Tag: domestic violence

White Ribbon Day – Parliament House Library says dissenting voices “deemed not to be relevant”

I happened to be browsing the parliament house website one day and came across an article entitled
“International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (White Ribbon Day)—25 November 2014“. Below the article was the statement:

“We welcome your comments, or additional information which is relevant to a post. These can be added by clicking on the ‘Add your comment’ option above. Please note that the Parliamentary Library will moderate comments, and reserves the right not to publish comments that are inconsistent with the objectives of FlagPost. This includes spam, profanity and personal abuse, as well as comments that are factually incorrect or politically partisan.”

I considered it to be a rather biased and obviously pro-feminist attempt at addressing the issue of WRD and domestic violence. I subsequently submitted a comment that pointed out the one-sided nature of the information presented, noting that many had concerns about the approach adopted by the White Ribbon movement, and mentioning some of the issues noted elsewhere in this blog.

Anyway my comment never emerged from moderation and so I wrote to the head of the Parliament House Library, Dr Dianne Heriot, on 1 December 2014:

“Dear Dr Heriot
I’m sorry to trouble you with this matter but I could not find an email address related to the Flagpost section of your web site. Would you mind please passing it on to the relevant member of staff?

Some days ago I posted a response to an article in Flagpost (URL below), and received an auto message that it would be reviewed by a moderator. My comment, which was quite inoffensive, never appeared and I am wondering what happened. As other items in Flagpost all seem to be lacking any comments, perhaps any such comments have been lost in the system (?) Pls advise.”

Joanne James, Director Client Relations, responded the same day, stating:

“Dr Heriot has asked me to respond to your enquiry. Your comment was received on Friday afternoon, and was forwarded on this morning to the author of the post for consideration (we do not work on the weekends). We do not receive a lot of comments on our blog, but we do receive quite a bit of spam directed as comments – these tend to take a bit of time to sift through.

Janet will consider your thoughts as soon as possible, but as it is a sitting week, she may be caught up with other requests from the parliament.”

I thanked Joanne and waited patiently until 16 December 2014, when I wrote to her again:

“Hi Joanne. Just touching base again about the reader comment I contributed. 

The comment has yet to be uploaded, nor have I heard from Janet. Given that my comment does not appear to breach your posting guidelines, it would be appreciated if you would kindly pass on a gentle reminder. You mentioned that not many people contribute comments to the blog – this might be one reason.”

Thus finally on the 17th December 2014 I received the following news:

“I have spoken to the author and their Director. They advise that the comment wasn’t published as it was deemed not to be relevant to the post, which was specifically about the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (White Ribbon Day).

They also indicated that the Parliamentary Library paper referred to in the post, Domestic, family and sexual violence in Australia: an overview of the issues, updates several previous Parliamentary Library publications specifically on the levels of violence experienced by women in Australia. The paper acknowledges that men experience high levels of violence and refers readers to the ABS Personal Safety Survey for more detail on the nature of the violence experienced specifically by men in Australia.”

Harking back to the comment that I originally submitted (and of which I regrettably neglected to retain a copy), let’s just quickly run through the Library’s criteria to see if I crossed the line:

Spam – no, profanity – no, personal abuse – no, factually incorrect – I don’t believe so, politically partisan – no. That just leaves “the objectives of FlagPost“, so I wrote back to Joanne seeking details thereof.

Jonathan Curtis, head of the research branch in the Library, kindly wrote back to me on 19 December 2014 advising:

“The general objective that appears on the website is: “FlagPost is a blog on current issues of interest to members of the Australian Parliament”. More generally, it is to provide timely, brief, summary information to our clients (ie. MPs and Senators) and to alert them to recent research, publications and information.

However, as Joanne noted, your comment was not published because the Director considered that it was not directly relevant to main subject of the post.”

So in other words ‘we reserve the right to use hitherto unmentioned reasons to block reader feedback in relation to our articles, as and when it runs contrary to the personal views of the author’.

My subsequent response to Jonathan read as follows:

“Thank you for getting back to me with those further details.

So it would appear that I was correct in my assumption that my comment was blocked on the basis of criteria other than those stipulated in your web site.

The article provided background to White Ribbon Day, together with a degree of embellishment that presumably reflected the author’s own perspective on the matter. In my comment I sought to indicate that many people have significant reservations about the appropriateness or effectiveness of addressing domestic violence by focussing solely on violence against women – this being at the core of the White Ribbon movement. I also sought to indicate the existence of reasonable and fairly widely-held concerns regarding the accuracy of statements made by White Ribbon Campaign to support their position.

You note the primary function of the Library as being “to provide timely, brief, summary information to our clients (ie. MPs and Senators) and to alert them to recent research, publications and information.” I believe that it is vitally important that our elected representatives are kept abreast of alternative perspectives, rather than only being exposed to one particular position that happens to be most in vogue at the time.

I believe that blocking the voices of those who question or disagree with a particular position put forward by a member of the Library’s staff amounts to censorship of the basis of ideology, and that that is not an appropriate function of an Australian library. This same view is noted for example at http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/services/public_libraries/docs/accesstoinformation.pdf:

“A public library has a role as an unbiased source of information and ideas, including online content. It must accept responsibility for providing free access to materials and information presenting, as far as possible, all points of view on current and historical issues, including controversial issues.””

book_burningDeleting blog posts is so much cleaner and easier than burning books. It’s a win/win situation … for feminism and the environment.

Feminist advocacy group ‘Our Watch’ seeks shield from public scrutiny

The President The Chairperson: These drug cartels Men’s Rights Advocates represent a clear and present danger to the national financial security of the United States Domestic Violence Industry. (With apologies to the late, great Tom Clancy)

On 9 December 2014 I sent an email to the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission:

“I have made several attempts over as many days to access info about the charity called ‘Our Watch Limited‘. Each time I find that most fields on their page show as “Information Withheld”. I have not seen this message on the pages of other charities. Can you please advise why such is information has been withheld? I am also awaiting the lodgement of the first annual return for this organisation – I understand that this should occur sometime this month. I look forward to receiving your advise on this matter – thank you” On 11 December 2014

I received the following reply: “Firstly, I can confirm that the Our Watch Limited is a registered charity. This can be confirmed on the ABR here. In relation to the withheld information, charities do have the right to apply to have charity information withheld from the Register if they have valid reasons for the ACNC not to publish some of the charity’s detail. Not all information can be withheld, only information that fits within certain criteria (such as information that the information is commercially sensitive and there is a risk that publishing it will cause harm).

When charities submit a withholding application it places a temporary blanket over the charity record on the ACNC Register so the public cannot access any details until their application is processed.  Therefore, you would not be able to access any details on the Register. Please see click here for further information on withholding.  

Furthermore, the 2014 Annual Information Statement (AIS) is the second reporting requirement for all registered charities. The due date for the Annual Information statement is within six months of the end of your reporting period. However, the Commissioner advised yesterday that the due date has been extended for charities that use a 1 July – 30 June reporting period to 31 January 2015.”

Well now isn’t that curious, because none of their information was shielded until about two weeks ago. So it seems the shutters went up sometime after I uploaded my post on ‘Our Watch‘, in which I indicated interest in undertaking due diligence on their financials. And around the same time that another feminist domestic violence advocacy group, White Ribbon Australia, attracted harsh criticism in relation to their spending priorities and unusual financial practices. Oops, that share trading can be risky business. Surely just coincidence.

OK well, under what circumstances might a charity seek approval to shield their details?

The ACNC web site includes the following information:

“You must apply to have charity information withheld. Other than for private ancillary funds, there are only some circumstances when we may withhold your charity’s information from the Register. The ACNC Commissioner has discretion to withhold or remove information from the Register if the information:

  • is commercially sensitive and it could cause harm
  • is inaccurate, confusing or misleading
  • is offensive
  • could endanger public safety, or
  • is covered by ACNC regulations.

The ACNC may also decide not to publish details of any warnings we have issued to a charity if:

  • the information could cause harm
  • the charity was not behaving in bad faith, and
  • withholding the information does not conflict with our objects under the ACNC Act.”

I wrote back to ACNC seeking further clarification, and to their credit they promptly responded in the following manner: “Unfortunately we are unable to advise what the basis of the request however I can explain the process. There is no service standard for these applications, as we do have a number these requests that are waiting to be processed. If a charity would like to have information withheld from the ACNC Register the process is as follows:

  1. The charity makes an application to have the information withheld. They do this on the Portal, in writing, or on an ACNC form.
  2. The request is received and we apply a blanket withhold rule on that charity’s record. This is to ensure we don’t publish any sensitive data (such as the address of a women’s shelter) while the decision is being made. Please note this is often an automatic step undertaken via the charity Portal.
  3. The request is reviewed by a Registration Analyst, who decides whether the request meets the requirements set out in the Australian Charities and Not‑for‑profits Commission Regulation 2013.
  4. Once the decision has been made we remove the blanket withhold, and only details that were approved for withholding are withheld from the Register. For example, the charity would appear in a search along with their financial details, but the street address may not.

