methodological Research Review by Michael S. Kimmel (2001)

Women who perpetrate intimate partner violence: A review of the literature with recommendations for treatment (January 2007)

Disabusing the definition of domestic violence: How women batter men and the role of the Feminist State by Linda Kelly 2003

Unprecedented domestic violence study affirms need to recognise male victims (21 May 2013)

One-third of domestic violence victims in active-duty families are men (27 August 2014)

Partner Violence Against Men in England & Wales and the Gender Bias of Public Bodies (2014)

Differences in Frequency of Violence and Reported Injury Between Relationships With Reciprocal and Nonreciprocal Intimate Partner Violence (May 2007)

Aggression in British Heterosexual Relationships: A Descriptive Analysis

The Truth About Domestic Violence – You’ll Never Believe… (a must-see video on Youtube)

Research into domestic violence-related deaths (USA/2010) More for men than women

Newer perspectives on domestic violence (April 2010)

http://freethoughtblogs.com/hetpat/2014/06/11/can-we-finally-nail-down-those-male-victim-statistics/ (United Kingdom)

See recent Swedish DV research here

Differences in Frequency of Violence and Reported Injury Between Relationships With Reciprocal and Nonreciprocal Intimate Partner Violence (2006)

“Almost 24% of all relationships had some violence, and half (49.7%) of those were reciprocally violent. In non-reciprocally violent relationships, women were the perpetrators in more than 70% of the cases.”

A summary of credible research about domestic violence

This video features an incredibly fast rundown of published domestic violence research that runs contrary to the feminist position (15 June 2016)

http://www.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/28smbv/gender_symmetry_in_domestic_violence_and_why_it/

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=gender+symmetry&btnG=&as_sdt=1%2C5&as_sdtp=

http://www.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/c3lvm/faq_studies_showing_high_frequency_of_women/

A 2009 source but which still contains some useful information and references

Some Australian statistics/background info

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

1IN3’s Questions on Notice for Joint Select Committee on Australia’s Family Law System (19 October 2020) Re: Issuing of domestic violence orders against abusive women

The disaster that is Australia’s Domestic Violence Policy, by Helen Dale (12 February 2020)

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

New AIC paper appears to cherry-pick data to fit “gendered-violence” narrative (30 October 2019)

Family, domestic and sexual violence in Australia, 2018 (28 February 2018)

ABS Personal Safety survey results 2016

Senior public servants demonstrating their unswerving support for the feminist narrative regarding FDV (12 April 2017) Video

Western Australia: half of reported domestic violence harm caused by 2% of offenders (15 December 2016)

ABS violent crime statistics released July 2016

Behavioural change program for men at risk of committing domestic violence launched in ACT (14 June 2016) Violent/abusive women are completely left out of this program – an outrageous demonstration of gender bias (lodge a complaint here). More on crazy developments in the ACT at ‘Domestic violence levy: Canberra sets an absurd precedent‘ (18 June 2016)

Is a national approach needed to address domestic violence in Australia? (1 April 2016) Provides brief overview of what’s happening in each state

ABC Fact File: Domestic Violence in Australia (6 April 2016)

More than 125,000 women homeless because of domestic violence (15 February 2016). The only figures for male victimisation that were mentioned – because they appeared to support the feminist perspective – were drawn from this media release from a government agency. What’s not mentioned though is that the relatively low numbers of men seeking assistance are indicative of factors other than simply lower rates of male victimisation, incl.:

  • the rampant genderbias of ‘help-lines’, advocacy groups and even government agencies
  • the (widely-known) lack of resources available to help male victims (with or without children, and
  •  the much greater incidence of non-reporting of DV by men (compared to women)

FactCheck Q&A: is domestic violence in Australia on the decline? (3 February 2016) Also includes 75+ readers comments

Australian DV statistics fact-sheet produced by the organisation ‘One in Three’

Domestic Violence in Australia: Are women and men equally violent?

Domestic Violence, by Chris Lloyd (21 January 2015) Very thorough, especially in relation to Victorian DV statistics

Anglicare WA survey summary with further details available from Anglicare WA’s web site (2014)

2014 article that discusses teen dating abuse and found roughly equal number of male and female abusers.

Boys Victims of Dating Violence, Too (29 January 2016) USA

This paper by the Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse is also worth reading, although I disagree with aspects of it. It is entitled ‘The Gender Debate in Domestic Violence: The Role of Data‘ (May 2013)

An April 2014 discussion about domestic violence and its relationship to urban planning practice.

http://mensrightsmelbourne.com/2014/03/26/domestic-violence-by-women-over-the-past-eight-years-rocketed-by-159/

Intimate Partner Abuse of Men, by Tilbrook, E.,  Allan, A., and Dear, G. (2010)

Articles on IPV sourced from the ‘A Voice for Men’ web site (various authors)

The irrefutable proof is in: DV is not gendered (except when it is, which is most of the time) by David King (2 August 2016) Australia. Recommended reading

Steven Pinker: sex, violence, and failure of enlightenment (11 September 2015)

This article and related reddit discussion concern a move in Victoria, Australia, to alter the law in relation of using self-defence where death of a partner occurs (article) (discussion)

NCFM Vice President responds to criticism about MRA’s and the AVfM conference in Detroit (25 July 2014)

Recruiting domestic violence spies by Jim Muldoon (18 July 2014)

http://www.avoiceformen.com/mens-rights/domestic-violence-industry/the-cycle-of-the-female-abuser/ (15 July 2014)

http://www.avoiceformen.com/mens-rights/the-state-of-play-for-men-domestic-violence/

http://www.avoiceformen.com/feminism/feminist-lies-feminism/the-feminists-great-equality-lie/

http://www.avoiceformen.com/mens-rights/domestic-violence-industry/australian-domestic-violence-hysteria/

http://www.avoiceformen.com/men/mens-health/callout-to-australian-british-and-canadian-men-for-help/