The ACNC Act sets out the rules around withholding information at Subdivision 40–10, which can be found here. The policy on withholding is also available here. If you have concerns in relation this charity, you can raise a concern about any registered charity to us for further investigation if it is something that is within our jurisdiction. There is further information that can be found here about the issues that ACNC may be able to look at.”

Thus at this point in time, one can only speculate on why ‘Our Watch‘ sought to have their details suppressed and/or what reasons they might have advanced to support their application. Perhaps this will become clear in the fullness of time.

Running my eyes over the possible criteria earlier provided by ACNC however, my eyes kept returning to the word “harm”. Could it be that ‘Our Watch‘ engaged in that peculiar feminist practice known as damseling, breathlessly asserting the potential danger/s posed by unknown people unknown men crude disaffected men of vile character and who are intent on mischief*?

I would like to be able to state that, sooner or later, all pertinent details of ‘Our Watch‘ will be subject to scrutiny and any anomalies exposed. ‘Our Watch‘, as with any other similar group receiving substantial amounts of public funding, should operate transparently and be properly accountable to the Australian community. Unfortunately I cannot do so, however, as moves are well underway to abolish the ACNC by way of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (Repeal) (No. 1) Bill 2014 (and related debate).

The three key dates to watch now are the revised deadline for ‘Our Watch’ to submit its annual report (31 January 2015), the lifting of the shield on Our Watch‘s details in the ACNC website, and the ceasing of operations by ACNC.  

(*the feminist view of mens rights activists)

Update 10 January 2015: According to the ACNC website, on 8 January 2015 ‘Our Watch’ lodged their annual return and financial details to the end of June 2014.

These sources show a total annual revenue of $4,845,880 mainly comprising government grants totalling a whopping $4,675,550, with only a paltry $6k sourced from donations. Almost all of their expenditure was attributed to staff-related costs ($807,579), “transactions with key management personnel” ($354,021), and professional fees ($960,196).

Under “Transactions with key management personnel” it states “Key management personnel of the entity and the Board of Directors and senior management. Key Management Personnel remuneration comprises the following expenses ($354,021).”

The annual return lists only nine full time employees and two part time employees. Given that compensation for “senior management” is wholly or partly excluded from “staff-related costs”, suggests that average annual salaries for other staff are well in excess of $80,000 per person per annum.

The only information still being withheld is the office address and details of ‘Responsible Persons’.

 

My submission to the Premier’s Special Taskforce on Domestic and Family Violence in Queensland

A submission to the Premier’s Special Taskforce on Domestic and Family Violence in Queensland

Introduction

Thank you for according me the opportunity to contribute my ideas in relation to this pressing social concern. My submission touches on all six elements of the Task Force’s Terms of Reference, but with perhaps a slightly stronger emphasis on:

  • Educating and engaging Queenslanders to create a community that supports respectful relationships, practices positive attitudes and behaviours and promotes a culture of nonviolence
  • Defining the scope of violence, assault and abuse to be addressed in a domestic and family violence strategy and whether it would be appropriate for such a strategy to focus on particular or defined sections of the community in order to have the most impact.

The true nature of domestic violence

Domestic violence (DV) comprises man-on-man, woman-on-woman, man-on-women, and woman-on-man violence. There is also a very substantial incidence of bi-directional violence, whereby both partners perpetrate violent and/or abusive acts against one another.

IPV-TruthwgrayThe US organization ‘Stop Abusive and Violent Environments’ (SAVE) examined DV research results from around the world and noted that “These studies show that rates of female perpetration are very similar to male perpetration rates.

The authors concluded that the results of this review suggest that partner abuse can no longer be conceived as merely a gender problem, but also (and perhaps primarily) as a human and relational problem, and should be framed as such by everyone involved.

These conclusions mirror findings in the United States, where research shows men and women initiate most forms of abuse at equal rates, for similar reasons, and rarely in self-defense.” [1]

I applaud the fact that the Task Force’s Terms of Reference do not demonstrate the gender bias that is otherwise widespread within the debate regarding domestic violence, and amongst many of the staff of relevant agencies and advocacy groups. Such bias promotes a view of ‘domestic violence’ that is overly simplistic and which misrepresents DV as ‘men’s violence towards women’.

This focus on violent men and their female victims is more indicative of the pervasive influence of feminist ideology within the DV sector, rather than being an accurate reflection of patterns of DV perpetration.[2] Further, this systemic gender bias against men constitutes a significant barrier to effectively addressing domestic violence and better supporting the welfare of all victims of DV.

It is my firm belief that a solution to the problem of domestic violence will continue to elude us as long as agencies continue to only acknowledge and address one piece of the puzzle.

Others who have advanced a similar perspective have been accused of seeking to ameliorate the behavior of male perpetrators and/or to downplay the suffering experienced by female victims. I wish to assure members of the task Force that this is most certainly not my intention.

How has the misleading view of domestic violence as being synonymous with male violence towards women become so worryingly widespread?

DV advocacy groups, social commentators, and even senior members of the public service, have repeatedly stated that “the overwhelming majority of domestic violence in Australia is perpetrated by men against women”.[3] This is quite simply untrue. Numerous respected and non-ideologically biased researchers have found that between one and two-thirds of the victims of domestic violence are male.[4] The variation in findings was dependent upon variables that included the country surveyed, sampling techniques and the definition of ‘domestic violence’ employed. Other research has also highlighted the fact that large numbers of men commit suicide as a result of either being subjected to domestic violence, or after having been falsely accused of perpetrating domestic violence.[5]

Indeed I can assure members of the Task Force that much of the data about patterns of domestic violence that appears in the media, and in the web sites of DV agencies, is woefully misleading. This is unfortunate as suitable data, albeit sometimes imperfect or incomplete in some regards, is available for those who genuinely seek it. From this one might conclude that misleading statistics are at times being deliberately advanced in order to support a particular ideological perspective that, as previously noted, is held by many working in the field of DV. And in fact there is clear evidence that this occurs relatively frequently and with complete impunity.[6]

One red flag for astute observers is the absence of comparative statistics for male victimisation within much of the literature about domestic violence. In some cases this is because men were not surveyed, or failed to ask the appropriate questions regarding female perpetration and male victims. In other cases the relevant comparisons were available but were not reported, presumably as doing so might undermine a predetermined narrative and/or preferred conclusion.

The view that is put forward by most within the DV sector is that their preoccupation with male violence is justified because the number of female perpetrators is minimal – that female abusers are virtually an insignificant aberration.

When provided with irrefutable statistics showing near gender symmetry in rates of perpetration, the fall-back position is typically that a focus on male offenders remains valid because females only perpetrate violence in self-defence, that the physical violence they perpetrate is less severe, and/or that the impact of DV is greater for women than men.

The first statement is demonstrably false[7] and the subsequent statements demand careful qualification to be of any value in framing an appropriate policy response.

Focusing wholly on male perpetration of violence masks the extent of female perpetration of domestic violence, as well as a trend of increasing violence by women and girls generally

The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) prepared a submission to the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault. RAINN is the USA’s largest anti-sexual violence organization. In that submission they wrote:

“… an inclination to focus on particular segments of the student population (e.g.,athletes), particular aspects of campus culture (e.g., the Greek system), or traits that are common in many millions of law-abiding Americans (e.g., “masculinity”), rather than on the subpopulation at fault: those who choose to commit rape. This trend has the paradoxical effect of making it harder to stop sexual violence, since it removes the focus from the individual at fault, and seemingly mitigates personal responsibility for his or her own actions.”[8]

Now if we change ‘sexual violence’ to ‘domestic violence’ you might see where I am heading with this. As stated earlier, many within the DV sector are loudly asserting that ‘domestic violence is men’s violence towards women’, and devoting their resources to educating/shaming men as a collective group. But by doing so they are inadvertently sending a message to violent women that ‘whatever you are doing must be something other than domestic violence’, and ‘given the violent nature of men your actions might well be justified’.

It also follows that violent women would be less concerned about being prosecuted in the knowledge that they will probably be believed more readily than their male partner should the authorities become involved.

The claim that women are rarely responsible for domestic violence becomes all the more implausible when one considers recent trends showing substantial increases in violent crime by women and girls.[9] Such increases also exceed the trend in similar crimes by males.

What other problems are created by failing to acknowledge violent women and male victims of DV?

The ‘DV=Mens violence towards women’ focus is reflected in language and in statements that paint a picture of all men as abusers or potential abusers. Web site content, even to promote help-lines, is written in such a way as to pre-judge visitors based on their gender. I will provide a link to one such site in a footnote, but the agency in question is by no means unusual in this regard.[10] The material posted online in most Australian federal, state, and NGO web sites dealing with DV is assiduously judgmental and anti-male in its nature.

Take for example the document the ‘National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children’ which sets the scene for addressing domestic violence at both federal and state level. That document, as do many others like it, waves away the welfare of battered men within the first few paragraphs. The Plan states “While a small proportion of men are victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, the majority of people who experience this kind of violence are women in a home, at the hands of men they know.  Men are more likely to be the victims of violence from strangers and in public, so different strategies are required to address these different types of violence.”

As a consequence of both the message being communicated by DV agencies, and broader social forces at work (i.e. anti-male bias and sex-role stereotyping), many male victims are discouraged from coming forward to report crimes and/or seek assistance. By the same token it is also entirely likely that the overt profiling undertaken by DV agencies results in fewer women coming forward to seek help for their own aggressive tendencies.

Under-reporting by male victims then has a flow-on effect of reinforcing the misconception that there are few female aggressors, that facilities for male victims are unnecessary, that survey question on male victims/female aggressors are redundant, etc.

There are many reports of male victims who do come forward being treated with suspicion, if not downright hostility. They claim to not have been believed, and that they were considered as abusers who were denial. Even when they are treated sympathetically, the next problem they encounter is that there are either nil or minimal services (e.g. beds in shelters) or assistance available to men, and particularly men accompanied by children.

When this mantra of ‘DV=men’s violence towards women’ is disseminated through the community via the media it encourages the view that men are inherently violent, and that should you see a man involved in a violent incident with a woman then the man is immediately assumed to be the instigator and perpetrator of violence.

This is clearly demonstrated in the videos available at http://www.fighting4fair.com/promulgating-inequality/differing-public-response-to-partner-violence-depending-on-gender-of-victim/

Be assured that men suffer deeply from the affects of domestic violence. Another largely unreported outcome of the current situation is a very high rate of male suicide linked to involvement in domestic violence – which is often exacerbated by subsequent isolation from children.[11]

A man’s separation from children can and does occur regardless of whether the father is the perpetrator, the alleged perpetrator, and/or the victim of domestic violence (as for e.g. in the case where no emergency accommodation is available for fathers with children).

Queenslanders deserve good governance, transparency and accountability with regards to public funds directed towards the fight against domestic violence

It is a sad fact that when society places a particular group of people on a pedestal then the result is often a scandal, as normal common-sense oversight is relaxed, criticism quashed, people abused or taken advantage of, and public funds misspent or otherwise wasted. Unfortunately I believe that we are now beginning to see this happening within organizations driven by feminist ideology, and particularly in the field of domestic violence.

Millions of dollars of taxpayer funds and donations are already being poured into the fight against domestic violence, and this is rapidly increasing. A large proportion of this money is subsequently finding its way to feminist advocacy groups like ‘Our Watch’ and ‘White Ribbon Australia’.

We want to think that throwing money at a problem will make it go away, and that high-profile and politically-savvy advocacy groups should be well-positioned to use funds to good effect. There is a time to make decisions with the head and not the heart (or with an eye on short-term PR value), and the fight against domestic violence is such an example. The Government should consider whether more might be achieved by greater funding of government agencies providing direct assistance to those in need, rather than for example directing funds to a non-government organization who may direct funds towards salaries, rent, conferences and securing the services of marketing/PR firms.[12]

This topic was recently addressed by well-known Canadian activist Karen Straughan:

“Violence against women in any form has been a HUGE cash cow for feminism. The more they inflate their claims regarding its pervasiveness in society, the more money pours in, and the more power they have to tinker with legislation and policy. Because it is such an emotionally charged subject, any rational scepticism of these claims (as to whether they are true in the first place, or whether feminists are accurate in their estimates of pervasiveness), is easily deflected by attacking the sceptic.”

“You can demonstrate until the cows come home just how much certain feminists are profiting from generating an inflated fear of violence against women among the public (the average [almost always feminist] director of a battered women’s shelter here in Alberta rakes in over $100k/year, and in the US, that number can be significantly higher), and people won’t care, because ending violence against women is THAT important. They won’t see the people who claim to be working to end it as the exploitative con-artists or ideologically driven religious inquisitors that they are.

If you point out that a very lucrative industry has formed around these issues, and that like any organic entity, this industry will work to sustain and grow itself rather than the other way around, you get called a conspiracy theorist. Even though none of these claims require a conspiracy to be valid–all they require is human nature.” [13] 

An appropriate focus for education and for remedial action

I believe that there is a role for educational messages but that these should be gender-neutral. The community should be truthfully informed that there are both male and female perpetrators, that there are male and female victims, and that in many cases both partners engage in violence and abuse. The community should be told that any/all violence or abuse in the home is inappropriate and harmful for everyone involved, and particularly for those children who witness that abuse.

I believe that there is no legitimate objective basis for addressing in isolation, let alone focusing resources on, any one particular group of victims or abusers. In particular I object to the current gender-based approaches to addressing domestic violence. I say deal with the whole problem. Fix the whole problem.

I believe that agencies or organizations active in the DV field should provide services, counseling and support to both male and female perpetrators and male and female victims. I believe that government funds should be allocated where they will be most effective, and that this may mean that most funds are directed towards government agencies who provide practical assistance, rather than to advocacy groups paying PR/marketing firms to develop and implement costly ‘shame and blame’  campaigns of dubious value.

My recommendations to the Task Force

  1. First and foremost, I would implore members of the Task Force to consider this submission, and the linked references it provides, with an open mind and in an objective manner.

Please be open to the possibility that the limited success achieved to date in addressing DV may be due in part to shortcomings in both the philosophical approach that is driving current efforts, and the fixed attitudes and preconceived notions of many of those tasked with addressing the issue.

Indeed I am very much aware of the ‘elephant in the room’ that is feminist doctrine, and of the combative ‘us and them’ approach often adopted by adherents to that movement. But as is usually the case, we can and must find a middle path that will lead us to a fair and workable solution to the scourge of domestic violence.

2. Please evaluate and modify all documents and web content produced by relevant agencies in order to identify and remove any bias that might be present in relation to gender or sexual orientation. None of this material should pre-judge who is or might be the perpetrator or the victim in the relationship, or their motivation for coming forward to seek help.

3. Ensure that possible bias in relation to gender or sexual orientation is removed from survey instruments and that research methodology is carefully vetted in order to ensure accurate, unbiased and truly representative findings.

4. Evaluate and adjust the composition of relevant sections within agencies, committees, and panels dealing with DV issues so that, as far as practicable, they are representative of the broader community, particularly in relation to gender and sexual orientation.

At the moment it is my impression that many such groups are currently overwhelmingly comprised of people in a very narrow demographic , typically tertiary-educated women aged 25-45 who identify as feminists. It is highly probable that this is introducing a degree of bias which could limit the scope of approaches being considered or undertaken to address the problem of DV.

5. Do everything possible to ensure good governance and the cost-effective use of public monies. Grants should stipulate the need for key performance indicators, gender neutrality and natural justice, together with requirements for performance reviews and auditing. It is also important that any budget committee, steering committees or similar should contain representatives who are completely independent, in a financial sense, from any of the matters being considered. It would be naïve to assume, given the huge amounts of money directed towards domestic violence at the state and federal level, that there was no potential for financial considerations or self-interest to influence decisions regarding expenditure priorities.

6. Evaluate and adjust the allocation of funding and resources so that it is in accordance with the reality of the domestic violence problem in its entirety. In the first instance this would almost certainly necessitate additional resources being directed towards male victims of domestic violence and counseling for female perpetrators of violence.

7. Although it may be beyond the scope of the Committee’s consideration the manner in which the welfare of men has been largely ignored in the case of DV is indicative of the lack of any real advocacy for the interests of men and boys within the spheres of both federal and state government.

This contrasts strongly with the situation for women where there are generously-funded agencies, or at least sections within agencies, to address and advance the interests of women and girls. This may not be the time or place to consider this issue, but if we as a community sincerely aspire to gender equality, then this it is a disparity which should not continue to go unquestioned.

[1] http://www.saveservices.org/dvlp/policy-briefings/partner-abuse-worldwide/

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–Pk25vBeHg (Donald Dutton video)

[3] http://www.fighting4fair.com/misrepresenting-reality/this-is-what-a-lie-looks-like-domestic-violence/

[4] http://www.fighting4fair.com/misrepresenting-reality/domestic-violence-one-sided-media-coverage-and-bogus-statistics/

[5] http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.5042/jacpr.2010.0141

[6] http://www.fighting4fair.com/misrepresenting-reality/fudging-the-figures-to-support-the-feminist-narrative-domestic-violence/

[7] See for example http://www.mediaradar.org/docs/Dutton_GenderParadigmInDV-Pt1.pdf, See  p687

[8] https://rainn.org/images/03-2014/WH-Task-Force-RAINN-Recommendations.pdf

[9] http://www.fighting4fair.com/women-behaving-badly/on-the-recent-increase-in-violent-crime-carried-out-by-women-and-girls/

[10] http://www.fighting4fair.com/misrepresenting-reality/addressing-anti-male-bias-by-an-australian-state-government-department/

[11] http://mediaradar.org/docs/Davis-DomesticViolenceRelatedDeaths.pdf See Conclusion

[12] White Ribbon Australia is simply provided here as an example of a NGO active in the DV field, and for which financial records are publicly available http://www.whiteribbon.org.au/publications/previous-annual-reports and http://www.acnc.gov.au/RN52B75Q?ID=D19DFBA4-B116-4C8A-B1CF-9509317B0877&noleft=1

[13] http://owningyourshit.blogspot.com.au/2014/11/false-allegations-are-rare.html

Postscript:

The report of the Taskforce was released on 28 February 2015, and I have prepared a response to it that can be read here.