On male victims of domestic violence by M. R. Walks (17 February 2012)

http://www.avoiceformen.com/allnews/flawed-domestic-violence-survey-challenged-by-mens-health-advocates/

http://www.avoiceformen.com/mens-rights/domestic-violence-industry/when-a-girl-hits-you/

http://whatmenthinkofwomen.blogspot.com.au/2010/10/dv-debate-paul-elam-against-feminist.html

General sources regarding Intimate Partner Violence

‘It is getting worse’: Anne Summers says rise in domestic violence ‘horrific’ (27 May 2024) Yet another feminist spiel about a one month blip in statistics, lacking any mention (at all) of female perpetrators & male victims

Pauline Hanson asks some pertinent questions of the Australian Government regarding their pitiful lack of support for male victims of domestic violence (May 2023) Video

Australia’s new national plan to address domestic violence ignores one third of victims (19 October 2022). This is the response to the Plan produced by the ‘One in Three’ organisation.

Media ‘loses reader trust’ by painting the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial as ‘misogynistic’ (3 June 2022)

Johnny Depp and The Tragedy Of Male Abuse Victims (28 May 2022)

Domestic Violence Is Not the Result of Patriarchy (21 May 2022)

You can’t reduce domestic abuse by telling people that life is a power struggle between men and women. Interview with Professor Nicola Graham-Kevan (31 March 2022)

‘Culture of Dishonesty:’ Lawmakers Need to Call Out Domestic Violence Half-Truths, Falsehoods, and Lies – Coalition to End Domestic Violence (endtodv.org)

Evidence shows children who are smacked are more likely to be involved in partner violence in adulthood (3 May 2021)

Australian media is failing to cover domestic violence in the right way: new research (2 March 2021) The feminist bias and related hypocrisy in this paper is simply unbelievable #facepalm

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.

Debunking the gendered violence construct (28 April 2020) A good video by @EyeisBloke (UK)

Joe Hildebrand: ‘Deadliest of lies’ we keep swallowing (27 October 2019) Australia

The demonization of Australian men, by Augusto Zimmermann (14 February 2019)

Growing number of men reporting domestic violence to police, ONS figures reveal (22 November 2018)

The proportion of male victims who told police about their domestic abuse increased from 10.4% in 2014-15 to 14.7% this year as charities said more men were shaking off the stigma of talking about their suffering.

How Victoria’s family violence system fails some victims – by assuming they’re perpetrators (14 November 2017) I thought this paper was going to talk about men being misidentified as DV aggressors, but oh no, apparently it happens to women all the time <facepalm> and men exploit this to obtain intervention orders to protect themselves (& their children) from women who aren’t really hitting/abusing them.

Studies Show Lesbians Much More Likely to Beat, Sexually Abuse Their Wives Than Heterosexual Men (15 August 2017) This article contains several dead hyperlinks – the relevant references are as follows:

The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2010 Findings on Victimization by Sexual Orientation (January 2013)
Victimization Over the Life Span: A Comparison of Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, and Heterosexual Siblings (2005)
When your rapist is a woman (30 March 2016)
Lena Dunham Didn’t Molest Her Sister, but Female-on-Female Sexual Abuse Is Real and Awful (4 November 2014)
Lesbian intimate partner violence: Prevalence and dynamics (2002)
Victimization and Perpetration Rates of Violence in Gay and Lesbian Relationships: Gender Issues Explored (1997)

Dear Feminists: Stop Denying The Connection Between Alcohol And Domestic Violence‘ by Corrine Barraclough (2 May 2017) Australia

Questions about violence against women are for all, not just migrants, by Wendy Tuohy (24 April 2017) Not even a hint that men are also victims of DV = substandard journalism for which there is no longer any excuse.

Why gender can’t be ignored when dealing with domestic violence (28 March 2017)

Domestic Violence: A Male Problem? (23 March 2017) UK

10 lies abusers tell themselves (and others). Calling out the common deceptions. (11 February 2017) Interesting article re: how abusers rationalise their actions

Flowers = Domestic Violence. Feminist hypocrisy at its peak (8 February 2017) Australia

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

On the psychology of domestic violence, by Ally Fogg (13 January 2017) UK

Shocking domestic abuse statistics don’t show the real picture: it’s even worse (14 December 2016) UK. This is one of several articles written by feminists in response to the recent release of stats showing the large (and increasing) number of male victims. Essentially they say ‘it doesn’t matter how many men are victims, women have it worse and we should focus entirely on them’.

Tory MP Faces Abuse From Feminist Colleagues After Opposing Sexist Bill (17 December 2016) UK

Stopping Fathers Committing Family Violence (13 December 2016) The Victorian Government (Australia) ignores female perpetrators of domestic violence – it’s something only dads do! Disgusting bias

More than one in three victims of domestic abuse are now men (10 December 2016) UK

San Antonio Judge Rules Men Not Capable of Being Victims of Domestic Violence (2016) USA

Sydney police officer breaches AVO (2 December 2016) A female officer, if that’s relevant

Should we scrutinise ALL reports of family violence? by Jasmin Newman (22 November 2016)

Domestic violence convention would make men ‘second class citizens’ (19 November 2016) Ireland

The fight against domestic violence needs to look beyond blaming men, by Stephanie Ross (6 November 2016) Australia

Governments accused of failing to fully recognise role of alcohol in family violence  (27 October 2016) Australia

Domestic violence: Perpetrators would receive warning texts and videos (21 October 2016) Australia

Black women’s lives matter too, by Nyunggai Warren Mundine AO (15 October 2016) Australia

Evidence for impact of Domestic Violence Perpetrator Programmes: College of Policing evidence commentary (undated) UK

“This ‘review of reviews’ concluded that no clear impact of DVPPs has been identified, and that effects on further victimisation have been small.”

To stop domestic violence, we need to change perpetrators’ behaviour (5 October 2016) This article in pro-feminist The Conversation completely ignores the reality of female abusers and the lack of counselling services for them.

It’s time to admit the truth about domestic violence, by David Leyonhjelm (27 September 2016) Australia

Force game-changer: Deputy Commissioner Wendy Steendam on a mission to end violence against women (23 September 2016) Australia

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

Why does the CPS report on violence against women include men in the stats? by Ally Fogg (7 September 2016)

Denying female domestic violence, by Augusto Zimmermann (28 August 2016)

Douglas Todd: B.C.’s domestic-violence programs based on ‘false’ theory (21 August 2016)

Always beating up on men, by Bettina Arndt (20 August 2016) Recommended reading

Gulags for New Zealand men (18 August 2016)

This is one of countless examples of how feminist DV advocacy groups seek to minimise both women’s role in perpetrating abusive behaviours, and its degree of impact on male victims.

Study findings on domestic violent present ‘challenging picture’  (16 June 2016) New Zealand

“The findings of an in-depth domestic violence study, which showed violent conduct almost evenly split between the genders, are potentially cause for concern, a senior police officer says.”

The gender of domestic violence (8 June 2016) NZ video concerning the difficulty experienced by researchers whose findings showed that women were equally likely to abuse.

Violent Parents – Calling for the End to Child Contact at Any Cost, by Jess Phillips MP (20 April 2016) UK. Article by well-known staunch feminist who implies all abusive parents are men, which as some readers point out is grossly misleading.

ABC’s Q&A program proves that ignorance is still rife about domestic violence, by Anne Summers (15 April 2016) Feminists get so angry when people dare to suggest that misogyny/gender inequality is not THE penultimate cause of domestic violence. I read this piece and think ‘pot-kettle-black’

My province’s government instructs police officers to treat domestic violence with a “gendered lens” and assume that men are perpetrators. How can this be changed? (19 April 2016) Reddit discussion thread with linked reference material. Note that male victims of DV are much more likely to report being “very dissatisfied” by their treatment at the hands of police. Is it any wonder?

Minister for Prevention of Family Violence needs to think about her own family history, by Bettina Arndt (1 April 2016) Australia

A female voice for ‘demonised’ men (16 March 2016) Australia

Changing attitudes towards domestic abuse against men (16 March 2016) UK

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

The Melbourne suburbs where a parent is most likely to murder their child (12 March 2016) Australia

The scandal of women’s violence towards men, by Melanie Phillips (11 March 2016) To read the full article seems to require a subscription to The Times.

Women Who Emotionally Abuse Men (29 February 2016)

Spain gender laws: A country against men (18 February 2016)

Australians are being told that gender inequality is the root cause of domestic violence. But is it?, by Gay Alcorn (19 February 2016)

Dad domestic violence victim fears courts being used as a weapon (22 January 2016) Australia

The solutions: ‘We can make it better’ | Behind Closed Doors (31 December 2015) NZ

For Nelson Women’s Refuge manager Katie O’Donnell, the solution to New Zealand’s domestic violence problem is more straightforward. “People say it’s a really complex issue. Well, it is a complex issue but also it isn’t – guys just have to stop doing it”

Vera Baird, a British regional ‘Police Commissioner’, disseminates a Christmas message implying that men who budget their finances carefully do so in order to “economically abuse” their partners (25 December 2015)

economic_abuse

Dear Daddy: Viral video highlights how sexist jokes contribute to culture of violence against women (16 December 2015) Australia. Same old stuff, demonising men and putting full responsibility on them to ‘fix’ domestic violence whilst ignoring female perpetration of violence.

Blindfolded with a White Ribbon, by Geoffrey Luck (27 November 2015) Australia

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

A simple solution to domestic violence, a video by Janet Bloomfield (15 October 2015)

The surprisingly common reason John hits his partner (14 October 2015) Of course a male batterer is profiled, but watch the fur fly when someone suggests a contributing factor that doesn’t fit the feminist Duluth Model.

The cause of both domestic violence and terrorism is angry men (6 October 2015)

Turnbull’s response to domestic violence ignores the evidence (6 October 2015)

Miranda Devine: Demonising men won’t stop domestic violence (27 September 2015) Australia – with an example of the predictable feminist reaction here. Miranda responded to her feminist critics firstly with this article, and then this one.

Domestic violence package: A great start, but it will only get us so far (25 September 2015) Australia

Domestic violence called “Violence against Women” (21 September 2015) A Reddit Australia discussion thread that followed an ill-informed comment by newly-installed Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull

Men’s anti-Domestic Violence advocate says scourge “is a male problem” (13 September 2015) Plenty of readers comments that are highly critical of the White Ribbon Campaign Ambassador quoted in the article

The Hidden Politics of Family Violence (8 August 2015) Australia

Why men feel aggrieved in family court interventions (11 August 2015) Australia

To change attitudes to family violence, we need a shift in gender views (22 July 2015) Disgracefully biased article from The Conversation wherein the feminist author laments Australians growing realisation that DV is not a gendered issue, dismissing this as a “misunderstanding”.