Initial media coverage included:

QLD domestic violence report unveiled (28 February 2015)

Call for specialist courts to deal with ‘scourge’ of domestic violence (28 February 2015)

Domestic violence rising in Queensland according to new report (1 March 2015)

In August 2015 the Queensland Government announced that it would implement all 140 recommendations of the Bryce report

In September 2015 the Queensland Government announced that Quentin Bryce would head a Task Force in relation to domestic violence

Domestic and Family Violence Implementation Council

White Ribbon Campaign to men: Stand up! Speak up! Shut up!

I wanted to draw your attention to a disturbing development involving the Australian arm of the White Ribbon Campaign (‘WRC’). Before proceeding, I should clarify that this particular organisation is separate and fundamentally different from the White Ribbon Campaign led by Ms. Erin Pizzey. The distinction between the two groups is discussed in this other post.

In summary, Erin’s organisation recognises and advocates for victims of both genders. It believes that the root cause of domestic violence lies in generational family violence, and that the patriarchy is an ideological concept devoid of value or meaning within the context of the debate regarding domestic violence.

As is the practice with many feminist organisations, WRC suppresses useful and potentially constructive debate and actively censors dissenting views. A very clear example of this occurred in February 2015 involving one of WRC’s ‘ambassadors’, a fellow by the name of Tanveer Ahmed.

The role of ambassadors within the Australian arm of the White Ribbon Campaign is described as follows:

“White Ribbon Ambassadors are men who recognise the importance of men taking responsibility and playing a leadership role in preventing men’s violence against women.

White Ribbon Ambassadors are formal representatives of White Ribbon Australia who have the knowledge, skills, attributes and determination to influence Australian men to critically evaluate their attitudes and behaviours toward women.” (Source)

Tanveer did just that. He showed leadership by writing an article about domestic violence that presented a perspective that included an acknowledgment of female perpetrators of violence, as well as a discussion of certain factors underpinning violent behaviour by both men and women.

For feminists this was like a red rag to a bull. They incorrectly interpreted “factors underpinning perpetration” as meaning “excuses for men to commit violence against women”. And as for his claims that significant numbers of women are also committing violence, well, every feminist knows that’s not true.

I should also point out that the sorts of ideas Tanveer shared in his article have been proposed by others and are hardly new or revolutionary. This fact sheet from SAVE, for example, also identifies various factors as being potential precursors of partner violence (refer Fact #5).

Here are some of the key items that have appeared in the media thus far:

‘Men forgotten in violence debate‘ by Tanveer Ahmed (9 February 2015)

Feminism in crisis as male supporter expresses view of his own (9 February 2015)

White Ribbon Ambassador Tanveer Ahmed’s dangerous message on domestic violence by Clementine Ford (10 February 2015)

White Ribbon Ambassador Tanveer Ahmed recommitting rather than resigning (11 February 2015)

Look at how the feminists turned on Tanveer by perusing his Twitter stream around 9/10/11 February 2015. See the brickbats hurled at him by high-profile feminists like Jane Caro and Elizabeth Broderick, as well as countless faceless SJW, their mouths frothing with spittle. It’s ironic how online bullying morphs from patriarchal scourge to sacred duty when someone dares to question the holy grail of feminism.

In a lengthy statement issued by WRC on 10 February 2015 it was noted that “Dr. Ahmed has agreed to participate in the Ambassador recommitment process”. (Source) Shades of totalitarianism … quite chilling really.

Yet despite the issuing of this statement an angry feminist horde continued to bay for Tanveer’s blood across the social media. See, for example, the WRC Facebook page (extract below) and Twitter stream. Perhaps somewhat surprising, most of the comments in the Facebook page were posted by women. Surprising only in that WRC is ostensibly an organisation for men. I guess the male supporters were well and truly cowed, just how their feminist masters wish them to be.

wrc1

Australian ‘White Knight’ politician Tim Watts, now teetering on the cusp of becoming a fully-fledged ‘Mangina’, stood up in federal parliament to demand that Dr Ahmed stand down from his role with WRC. A video of Tim’s speech is provided in his Facebook page (see 11 February), with further righteous fury evident in Tim’s Tweets.

The feminist’s message is crystal clear: “Men, we want you nice and visible up the front but don’t you dare say anything that isn’t 100% in accord with the feminist narrative or we will turn on you in a flash.”

The WRC is not an organisation that is interested in accurately describing the nature of domestic violence, in objectively teasing it apart into its component pieces, and in considering the widest possible range of solutions. This is an organisation that places a higher priority on maintaining the ‘integrity’ of the feminist narrative, and in pursuing both individual and collective self-interest.

Thus WRC portrays a picture of DV that conforms to their biased viewpoint, and that only acknowledges those causes and those solutions that fit neatly into the framework that they themselves have fashioned.

The thing is, we have already thrown many years and many million of dollars at that approach, only to have the self-same feminists come back to the public-funding trough claiming that the problem is getting worse and that we are now facing an “epidemic” of domestic violence. “Oh, but if only we had more funding we could keep the women and children safe“.

The ideologues at WRC and elsewhere in the femosphere now chanting ‘cast him out’ are nothing less than blinkered gender fascists. How any right-thinking adult could continue to support this group simply beggars belief.

The sacking of Tanveer from his role at The Australian newspaper and his removal from the role of ambassador with WRC demonstrate further escalation in the process of feminist retribution. The only question is whether the ad hominem attacks will continue in order to drive home the message to not only Tanveer, but others, to avoid criticism of all things feminist.

Rightly or wrongly I see some parallels with the case of recently-released Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste. I think I can state with confidence though, that any irony will be lost on SJW who pledged support for one, only to subsequently attack the other.

greste1

Tanveer’s next best step would be to accept a role as an ambassador for Erin Pizzey’s group, securing a far more inclusive outlet for his passion, as well as according him the opportunity to offer a one-fingered wave to his misguided former colleagues-in-arms.

Postscript 27 April 2015: Dr Ahmed to speak at USA DV symposium 5-7 June 2015

tahmed

See also:

Reddit mensrights discussion thread on this blog post (12 February 2015)

Say goodbye to the burly blue-collar face of unions: they’re now feminist (4 June 2015)

Lynched by the feminist mob-ette (14 March 2015)

White Ribbon Australia’s ethical dilemma (19 February 2015)

‘Disempowered’ men still lead on economic power (13 February 2015)

White Ribbon Australia ambassador challenges the sisterhood – is slated for re-education camp (15 February 2015)

Columnist Tanveer Ahmed sacked by the Australian over new plagiarism allegation (16 February 2015)

White Ribbon’s got some explaining to do (17 February 2015) As does the author of this article … so many obvious misrepresentations

Men’s rights activism, White Ribbon Campaign and Liberal Feminism (9 February 2015)

Elsewhere in this blog see:

Beware the ire of an angry feminist
So what exactly is the ‘Domestic Violence Industry’?

pplhaverights

White Ribbon Australia acknowledges male victims and invites communication (credibility trigger warning)

White Ribbon Day (25 November), and the days before and after it, saw quite a flurry of activity on the White Ribbon Australia Facebook page. I visited the page a number of times during this period to monitor discussion, occasionally contribute some comments, and generally check out what was going on.

I was interested to note the unexpectedly large number of posts from people drawing attention to the fact that many men were victims of domestic violence, that support services for male victims were inadequate or non-existent, and so on. I was also surprised to see a number of occasions where moderators sought to hose down dissent by uploading posts like this one:

“White Ribbon Australia believes that all forms of violence are unacceptable and acknowledges that domestic violence is experienced by both men and women. However, we also acknowledge that the majority of victims of domestic violence are women. We are aware that there are other organisations working to stop violence against men and we commend any work they do to stop violence. If you’re a male experiencing violence, please contact MensLine on 1300 78 99 78 . Similarly, the White Ribbon Campaign has a central focus; end violence against women.”

Another post, from a WRC ‘ambassador’, was similar but also earnestly invited communication with those who held views that differed from those espoused by WRC.

I was surprised because I haven’t noted comments like this in the WRC web site, or in their literature or submissions to inquiries, etc.

But alas, the positive spin ends there.

For at the same time that WRC were proffering soothing words, they were progressively removing posts from people who questioned their female-only focus or were in any way critical of their mission or their claims. They didn’t do this straight away however. I guess that would have amounted to too-obvious censorship. No they waited a half a day or a day before they quietly disappeared those troubling and clearly unacceptable posts. I’m guessing the rationale was to preserve the ideological purity of their message for the benefit of future generations. But they didn’t stop there. Oh, no. In my case, and I doubt I was alone in this regard, they banned me from making any future posts on their Facebook page.