Domestic Abuse: ‘It is not a women’s issue and it is not a men’s issue. It’s a human problem’ (14 July 2015) Ireland

Lawrence Ben Eliezer on Institutionalized Feminism within the Criminal Justice System (14 July 2015) Canadian video

Retiring magistrate Ron Kilner says domestic violence laws have been exploited (11 July 2015) Australia. Interesting how politicians, judges, etc, only begin speaking freely and honestly about gender-related issues upon their retirement. (see my post on this theme here)

Family violence: the focus should be on support, not mandatory reporting (3 July 2015) This links to an article in the ABC web site, but the same article was also published in The Conversation. Feminist authors remains true to type by ignoring male victims and abusive women. Australia

Rosie Batty – The Opposite Case (28 June 2015) Australia

Patriarchy vs Facts: Domestic Violence (PART I) (23 June 2015) Video

Men experiencing or perpetrating domestic violence have higher incidence of mental health problems (20 May 2015)

Domestic violence a ‘silent epidemic’ in gay relationships (30 May 2015) Australia

Mark Latham on why Labor can’t get it right on domestic violence (16 May 2015) and the obligatory feminist bite-back (this one being one of the milder responses)

$16m for dom violence but $1.2b for terrorism (14 May 2015) Australia

UK article about the high level of violence amongst lesbian couples (7 May 2015)

Miranda Devine: The brutal truth about domestic violence (5 April 2015)

Dating violence protections empowering for young men, women (2 April 2015) USA

Violence against women should mean the end of any high profile career (30 March 2015) See great reader’s comment contributed by Mark Dent

Reddit TIL discussion thread about recent CDC research claiming more men are victims of partner abuse (23 March 2015) USA and related mensrights discussion thread

Tara Moss: ‘We can’t let trolls hijack the domestic violence conversation’ (5 March 2015) Australia. This is the feminist concept of a “conversation” – we talk & you shut-up. If you try to join our conversation then you are a troll. And, as is becoming increasingly common of late, no reader’s comments were permitted on this article.

Men forgotten in violence debate‘ by Tanveer Ahmed (9 February 2015), with follow-up article, Feminism in crisis as male supporter expresses view of his own (9 February 2015)

Domestic Violence: How taboos veil the truth‘ by Don Edgar (27 January 2015) Australia

Can domestic abusers be rehabilitated? (1 February 2015) Gynocentric/pro-feminist bias but worth reading in conjunction with the comments contributed by readers

When it comes to Domestic Violence, she says she wants equality – however when faced with a discussion of male victims – she labels it a failure and bitches about statistics #oneistoomany (25 January 2015)

Cutting off unfaithful penises, apparently justified and hilarious (15 January 2015)

Telstra introduces domestic violence leave (13 January 2015) Australia. Article implies only women are victims of domestic violence and leaves us guessing as to whether the company policy is sexist/discriminatory – or just the journalism

Domestic Violence – Donald Dutton Debunks The Gender Paradigm (25 November 2014) Youtube video

Domestic Violence Against Men: Why We Need To Pay More Attention To Vulnerable Males (6 November 2014)

5 Facts about domestic violence to consider this November (and every other month too) by Janet Bloomfield (28 October 2014)

This feminist writer has the gall to attack men’s rights groups on the basis that they are uncaring about the plight of male victims of domestic violence (21 October 2014) Be sure to peruse the readers comments

Our submission to the Home Office consultation on the strengthening of the law on domestic abuse (15 October 2014) Mike Buchanan rails against the rampant anti-male bias evident within both the UK government agencies responsible for dealing with domestic abuse, and within the advocacy groups upon which the agencies confer and rely.

Stefan Molyneux video entitled ‘Domestic violence symposium’ (16 June 2014)

Why don’t we speak up when we see signs of domestic violence? (1 October 2014) This article in a pro-feminist web site provides a stereotypical feminist perspective on the subject. What was notable was that almost all the readers comments attacked the author’s obvious anti-male bias. This article forms the focus of this blog post.

Do we give female domestic violence abusers a pass? (1 October 2014)

In this article a feminist writer, Amanda Hess, attempts to rationalise why domestic violence by a female sports star should be addressed differently than in the case of a male sports star (22 September 2014) Most of the 600+ readers  comments that followed disagreed and told her so in no uncertain terms.

Woman as aggressor: The unspoken truth of domestic violence (19 September 2014)

Trivialising and excusing violence against women (17 September 2014) Author pushes a feminist perspective but there are almost 300 reader’s comments

Women more likely to commit domestic violence, studies show (16 September 2014)

Welsh gender politics putting male and female victims at risk says men’s charity (10 September 2014)

New study of domestic violence: “Women significantly more likely to be physically aggressive” (7 July 2014)

In the US a decline in domestic violence (26 August 2014)

Children most often killed by their mothers (25 September 2012) NZ. This article covers a range of issues other than just filicide.

Is that a frying pan, or are you just unhappy to see me? (2 March 2008)

Men Are More Likely Than Women To Be Victims In Dating Violence, UNH Expert Says (19 May 2006)

http://www.thecitizen.org.au/features/what-about-men-lies-statistics-and-peddling-myths-about-violence-against-women A pro-feminist article that tries to appear even-handed, but it’s worth reading by virtue of the level of detail provided with additional info provided in readers comments.

‘Lollies at a childrens party and other myths: Violence, protection orders and fathers rights groups’ by Miranda Kaye and Julia Tomie (1998). Another detailed but flawed paper in support of the feminist position on DV. Its main line of attack is that available statistics don’t support claims made by men’s rights advocates. It conveniently ignores the fact that most Australian DV research is undertaken by feminists and biased towards finding ‘evidence’ to support a pre-determined conclusion. Thus the accuracy and impartiality of the research is the real issue, rather than the credibility of the whistle-blowers.

The paper also misinterprets and/or takes out of context, many of the comments it attributes to fathers groups in an attempt to portray them as irrational or unreasonable. Finally the authors attack specific statements put forward by fathers groups despite the same arguments having been used (at other times) by feminists in support of their own (feminist) perspective. The authors of this paper, for example, want to jump from one camp to the other (and back again) in relation to the issue of whether behaviour other than physical violence should be included in the definition of domestic violence.

The Modern Day Ducking Stool: Domestic Abuse Programs and Man Shaming (16 August 2014)

More male abuse survivors in rural Ireland are seeking help (27 July 2014)

The Domestic Violence Method (January 2015) Australia

50 domestic violence myths (27 December 2013) USA

Are men really victims of intimate partner violence? (2011) Australia

Women are more violent says study (12 November 2000)

Researcher says women’s initiation of domestic violence predicts risks to women (6 July 2009)

More than 40% domestic violence victims are male, report reveals (5 September 2010) with related discussion thread here (worth reading)

The Gender Paradigm in domestic violence research and theory (2005) Includes coverage of the claim that women engage in violence mainly due to self-defence.

Intimate partner abuse of men (Edith Cowan University, 2010)

Domestic violence: Women abusers on the rise (23 June 2009) Australia

Violent women by Lynette Haas (appeared in the Sunday Mail, 28 March 1999)

Husband abuse: Fact or Fiction by Dr Sotirios Sarantakos (Australia)

Deconstructing Self-Defence in Wife-to-Husband Violence by Dr Sotirios Sarantakos (Australia)

Domestic Violence and the Male Victim by  Anne Lewis & Dr Sotirios Sarantakos (Australia)

Wikipedia entry on domestic violence against men

Domestic abuse community punishments ban planned by Labour (27 July 2014) And unsurprisingly, no mention of male victims.

Sorry for being a man (NZ politician) Youtube video

We need to show it’s just not manly to hit out (9 July 2014) Nonsense article dripping with white knight bias … “The idea that the woman may be equally to blame, even if she is also violent and even the initiator of the violence, is simply not acceptable”

Society’s acceptance of domestic violence? (12 March 2013)

Youtube video interview on DV with Erin Pizzey, Senator Anne Cools & Dr. Martin Fiebert

http://time.com/2921491/hope-solo-women-violence/ (25 June 2014) with related discussion at http://www.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/2942ji/double_standards_that_cause_womens_violence/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Christina Hoff Sommers on violence against women (Youtube video)

Women ‘more likely to hit their partners’ (25 June 2014), ‘Rise of female relationship terrorists: Study finds women are more controlling’ (26 June 2014), ‘Relationship terrorists study‘ (25 June 2014), Women are more controlling and aggressive than men (26 June 2014), ‘Women more likely to be aggressive in relationships‘, and ‘Confessions of an intimate terrorist‘ Reddit discussion thread and linked article (27 June 2014)

Mothers ‘faking domestic violence’ to keep their children, inquiry told (24 June 2014) Yes, Therese (Edwards), domestic violence IS under-reported, especially those incidents involving female perpetrators – but I doubt that your National Council has expressed any concerns about that issue. By way of background, this article concerns submissions to an Australian government Inquiry into Child Support.

More than 40% of domestic violence victims are male, report reveals (22 June 2014)

When a woman hits a man it’s justified (21 June 2014)

The fallacious stereotype of ‘male violence’ and why it’s being sold to you (11 June 2014) Good Australian article by Adam Blanch. This attracted a spiteful, biased and misleading rebuttal from a feminist by the name of Caitlin Roper. Caitlin herself had earlier published her own item about domestic violence, a response to which was subsequently penned by Australian MRA Greg Canning.

Senator Anne Cools at Toronto conference on domestic violence (2014, video)

Daisy Kler lying to the public by Diana Davison and John Hembling (26 May 2014)

Shifting the gender bias (19 April 2014) An example of one of the all-too-few media articles that recognise and are sympathetic to male victims of DV

VAWA: The American Feminists’ Abuse Industry by Hunter Brooks

The silence of domestic violence

A reddit discussion thread about the anti-male bias evident in the web site of an American domestic violence centre’s web site. Unfortunately such bias (i.e. stating or implying that all men accessing the site are abusers and that all women are victims) is also common in domestic violence centres in Australia.

Male victims of DV who call the police are more likely to be arrested than the female perpetrator (A discussion thread on reddit/mensrights) and then see this article

Solange and Jay-Z: It’s simply not the same if a man is hit by a woman (18 May 2014)

She punched him but he is bigger, so he is deemed the “primary aggressor” (6 May 2014)

http://judgybitch.com/tag/have-you-ever-beat-up-a-boyfriend/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/10752232/Our-attitude-to-violence-against-men-is-out-of-date.html

http://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/brand-what-do-you-do-when-a-girl-hits-you/

Invisible victims: When men are abused

Signs of an abuser apply to women as well as men

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gekyg7yy4Dc&feature=plcp (a ‘Girl Writes What’ video)

http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=38186#.U0zOOlWSySo (This article has an anti-male bias but there are some good references cited within the readers comments)

http://www.itv.com/news/wales/story/2014-04-07/instances-of-male-domestic-abuse-increases-in-wales/#men-reporting-domestic-abuse-rises-across-wales_346689

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10815810/Nagging-could-cost-the-lives-of-hundreds-of-men.html

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/sep/05/men-victims-domestic-violence

http://www.oneinthree.com.au/malevictims/

http://whatmenthinkofwomen.blogspot.com.au/2013/07/dr-greg-canning-on-domestic-violence.html

http://www.drceli.com.au/blogs/elizabeth-celi-blog/2011/11/19/male-victims-of-domestic-abuse—an-under-served-group-of-men

http://twnow.com/tech-founder-in-shocking-domestic-abuse-case/ (29 April 2014)

http://www.batteredmen.com/

http://j4mb.wordpress.com/2014/01/11/vera-bairds-response-to-our-recent-public-challenge-concerning-domestic-violence/

http://www.australianmensrights.com/Domestic_Violence_Statistics-Child_Abuse_Australia/National_Times_Really-Women_Bash_Men-Violent_Women_Australia-Study_Kim_Halford_08MAR2011.aspx

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women_as_abuserssoswomens20yearson

This blog contains many other posts that discuss the issue of domestic violence – Please click here to see a list of relevant posts.