When later I saw a particular comment posted, I simply had to respond and so I used an alternate Facebook account. The one comment to which I responded was “1 woman per week dies at the hand of her partner or ex in Aus – what a sad stat”. All I said in response was “and every ten days a man dies at the hand of his partner or ex – also a sad stat” and provided a link to a web page in which that stat was discussed. 

The next day I discovered that my final comment had also been removed AND my Facebook account was locked – presumably as a result of a complaint to Facebook HQ. Given that I had not used that account for some time or for any other purpose, I think it’s reasonably safe to assume that the complaint came from WRC.

See also:

Comment on the White Ribbon Campaign (13 July 2012) Old habits die hard it seems!

Other posts in this blog most relevant to this topic:

On the censorship of non-feminist perspectives and opinions

The White Ribbon Campaign that addresses part of the problem Vs. The White Ribbon Campaign that addresses all of the problem

 

 

 

But when a woman hits a man it’s different

Female aggression is now increasingly being portrayed and seen as acceptable, and almost a hallmark of an empowered woman. Look for example at some of the speeches made by female celebrities following the election of President Trump in the USA.

The feminist logic appears to be:

  • Women are oppressed
  • Men are oppressors
  • Violence against the oppressors is liberation (Source: ‘Sinisus’)

An example of this ‘it’s different when women do it’ argument can be found in this delusional post by a feminist.

In an earlier article entitled ‘Jennifer Garner: Why I Wanted My Girls to Take Karate‘ (20 November 2014), one of Jennifer’s goals for her daughters is for them “to be able to kick a guy’s ass“.

Ms Garner’s comments aren’t unusual – I have simply chosen hers as but one example of a long line of articles/comments that I have read expressing similar sentiments. This is the flip-side of a culture increasingly being moulded by feminist organisations like ‘White Ribbon Campaign’, whereby female aggression is downplayed or completely ignored whilst male-perpetrated violence is exaggerated.

In July 2014 Whoopi Goldberg started a feminist firestorm with her comments on a US talk show in which she said that women should not hit their partners, and that if they did they should not be surprised if the man hit them back. Feminists have misrepresented Whoopi’s position as being one of supporting men who hit women, but in fact she just said that she supported the position of the innocent party who was hit first (whether that be a man or woman). Her position was that neither party had the right to hit the other.

Inherent in this discussion is the view amongst many feminist women that because men are bigger/stronger [which is not always the case] that men never had the right to hit women, regardless of whether the woman struck the first blow. The video clip of Whoopi’s statement is here, and here are some discussion threads and articles: Vfm article by Paul Elam, VfM discussion thread, reddit #1.

David Webb also attracted criticism for daring to suggest that women shouldn’t hit their husbands and boyfriends. Feminist journalist Barbara Ellen thinks that women hitting men is ‘different’ and OK. Kelly Brook thinks hitting her boyfriends is OK, too. Finally the issue was nicely summed-up in this article, with which I wholeheartedly agree.

empowered

See also:

EastEnders fans open-mouthed as Shirley Carter punches Zack Hudson in the face in brutal scenes (21 June 2022) UK

Ten years in jail for ‘feisty’ mum who stabbed lover to death in Bromsgrove (22 October 2020) UK

Before you laugh, imagine it happened to a woman (4 October 2020) and a link to a related Reddit discussion thread

Real women don’t hit men (29 September 2020)

Twitter discussion thread regarding the excuse of ‘just a slap’, beginning with assertion by UK feminist organisation ‘Refuge’ that it is used to minimise violence against women (23 June 2020)

When women strike back, courts can’t always see their history of abuse (9 October 2019) Australia

This Boy Gets Suspended For Fighting Back Against The Girl Who Beat Him At School And People Are Furious (September 2019)

“I kick balls – deal with it”. Slogan used by ‘Sport England’ to promote women’s sport (April 2019) Scroll down to read about a similar 2017 Australian campaign

Layla Moran was wrong to attack her partner. But domestic violence by women is not the same as domestic violence by men (26 March 2019)

Women on the British TV show ‘Loose Women’ discuss the perceived double-standard regarding the portrayal of violence by men and by women (March 2019) Video

Old timey women stabbing handsy men (31 January 2019) Twitter thread started by Rebecca O’Neal

I did a social experiment, male versus female (16 November 2017) Reddit discussion thread

Slag (27 September 2017) Video

Beyond Atomic Blonde: cinema’s long, proud history of violent women (30 August 2017)

How can anyone excuse this abuse of a woman? (29 July 2017)

Bianca Lee Sams speaks out after being punched in face during road rage attack at Doyalson (26 July 2017)

“It doesn’t matter what the circumstances, you don’t punch women, ever”

Swiss feminist on state TV: “It’s okay for women to beat their husbands if they are being stupid (13 June 2017) Reddit discussion thread

Girl beats boy at school (1 June 2017) Article with linked video

Sickening moment bouncer punches woman in the face outside Liverpool bar (18 April 2017) UK. Woman attempting to hit bouncer = not sickening, but bouncer defends himself is.

Woman punches man at Trump rally. Man punches her back. Media reports it as him sucker punching her. Only explanation to describe it as a “sucker punch” is her believing that she wouldn’t get hit back. (18 April 2017)

1,500 acid attacks have been recorded in London since 2011 (13 March 2017) And 3/4 of the victims were men. Reddit discussion thread here.

The secret Facebook page where women brag about violence toward men (4 February 2017) with related Reddit discussion thread here.

Women kicking balls, I’d like to see that (22 January 2017) New TV ad promoting women’s sport. Imagine an ad ‘Men grabbing pussy, I’d like to see that’. Appropriate or humorous? Didn’t work for Don Trump and this one will reflect poorly on the AFL.

I have a short story that has seriously wrecked my mood for a week now, and I need to get it off my chest (14 January 2017) Reddit discussion thread

Man asks for legal advice after slapping his physically abusive girlfriend, comments section accuses him of beating his girlfriend (3 January 2017) Reddit discussion thread. USA

In fiction, girls painfully slap their boyfriends and it’s portrayed as comedic, righteous and deserved. But when a guy does something like grab her wrist that is not nearly as painful, it’s portrayed as dark and abusive (26 December 2016) Reddit men’s rights discussion thread

Joe Mixon videos released (16 December 2016) Video. USA. NB: Hit someone and there’s a good chance you’ll get hit back. Women included. Welcome to equality.

Nova100 radio & Chrissie Swan celebrates the severing of a man’s penis (26 November 2016)

Not so safe: Roz Ward attacks Trump supporter (21 November 2016)

Punch caught on video leaves New Jersey teen fighting for her life (5 November 2016) USA

Sassy misandry is good for business – but assault on men is never funny (1 November 2016)

Viral Video Of Violent Teen Fight Raises Concerns In Vallejo (18 October 2016) Discussed in thread entitled ‘Girl attacks boy. Boy defends himself. Boy is ridiculed on Social Media for putting hands on a girl’

Normalisation of female on male violence in media? (7 October 2016) Reddit mensrights discussion thread

Why ARE modern women so aggressive? It’s been called the dark side of equality – a surge in respectable women flying into violent rages for the most trivial reasons (15 September 2016) with related Reddit discussion thread here

“In 1957, men were responsible for 11 violent offences for every one perpetrated by a woman — today, that is four to one”

“Two in five victims of domestic violence in the UK are men. The number of women prosecuted for it rose from 1,575 in 2004/5 to 4,266 in 2008/9”

Methods for downplaying or side-stepping violence against men (19 August 2016)

‘I Had to Be the Voice of Women’: The First Female Hijacker Shares Her Story (4 August 2016)

This woman hit and hit until her partner eventually lost his temper and hit back (8 June 2016) Video

Fifty shades of Tarzan! ‘Feisty’ Margot Robbie punches Alexander Skarsgard during Legend of Tarzan sex scene (31 March 2016)

I hit my boyfriend first, then he hit me back a lot harder, worse, and more, should I forgive? (August 2015) See comments

When it comes to MMA star Ronda Rousey, is there a domestic violence double standard? (12 November 2015)

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

Japan’s ‘Black Widow’ Arrested Again After Poisoning Her Eighth Male Victim (11 September 2015) and related reddit discussion thread

Assaulted in bar last night (August 2015)

Maxim Magazine — A publication for men — joins in the celebration of the woman who allegedly lit her boyfriend’s penis on fire for cheating (19 August 2015)

Libyan symbol of freedom now facing years behind bars (1 August 2015) and related reddit discussion thread

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

New York City commuter fights manspreaders by sitting on them (7 June 2015)

Very important pussy (4 June 2015)

Preston boxer struck woman’s face (19 May 2015) and related reddit mensrights discussion thread

Footage shows Indian woman body-slamming man at train station (4 March 2015) Reading between the lines here, there is no reason to assume that this was not simply an unprovoked act of violence by the women … except feminism

Teen Reportedly Threw Acid on Her Boyfriend’s Penis (4 February 2015)

Don’t hit me, I’m a girl! (26 December 2011)

ISIS women recruits: What life is really like (30 January 2015)

Feminists Rely on “Men Shouldn’t Hit Women” To Get Away With Hitting Men – Compilation (25 January 2015)

Wife chops off cheating husband’s penis, twice (14 January 2015) Somehow I don’t think a story about a man cutting off his wife’s breast would be given the same whimsical treatment as per this article

The ‘Manslamming’ campaign is literally a campaign for slamming into men and then claiming they slammed into you (12 January 2015)

http://www.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/2pmn5w/over_in_raskwomen_femaleonmale_domestic_violence/ (December 2014)

When you’re a boy you can get beat up and it’s totally fine (3 December 2014)

#BBCtrending: Indian sisters beat up another man in new video (2 December 2014) Further developments on that incident here.