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

 

Persistent pro-feminist and anti-male bias in the mainstream media

News.com.au is a major online source of mainstream news in Australia, the CEO of which is David Penberthy who was mentioned in a reader’s post here. Some time ago a reader sent me a copy of an email that he had sent to the team at news.com.au after he had got fed-up with their ongoing sexist bias:

“As a frequent visitor to your site I am dismayed by the evident bias I see with regards to:

1. The types of articles that you choose to publish
2. The decision as to which articles you allow comments on and which you don’t
3. The decision of moderators as to whether comments are posted or excluded

In particular the type of bias that I find most annoying and which is particularly prevalent in your site is a stridently anti-male and pro-feminist bias.

I have read your FAQ page entries in relation to some of these points but I find that in practice your team makes decisions that are not necessarily in line with your guidelines. For example I myself on many occasions have sought to post comments that were in no way profane, etc etc but were not accepted.

Further some of the articles you publish, and also some of the comments, I (and I am sure many others) find to be in poor taste or offensive … it just seems that some positions are consistently deemed more acceptable than others … and lo and behold these seem to feature misandric themes that belittle and promote negative stereotypes concerning men. It’s tiresome and it’s wrong and you should improve your performance in this regard. If uncertain simply apply the test …. if this article or this comment was about women, would I publish it? If yes then go ahead. If not then don’t …”

News.com.au replied addressing a side-issue – but said nothing about the central issue of gender bias. This other blog post provides some examples of their biased journalism.

So how is sexist bias reflected in newspapers and web sites like news.com.au? It is done through a combination of the following measures:

  1. Through the choice of which subjects are addressed in articles and which ones are ignored, and then whether the coverage of each subject is balanced or only provides a partial picture of the issue at hand
  2. Through whether or not online public comments are enabled, and if so, for how long comments are accepted
  3. Through the nature and degree of moderation of online public comments
  4. Through the choice of loaded words within articles to reflect whether each particular view expressed, or person quoted is either good/valid or bad/invalid, as seen through the ideological filter imposed by the journalist or editor
  5. Through the use of misleading or bogus statistics within articles to support a pro-feminist perspective

With regards to point 2 above, I have noted a recent trend towards not permitting readers comments in relation to topics for which there will likely be a reader backlash against the pro-feminist position being advanced by the author and/or editor. A ‘good’ example of this is an article entitled ‘Proof that men are bigger idiots than women‘. In this case not only were readers comments not permitted, but the article was also excluded from news.com.au’s Facebook page and Twitter feed. Thus those who objected to the obvious misandry of the article were effectively silenced, conveying an impression of reader acceptance.

With regards to point 4 above, this reddit discussion thread looks at the choice of words used by the media in reporting instances of sexual assault of underage boys by women (versus the words used when reporting underage girls assaulted by men). The headline of this article in news.com.au ‘Teachers accused of having threesome with student, 16, in Louisiana‘ would no doubt have been ‘Teachers gang-rape student’ were the student female instead of male. Anti-male bias was also evident in this 2009 academic report by Roland Landor.

This article is another example of how journalists change language depending on the gender of the victim. When a woman assaults a man (who doesn’t even try to defend himself) it is a “fight“, but if it was the other way around it would be reported as an “unprovoked attack“.

Ah, but news.com.au by no means has a monopoly on applying feminist bias and blocking material that portrays men and mens rights in a fair and balanced manner. No, Australia’s ABC is yet another citadel of femdom. This was amply demonstrated in the 2014 article entitled ‘A lesson for men’s rights activists on real oppression‘ by misandrist journalist Clementine Ford.

Despite the usual feminist moderator habit of binning the majority of posts contributed by those not supportive of feminism, there were still some interesting exchanges amongst the readers comments.

Still on the topic of Clementine Ford, perhaps have a look at this other paper. If you scroll through the readers comments, amongst the offerings of simpering sycophants you will note a contribution from another who stated:

“You lost any right to speak about equality when you attacked and demonise those who are attempting to act as a counterbalance to the feminist movement. The only thing this article resembles is propaganda. For every issue females suffer, and they were good points, you proceeded to ignore about a dozen which society is now suffering under because of feminism.

Like how masculinity is seen as a “problem to be removed” at the age of school children.

About how it is encouraged for females to become teachers now with no effort to do the same for males to balance the number of people from each gender tutoring students.

How abuse and sexual assault against males is often either ignored or used as a source of humour, especially in forms of media. To the point where the castration of a male is only laughed at and mocked by a female audience.

About how some laws in the US have changed for the worse. One in particular allowing females the right to charge a man with rape if they have consumed any amount of alcohol, even if it was consensual sex and she was the one who talked him into it.

About how university and college applications emphases upon getting more female students even long after they make up a considerable percentage of those entering each established teaching institute.

About how unemployment rates are far higher for males than they are for females; with “stay at home dads” being encouraged as a good thing while the very thought of a “housewife” staying at home and cleaning is regarded as offensive.

About how homeless the number of homeless men is staggeringly higher for males than it is for females, yet in many countries with this problem there are far more women’s shelters than there are those devoted to men.

About how divorce courts favour women over men, allowing them to leave with far more of their former husband’s possessions than the other way around. Similarly how unemployment is grounds for the divorce with a man while it is not for a woman.

About how any research which feminists deem “offensive” causes those who research it to be blacklisted. Such as one scientist who showed produced a paper showing findings and statistics which showed that for women, the hormone transfer from semen provides a number of health benefits, including anti-depressants.

Or how about how any attempts by masculinists to counterbalance and correct where feminism has gone too far and men’s rights are suffering is scorned as being “chauvinistic” or childish?

All that and far more you simply ignore and choose to portray MRA’s as acting irrationally and out of fear of equality? I’m not sure whether to laugh or weep. 

Equality has not been achieved, that is something you got right, but it is not simply the female populations suffering. Some points you made were good, as I stated, but you seem blind to the idea that females might be dominating aspects to society and equality might come from them losing power as much as males.

Next time attempt to think about what you are talking about. Or better yet, why don’t you show some of that supposed interest in equality you kept mentioning and try to discuss the problems each gender is facing.”

And how did Ms. Ford respond to this thoughtful observation? By typing “TL;DR” (i.e. too long/didn’t read). Definitely not the sharpest knife in the drawer, and clearly not the least bit interested in considering alternative perspectives.

Here is an interesting comment contributed by a reader of an article entitled “Feminism protest shows why the movement is dying“:

“I think many feminists have unfortunately become as inflexible and unlistening as they say men are largely because of the media’s selective reporting. 

When reporting on gender issues and the male-female dynamic, as on all other issues, the media are supposed to objectively reflect all views. But over the past four decades they have reflected ideological feminists’ views almost exclusively.

The effect of this long-running lack of objectivity is, I think, to create in our collective mind an entrenched and immutable perception that no other view is possible and that gender issues and the male-female dynamic as portrayed by these feminists are not foolhardy concepts but widely accepted fact that is completely beyond dispute.

Thus, the ordinary woman — even the woman who may disdain feminists — can hardly be blamed for believing she is taken advantage of by men and must endure such oppressions as poorer treatment by male doctors and lower pay than the men at her company doing the exact same work.

Many if not most women are subjected to these oppression stories virtually very day of the year in the still-unobjective (liberal) media. The stories are convincingly told by intelligent, sophisticated members of such groups as the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), which says in the very first sentence of its position statement on equal pay:

“American women who work full-time, year-round are paid only 77 cents for every dollar paid to their male counterparts.”

If such educated, sophisticated groups as the NWLC — and the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, the subject of the following commentary — believe women are unfairly paid less, it must be true. Why would they lie?

(Source: The Doctrinaire Institute for Women’s Policy Research: A Comprehensive Look at Gender Equality)

This article informs us of an “alarming” (11.7%) increase in the number of women over 55 facing homelessness. It was based on a study by the University of Queensland’s Institute of Social Science Research. There is no mention that this demographic is a small percentage of homeless people generally, who are predominantly male. In fact there is no mention of men at all. Funny thing that.

Here is one reddit users response to this article:

“It is fairly annoying to constantly hear men make up the majority of x, therefore we need to help the female minority, but when the roles are reversed, the answer is still to aid women. Men are the problem when they comprise a majority that women want to be a part of, and men are ignored when they’re the minority or the majority of something women want no part of”

See this article for an example of how feminists don’t acknowledge gender when the story doesn’t fit their victim narrative (i.e. in this case six boys rather than six “students”). In this October 2014 BBC story note how no mention was made of the gender of the murdered students, guess they must have all been male (they were). This article addresses the same issue.

See the diagram in this Guardian article entitled ‘Drowning Lower and Middle Income Countries‘. It says “Worldwide 33% were female”. Hmm, I guess that means two-thirds of those who drowned were men.

“Read the tone and language in this article about a man who threatens his female partner with a knife, then read the tone of these two articles one about a female stabbing her male partner the other of a female murdering her partner by stabbing him. Great examples of the sexism and bias in the media”:

http://www.news-mail.com.au/news/woma…
http://www.news-mail.com.au/news/preg…

The following articles which all appeared in May 2016, exemplify the trend towards allowing ever stronger expressions of anti-male bias and loathing:

‘Oi luv, show us ya tits’: Are all men pigs? (19 May 2016)

Rise in men taking out domestic violence orders against mothers and partners at Southport Court (18 May 2016) Elsewhere in their web site/Twitter account this article is listed as “Men controlling women with DV orders” and “Rise in men taking out DVOs on GoldCoast has support workers worried

Congratulations creeps: You’ve scared women off the streets, by Wendy Tuohy (13 May 2016) Australia

Domestic violence will flourish because of government funding cuts, by Jenna Price (2 May 2016) with rebuttal by Jasmin Newman here.

It’s hard to believe that once decent papers like The Age and the Courier-Mail now deem this hateful and misleading rubbish as being somehow worthy of publication.

And in closing …

How to make a complaint to the Australian Press Council

See also these sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_bias

Not content with offering ‘guidelines‘ instructing the media how to cover domestic violence in line with feminist dogma, Our Watch is offering tangible incentives for those who comply (May 2022) … And here’s more feminist guidelines telling people the correct manner in which to write about violence against women (December 2022)

IPSO upholds accuracy complaint in domestic abuse report by mirror.co.uk (6 September 2022)

Media ‘loses reader trust’ by painting the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial as ‘misogynistic’ (3 June 2022)

Johnny Depp and The Tragedy Of Male Abuse Victims (28 May 2022)

Nadia Bokody: Grammy win proof men aren’t ‘ruined’ by sex abuse claims (9 April 2022)

Fatal workplace accidents in gender neutral language with a story about a woman who died (31 July 2021)

Latham’s law | The Demonisation of Men‘, another good article from Mark Latham (10 April 2021)

Domestic violence: Why does The Spectator relentlessly peddle feminist propaganda and lies about domestic violence, but not the truth? (30 March 2021) UK

Sarah Everard missing: Why a curfew for men isn’t a bad idea (12 March 2021)

The truth about those still defending Q&A (11 November 2019) Australa

In December 2018 Australia’s SBS ran a program called “Is Australia sexist?”. Oh dear, this video critique exposes the rampant feminist bias of the SBS production.