Why I won’t teach my boys not to hit girls (24 November 2014)

‘The View’ Co-Hosts On NYC Subway Brawl Video: ‘She Needed To Get Slapped Back’ (12 November 2014)

Women and violence: Society’s double standard (29 July 2014)

Have you ever beaten up a boyfriend? Cause, Uh, we have an article that appeared in Jezebel in August 2007, with commentary/rebuttal by MRA Janet Bloomfield (and here)

Woman goes crazy when man says hello (3 September 2013) Video

Researcher says women’s initiation of domestic violence predicts risk to women (17 November 2011)

‘Initiation of domestic violence increases risk of violence‘ (6 August 2009)

slap_happy

empowerment

mirror

why_do_womenanna_turleyImage

Other posts in this blog most closely related to this topic:

On violence carried out by women and girls

Differing public response to partner violence depending on gender of victim

How men are portrayed … Haw Haw Haw! The jokes on us

Regarding the notion of ‘Ironic Misandry’

‘Our Watch’: DV advocacy or shrill mouthpiece for gender feminism?

I hold significant reservations in relation to the operation of the staunchly feminist group ‘Our Watch‘, formerly known at the ‘Foundation to Prevent Violence against Women and their Children‘. The feeling appears to be mutual as, despite being a law-abiding Australian taxpayer, I have been blocked from both their Facebook page and Twitter stream since late 2014.

My concerns include, but are not limited to:

  • The cost-effectiveness of allocating public monies to ‘Our Watch‘ with regards to achieving a measurable reduction in the incidence of domestic violence and/or providing tangible assistance to all victims of domestic violence
  • The extent to which the activities of ‘Our Watch‘ are driven by a desire to maximise the acceptance and influence of feminist ideology rather than a desire to maximise the two outcomes listed above
  • The effect of ongoing misrepresentations made by ‘Our Watch‘ in relation to the allocation of resources towards research into female perpetration of violence, the level of support provided to male victims of domestic violence, and the availability of counselling/treatment options for violent women and couples

On the first point, I believe that it is appropriate that the government both participate, and support the participation of others, in combating domestic violence and in assisting its victims. But this should be done in a manner that is both impartial and cost-effective. There should also be complete transparency and accountability on the part of both those allocating and those receiving public monies.

In 2013/14 ‘Our Watch‘ received a whopping $4,675,550 in government funding whilst raising a paltry $6,083 in donations. These funds were sourced from the federal government ($1 million/year) and the governments of Victoria, South Australia and the Northern Territory. A financial report for ‘Our Watch’ can be sourced from the web site of the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (see the relevant ACNC registry entry here and a related blog post here).

As with the White Ribbon Campaign (another Australian feminist DV advocacy group),  ‘Our Watch‘ do not directly assist victims of domestic violence. Instead they rent office space, employ many feminists staff, and run various PR/’education’ campaigns. These campaigns are divisive and involve the dissemination of misinformation that demonises men whilst failing to deal with female perpetration of violence. I am dubious about the extent to which their campaigns reduce the incidence of domestic violence, and indeed this has yet to be demonstrated.

I note that former MP turned journalist Gary Johns was subjected to harsh criticism after querying the effectiveness of government funds being provided to advocacy groups like ‘Our Watch‘ in lieu of directly funding service provision by government agencies.

‘Our Watch‘ advocates for female victims of domestic violence, which in and of itself is a laudable goal. A problem arises however when ‘Our Watch’ justifies their focus by claiming that the overwhelming majority of domestic violence is perpetrated by men upon women, and then seeking to validate this assertion through the ongoing misrepresentation of information concerning patterns of DV perpetration (example).

I don’t think there is any doubt that statements by politically astute groups such as ‘Our Watch’ do have a significant influence on decisions by government in relation to policies, priorities and funding allocation related to the sphere of domestic violence. This has resulted in a situation whereby government agencies treat all men as potential (if not, actual) violent abusers, where there are almost no resources available to battered men (and their children), and violent women are essentially waved away until such time as they commit a serious felony.

Those who visit Our Watch‘s Facebook page and Twitter stream will note that surprisingly little of the communication emanating from that organisation is directly related to their purported area of primary concern – domestic violence.  What you will see instead is considerable self-promotion, and a preponderance of material that could only be described as feminist propaganda.

On a visit to their Facebook page on 26 October 2014 for example I noted the following:

Reader Kath Kerr: It is not fair and it is not right that privileged men who murder are consistently granted lenient sentences.

Our Watch: Too many young people in Australia have witnessed acts of physical domestic violence against a parent. (No mention that equal number of kids have seen their mum abuse their dad, as have seen their dad abuse their mum – Source)

Our Watch: It’s time to stop asking what about men (in relation to this article)

Our Watch: Congratulations to Liz Broderick, Sex Discrimination Commissioner and Our Watch Ambassador, for winning the 2014 Women of Influence award. (Celebrating the work of a highly-paid femocrat who has demonstrated absolutely zero interest in the welfare of men & boys)

And finally …

Our Watch: Strong language Warning: Oh my! Language, ladies. *clutches pearls*
This is F*cking brilliant and quite possibly the best thing on the internet. Ask yourself, What is more offensive? A little girl saying ‘f*ck’ or the f*cking unequal and sexist way society treats girls and women?” http://vimeo.com/109573972 

Avril Mesh, Ben Lakos, Domestic Violence Resource Service Mackay and 63 others like this.

If any readers of my blog have yet to witness this video, and wish to see just how far feminism has fallen, then click on the above link (Strong language warning)

Ok, enough! And so I proceeded to raise my concerns with the ministers of those agencies that see fit to hand millions of our tax dollars over to ‘Our Watch‘ … namely the federal Government, the Northern Territory Government, and the Governments of Victoria and South Australia.

“Dear Minister 

I write to you today to voice my strong objection to material posted in the facebook page of the group known as ‘Our Watch’ (refer attached ‘screensave’). I do so as I am aware that they receive a substantial amount of ongoing gov’t funding, and thus should be at least somewhat accountable to broader public standards.

The disgusting video that they have promoted and ‘liked’ on their facebook page (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqHYzYn3WZw&noredirect=1) is discussed in these articles: http://www.theblaze.com/contributions/feminism-has-nothing-to-say-but-it-still-wont-shut-up/ and http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2014/10/24/barbara-kay-feminist-video-turns-to-child-abuse-to-send-distorted-message/

I believe that their support for such an ‘initiative’ is reprehensible and they should be required to remove both this and other radical feminist material from their web site, twitter account and facebook page. I don’t know if you look at the material that they promote in their facebook page, but it is almost entirely either pure self promotion for key personnel or strongly pro-feminist ideological material that has only cursory relevance to the subject that is meant to be their focus – domestic violence.

Please would you act on this matter as it is clear that ‘Our Watch’ require much greater oversight if they are to continue to receive large amounts of taxpayer-funded support. Thank you for your anticipated prompt intervention concerning this matter.”

I subsequently received a response to my complaint from John Elferink, Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, with the Northern Territory Government:

“I write to you in response to your email dated 28 October 2014 in regards to a Facebook post ‘Potty-Mouthed Kids Drop F-Bombs for Feminism by FCKH8.com’ shared by the group ‘Our Watch’.

As you are aware the role of Our Watch is to drive long term cultural and attitudinal change from the ground up through community engagement and advocacy and working in close partnership with the Second Action Plan to the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children.

The Northern Territory Government is committed to reducing domestic violence. The financial contribution to Our Watch is just one of the ways that this Government is supporting initiatives which seek to drive attitudinal and cultural change.

Whilst the initiative that was placed on their Facebook page was divisive, this should not detract from the important work that Our Watch does in the primary prevention of violence sphere. I thank you for your vigilance in monitoring the material placed on the Our Watch social media pages and bringing it to my attention. I believe the offending post has since been removed and I have instructed the Domestic Violence Directorate to monitor the site content regularly.”

The Hon Kevin Andrews MP, Federal Member for Menzies and Minister for Social Services sent the following reply dated 3 December 2014:

“I appreciate you raising your concerns regarding the link to a video Our Watch posted on 21 October 2014. Our Watch was established as an independent company by the Commonwealth and Victorian governments in June 2013, as an initiative under the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022.