Advocacy journalism (31 July 2017) Video

BBC caught covering up false rape allegations once again (7 July 2017) UK

Pro-feminist web site ‘Vice’ blocks archiving of their pages (4 July 2017) Caught out too many times publishing false/misleading ‘information’, so prefer to hit and run (& hide the evidence)?

Sometimes anti-male bias takes the form of simply omitting any reference to men (often in relation to male victimisation). This article, concerning homelessness, is one such example.

Our feral media attacks Cassie Jaye, by Bettina Arndt (12 June 2017)

12 Cognitive Biases Explained – How to Think Better and More Logically Removing Bias (30 December 2016)

BBC forced to retract its smears of Philip Davies MP but leaves misleading headline in place (16 December 2016) UK

Naming the ‘invisible perpetrator’: a big step forward for media coverage of violence against women (9 June 2016) Australia. I can’t believe that this illogical & biased article was written by a “Professor of Journalism”. No, wait, I can.

Child sexual abuse is always rape (12 May 2016) USA

Family Court ruling: violent father given sole custody of child (17 April 2016) Australia. Turning a child against a parent not seen as child abuse by feminist journo, plus the “violent father” may have been subjected to false allegation/s

Is Dr Phil Afraid of Janet Bloomfield? (22 January 2016) Paul Elam on video

When Gender Hatred Is ‘Funny’, by Mark Dent (20 January 2016) Australia

Analysis: NPR Talks About Women’s Issues Five Times More Than Men’s (18 December 2015)

BBC libels Mike Buchanan as “anti-women” and supports criminal attacks by campus cry bullies (6 December 2015)

These six tragic revelations from Carly Simon’s memoir will make you ashamed to be a man (if you are a man) (20 November 2015) USA. Once upon a time some men did some bad things to Carly Simon. Now, decades later, all men should be ashamed (WTF?) See readers comments

BBC continues to single out the number of female deaths when reporting tragedies (17 November 2015) Reddit men’s rights discussion thread

BBC3’s anti-male coverage shows that men’s issues are still not taken seriously (12 November 2015)

BBC has never reported a single suicide caused by false rape allegations (9 October 2015) UK

Men stab, rape and kill women because they can. It’s time to say they can’t (25 September 2015) Australia

Everyday sexism at the Australian State Broadcaster: When airmen die in training and combat they are labelled “crew” and “people”. When two thirds of the workforce making the aeroplanes are men, the article notes that “one third were women” (19 September 2015) Reddit mensrights discussion thread

Why are we denying that women used Ashley Madison? (25 August 2015)

It’s a matter of dignity (31 July 2015) Where in this article does it mention that 86% of the homeless people in London are men? Umm, nowhere.

Suicide on Campus and the Pressure of Perfection (27 July 2015) Profiles only female suicides, conveniently overlooking the fact that most suicides are male.

The spread of mainstream media bias against men’s rights activists (25 May 2015)

Canadian Association for Equality video on media bias (2 May 2015)

According to their male defenders, female interviewers can’t handle Rand Paul (9 April 2015)

MRA spokesman Mike Buchanan dumped from International Business Times (31 March 2015)

I just read the first couple paragraphs of the NYTimes piece on the Ellen Pao Verdict. I don’t think I was entirely sold on media gender bias until right this minute. (28 March 2015) Reddit mensrights discussion thread

BBC gender bias and censorship (28 November 2014) Reddit mensrights discussion thread

Here are further articles  dealing with bias by the BBC in England – article#1article#2 and article#3

This article talks about the situation in Germany, and this article talks about what is happening in New Zealand.

A Currently Bigoted Affair (24 July 2014) An expose of some of the anti-male bias of Australian media

And here are some articles about daytime TV’s (pro-feminist) font of psycho-wisdom, Dr Phil in the USA:

http://www.avoiceformen.com/misandry/dr-phil-can-suck-it/

http://www.mgtowforums.com/forums/mgtow-general-discussion/2227-dr-phil-fascinated-american-men-date-marry-foreigners.html

The freeze-out of MRM perspectives in the media (Reddit discussion thread, 30 August 2014)

Sexism, only this time about men (8  August 2014)

How many men are paedophiles? (29 July 2014) Coz everyone knows there’s no female paedophiles right? Now they couldn’t have written an article called “How many people are paedophiles?” could they? ah, because … misandry

When journalists commit domestic violence (23 September 2014)

‘It’s not a contradiction for men to discriminate against other men’ (14 July 2014)

The differing portrayal of mentally ill men versus mentally ill women (11 July 2014)

Blogged down in polarities (7 July 2014) This article isn’t about pro-feminist bias, it is about a broader issue of media behaviour that see views deliberately (and irresponsibly) polarised to attract reader interest and involvement. This is sometimes known as “click-bait journalism”.

Inherent double standards (A reddit discussion thread)

Why would anyone in a position of power ever stop pandering to women? – A reddit discussion thread (24 June 2014)

Add these to the misandry Hall of Fame (19 June 2014)

http://mensrightssydney.com/2014/06/10/making-abc-accountable/ (about ‘journalists’ using fudged statistics to support the feminist stance on domestic violence)

http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/so-who-skews-news-bias-australian-media-revealed/1875830/

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/pop-psych/201404/gender-gaps-vs-gender-facts

A Comprehensive Look at Gender Equality: Taking On The Institute For Women’s Policy Research (16 February 2012) USA. Updated November 2016

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