Our Watch will work to provide national leadership to prevent all forms of violence against women and their children. This will be done by changing attitudes, behaviours, social norms, and practices that create violence against women and children, including the promotion of gender equality. There is a growing body of evidence showing that people with a poor understanding of gender equality may also have attitudes and behaviours that support violence.

The long term outcome of Our Watch is to encourage public conversations in Australia to support gender equality and understand the links between gender inequality and violence against women. Content on the Our Watch Facebook page is chosen to engage people in the debate by raising awareness about the importance of gender equality, challenging stereotypes and preconceived myths regarding the role of women in our society.”

So there we have it … promoting a video of pre-teen girls swearing their heads off = providing “national leadership“, a further aspect of which involves Our Watch encouraging “public conversations” by removing dissenting Facebook posts and banning their authors from contributing further. Would the Minister be equally comfortable with a men’s rights group promoting a similar video “challenging stereotypes and preconceived myths regarding the role of (men) in our society.” Probably I guess, unless, of course that would involve facilitating just a little too much real gender equality.

The Hon Jay Weatherill MP, Premier of South Australia sent a very basic acknowledgement only, and the Hon Heidi Victoria,  Minister for the Arts, Minister for Women’s Affairs, Minister for Consumer Affairs,  has yet to provide me with a response. I will update this post should such a response be received.

See also:

Not content with offering ‘guidelines‘ instructing the media how to cover domestic violence in line with feminist dogma, Our Watch is now 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)

Another grubby video (using child actors) from the leftist/feminist/SJW crew (October 2019) USA

Oh, but look what happens when videos are made using allegedly right-wing kids who employ bad language, e.g. Joe Bernstein’s coverage of ‘Soph’. Clearly not seen as cool & empowering in that situation, huh? And yet another feminist double-standard (May 2019)

Our Watch charity invited to assess its own schools gender equity program (4 February 2017) Conflict of interest? What conflict of interest?

Statement in relation to *some* of the funding that Our Watch receives from the federal government each year

A further example of the inappropriate use of children to help bang the feminist drum

Natasha Stott Despoja launches anti-violence campaign (10 November 2015) with related reddit discussion thread here

ourwatch

ourwatchCEO

Other posts in this blog that are most relevant to this topic:

So what exactly is the ‘Domestic Violence Industry’?
Fudging the figures to support the feminist narrative
Just how heartless (or deeply in denial) can people be?
A busy few weeks for gender matters (Aug/Sept 2014)
Feminist advocacy group ‘Our Watch’ seeks shield from public scrutiny

The White Ribbon Campaign that addresses part of the problem Vs. The White Ribbon Campaign that addresses all of the problem

A white ribbon or a symbol denoting a white ribbon has been used by a number of movements in recent history as described in the relevant entry in Wikipedia.

Two of those entities are active in addressing the problem of domestic violence. For the purpose of this discussion I will refer to them as the the White Ribbon Campaign, and the White Ribbon Campaign (feminist version) respectively.

The first of these organisations is committed to addressing all forms of domestic violence, and is led by respected domestic violence campaigner Ms Erin Pizzey. This organisation pursues a gender-neutral approach and utilises unbiased professionally conducted research. Here is their web site and Facebook page.

Until recently their web site address was www.whiteribbon.org, but legal action taken by the organisation discussed below now prevents them from using that domain name.

The role of the White Ribbon Campaign (feminist version) is limited to addressing violence by men against women. They publicise research results that support the notion that domestic violence as a gendered crime, and assert that virtually all domestic violence is perpetrated by men. They ignore or seek to discredit research that does not support their position. Here is their Australian web site (& Facebook page) and their Canadian web site.

Many people have expressed concerns over the years regarding the policies and the actions of the White Ribbon Campaign (feminist version). This can be readily ascertained by googling on the words ‘White Ribbon Campaign criticism’ – some examples can be seen here, here, here, here, here and here. Here is also a reddit discussion thread on Bunnings Warehouse and the ‘White Ribbon Campaign’ plus an article by a feminist who is decrying mens objections in relation to advertising undertaken by the ‘White Ribbon Campaign’.

I believe that we will only make meaningful inroads into solving the scourge of domestic violence if we commit to addressing the entire DV problem, not just the parts that don’t threaten the validity of feminist narrative of men=perpetrator and women=victim.

I believe that we should provide adequate support to ALL victims of domestic violence.

I believe that we should recognise and provide treatment programs for all perpetrators of intimate partner violence, regardless of race, gender, age or sexual orientation.

If you share those beliefs then please sign the pledge at http://whiteribbon.org/pledge-to-end-violence-against-everyone/

Ever since it was created the White Ribbon Campaign has been the subject of  relentless feminist attack. What strikes me as ironic is that these attacks have generally been on the basis that it is a vehicle to “scam” money from members of the public and/or  that donated funds would be better directed towards “real charities” … presumably like the White Ribbon Campaign (feminist version).

The thing is though … how many of these “real charities” actually spend donated funds on providing practical assistance and support to victims of DV versus spending it all on salaries, expensive marketing campaigns and conferences? How much government oversight is there to ensure that objectives are being set and achieved and money not misspent or wasted?

And just how much of that marketing is simply about building brand awareness of themselves and of feminism generally, about promoting an exaggerated perception of the scale of the DV problem,  and about generating suspicion and hostility between the genders? All of which, not coincidentally, serves to rev-up the gravy train of government funding.

See also:

Domestic violence and White Ribbon day – help change the debate, by Bettina Arndt (21 November 2015) Australia

White Ribbon CEO Libby Davies jumps the cash cow (22 February 2015)

A red flag from White Ribbon (17 February 2015)

White Ribbon stop fibbin’! (8 December 2014)

White Ribbon Australia fraud exposed (23 November 2014)

Erin Pizzey takes charge of WhiteRibbon.org (9 November 2014)

White Ribbon considering legal action against men’s rights group (6 November 2014) I noted, and raised with SBS, the fact that they failed to upload readers comments in relation to this article.

‘Men’s Rights’ Movement Sinks to a Sickening New Low by Stealing from Domestic Abuse Charity (30 October 2014) Laughably biased and misleading article but the author receives sound solid feedback in the reader’s comments section.

Why Is an Anti-Feminist Website Impersonating a Domestic Violence Organization? (24 October 2014) Be sure to peruse the readers comments

From Paul’s inbox (25 October 2014)

Whiteribbon.org prepares for possible legal battle (26 October 2014)

The Fraud of White Ribbon (March 2013)

Elsewhere in this blog you might also be interested in:

White Ribbon Australia acknowledges male victims and invites communication (credibility trigger warning)

So what exactly is the ‘Domestic Violence Industry’?

White Ribbon campaign to men: Stand up! Speak up! Shut up!

Interesting perspectives from a poster named ‘Bowspearer’

I came across a feminist article entitled ‘Feminist bitches – Who needs them?‘ (11 August 2014)

The article itself was codswallop but one thing I saw that’s well worth remarking upon, was a series of comments by a reader named ‘Bowspearer’ (see footnote). I’ll reproduce his opening comment below, and would recommend that you read the entire discussion at http://theaimn.com/feminist-bitches-needs/#comment-168495. This guy has got some great insights to impart. (Update: The discussion thread recommenced on 31 October 2014, and the recent comments are excellent)

“The article is deeply flawed and ironically endemic of the vast multitude of problems which feminism has which in terms of it’s ideological model, make it actually a barrier towards gender equality.

Firstly, the article talks about women in power whilst clearly being oblivious to what real power is in this world. Politicians aren’t powerful by any means- they’re nothing more than puppets. The real power in this world belongs to the Money Power – be it investment bankers, mining magnates or any member of the hegemonic class. This is the class of 0.1%ers who are rarely, if ever, visible and reduce our politicians to nothing more than puppets. Included in that class is the British monarch – who has actually been female for 132 of the past 232 years. The reality is with the exception of Gina Rinehart, such power is rarely, if ever seen – in the case of either hegemonic men or hegemonic women.

Two examples come to mind of this. The first is Melissa Babbage, who until the GFC worked as a majhor derivatives trader for Deutsche Bank and whose investment portfolio was so massive that it’s clear that it is she, rather than Joe Hockey, who is the breadwinner of that family. The second example which comes to mind is an old school friend’s stepmother who again, is a highly wealthy and influential member of the banking class who was even an advisor in the 2nd Bush administration – where the real power lies and this was one of the more powerful advisory positions.

Gina Rinehart has also made their position abundantly clear. Such individuals in the hegemonic class, male or female – care little for plight of the subordinate class and would have us all working for slave wages if they had their way. Any notion which women at the top are “part of the sisterhood” is pure, romanticised drivel. Furthermore, any notion that we are even aware of just what the exact gender breakdown, gendered wealth breakdown and opportunities are for men and women within the hegemonic class – especially when much of that class keep their power and themselves hidden, is misguided.

Secondly, it ignores power dynamics. The fact is that there are a wide raft of factors which determine power in this world of which determine just how powerful or powerless someone is. The fact is that a disabled man will always face greater discrimination in this world than an able-bodied woman, non-caucasian men are more likely to experience discrimination that white women ( especially Middle Eastern men I might add) – in addition to factors such as class, transgender and sexual orientation. Yet feminism discards this complex reality for the theory of “Patriarchy”, whereby all men are falsely elevated to some imagined bourgeois and all women are falsely relegated to some imagined proleteriat. Feminism will certainly claim to acknowledge this inequality, but the cold hard truth is that feminism views it through the lens of “women HAVE problems; men ARE problems”.

Feminists lament their perceived lack of access to the hegemonic class, whilst ignoring that with the way gender dynamics are actually structured in this world, it is men who fare worst in the world. Men make up 95% of workplace fatalities – all so they can be the “good providers [for “women and children”]” which society demands them to be, which in cases of large scale infrastructure involve examples such as the construction of the Panama Canal, where 28,000 men were killed in its construction. Likewise, men make up the primary victims of war, all so they can fulfill the social expectation of being “good protectors [of women and children]” – which results in incidents like the 1 million dead in the battle of the Somme being, all too common in war.

Yet according to the feminist theory of “patriarchy”, men relegated to subordinate masculinities such as this somehow magically oppress women – even hegemonic women like Gina Rinehart who would love nothing more than to use them as slave labour. Furthermore if hegemonic females are just as culpable of this as hegemonic males, then how can a male-power-focused model of patriarchy, even remotely be accurate?

Before I move onto third world issues, let’s take more of a look at first world issues. Feminism perpetuates the myth that when it comes to abuse, “men are [exclusively] perpetrators; women are [exclusively] victims[; anything to the contrary is to be dismissed as a statistical anomaly]“.

In terms of rape, this plays out in the form of the myth that non-consensual sex is only rape when the victim is forcibly penetrated – despite the fact that when studies like the 2010 NIPSVS in the US have kept track of men being forced to penetrate someone against their will, they have found that not only are half of all rape victims men, but that 40% of all rapes are committed by women. Yet this is barely recognised in a society where feminism perpetuates the flawed notion that rape culture is entirely perpetrated upon women by men.

In terms of domestic violence, despite studies having shown for over 4 decades that roughly half of all domestic violence is bi-directional, roughly a quarter is exclusively male-on-female abuse and roughly a quarter is exclusively female-on-male abuse. Yet the collective “[men’s] violence against women” mantra which society dogmatically chants on this issue, results in society treating battered men as urban-myths/perpetual-liars who “had it coming to them” and regards individual victims as effectively being cheap, filthy, worthless sluts”. So vile is this entrenched sexism, that in several states here, police have been trained to automatically view the male as the aggressor on domestic violence call-outs, resulting in many domestic violence victims being arrested, simply because they have a penis between their legs.

In terms of child sex trafficking, it is portrayed in the media as exclusively being men preying on girls. However the reality is, in the US for example, that half of all child sex trafficking victims are boys, 35% of all child sex traffickers are female and studies have found that 40% of boys and 13% of girls service female clients.

In terms of pedophilia in general, society views a boy being raped by an older woman as a “rite of passage” – so much so that laws in the US for example, mandate that a male child rape victim must pay child support to their rapist if a child results from the rape. Furthermore researchers in the UK have found that victims of female child predators, male or female, are far less likely to be believed than victims of male child sex predators when they disclose their abuse – even to police.

This is of course, just a handful of issues in the developed world of many. Then there are problems in the third world faced by men – such as the epidemic of war rape against men in the Congo, to which both women and men are active participants in.

People cite the brutality of women in Shari Law abiding Islamic countries, whilst completely ignoring the plight of homosexual men there being just as brutal.

Then you have India where female violence against men not only gets a free pass, but the victims are mocked if they are witnessed or dare to speak out.

Again, these are just a couple of examples of countless many.

The thing is, if feminism is so concerned with gender equality, then where is it’s genuine recognition of these issues in terms of men HAVING issues, as opposed to men BEING issues?

Where is feminism’s recognition of both subordinate masculinities and hegemonic femininities?

Where is feminism’s recognition of the existence of female privilege (which btw is a significant barrier in addressing female hypoagency) as well as male privilege and the effect that both forms of privilege have in maintaining traditional gender inequalities? For that matter where is feminism’s accurate understanding that “privilege” is nothing more than a conditionally granted set of permissions designed to glorify and maintain traditional gender norms that are revoked the instant an individual deviates too far from acceptable gender norms.

Ms McQuade laments the page she found, yet she is clearly blind to why egalitarian women would have serious concerns over feminism as a movement in an ideological sense or the fact that if feminism cleaned house (beginning with recognising the existence of female privilege and how it has poisoned feminism) it would ironically be well on the way to addressing female hypoagency and therefore achieving genuine gender equality as a foundational level of society – whilst gaining support from egalitarians, who have surpassed feminism’s flawed and superficial gender understandings.

Sadly, much like paleo-masculinists, PUAs and Beta Male Traditionalists are blind to how toxic and self-destructive male privilege is, so too are traditionalist females and feminists blind to how toxic and self-destructive female privilege is. Until such time as that changes, more and more people are going to discard feminism as a toxic and academically superficial gender model.”

Footnote: I subsequent learnt that ‘Bowspearer’ is Andrew Richards (Twitter handle = @bowspearer)

See also: Related reddit mensrights discussion thread

Home Truths: The Costs and Causes of Domestic Violence (March 2015) More great comments contributed by Andrew

 

Is child abuse a gendered crime too?

The nature of child abuse

Child abuse can consist of physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and/or neglect. Each of these forms of abuse are explained on this page, and an estimate of the relative scale of each of these forms of abuse is provided here.

Sexual abuse of children, the least common form of abuse, is mostly committed by men. Although note that there is no shortage of female perpetrators. Neglect of children is mostly committed by mothers, reflecting the fact that they are usually the primary care-givers. Female perpetrators tend to dominate the other two forms of abuse, although there are significant variations (and gaps in data) between different studies. Links to sources of statistical data concerning the perpetration of child abuse are provided below.

Child abuse, where it occurs within the home, is itself a subset of a broader range of destructive behaviours known as domestic violence.

Domestic violence is not a gendered crime, although most feminists believe otherwise and never stop telling us so. They justify this position on the basis of their claim that domestic violence is overwhelmingly perpetrated by men against women. But if we were to accept that, then surely child abuse and neglect must also be a gendered crime given that the majority of the perpetrators are female and the majority of victims male? Why isn’t perpetrator gender nearly such a big issue in the child abuse debate (or abuse of the aged, etc), as it clearly is in domestic violence?

I would draw the readers attention to an article entitled ‘Abuse and neglect: Australia’s child protection ‘crisis’’ published in ‘The Conversation‘. An interesting thing about that article was that it never mentions the issue of gender. This contrasts strongly with articles that ‘The Conversation‘ publishes about domestic violence, wherein gender is invariably the central theme.

I submitted a comment in relation to that article – pointing this out – but it was removed by their moderator within minutes. As an aside, that’s entirely typical of the censorship that takes place at that web site.

Thus we seem to have one form of violence involving somewhat more male perpetrators, and where gender is absolutely pivotal. Then we have other forms of violence where most perpetrators are female, yet apparently gender is not a significant issue. How strange and paradoxical.

Could it be, as some have suggested, that researchers move the goalposts depending on whether the relevant information alternately supports or undermines the feminist narrative? The issue of the corruption of gender-related research is addressed in another blog post.

How about we start telling it like it is? Most child abuse and neglect is perpetrated by women, and women should acknowledge this and deal with it the same way they harangue men to take ownership and deal with domestic violence, i.e. tell all your friends it’s wrong. Though the impact of that approach, in isolation, is unlikely to amount to much in the way of a reduction in abuse.

Perpetrators of domestic violence expose their children to the unhealthy experience of seeing and hearing abuse taking place, thus this behaviour is itself a form of child abuse. Pro-feminist advocacy groups and journalists sometimes offer up statements such as “25% of young people have witnessed physical domestic violence against their mother”.  As always, the lack of comparative data for male victimisation is a sure-fire indicator of sexist bias.

The actual situation, as identified by ‘One in Three‘ is:

“23% of young people have witnessed physical domestic violence against their mother or stepmother, and 22% of young people have witnessed physical domestic violence against their father or stepfather” (Source)

See also ‘Why aren’t we talking about abusive mums?‘ by Corrine Barraclough (15 June 2017)

It is of great significance that victims of child abuse, be they male or female, are much more likely to become perpetrators of not only child abuse, but also domestic violence, upon reaching adulthood. Thus abusive women are guilty twice over. In the first instance they abuse their partners and children, turning their lives into a living hell. Then, assuming their abuse doesn’t lead to murder or suicide, those children grow up and have children who they abuse – thus perpetuating an inter-generational cycle.

We should be giving equal emphasis to combating all forms of domestic violence including child abuse and elder abuse. Instead because of the inordinate degree of influence by the feminist lobby, the government is concentrating all of its effort on reducing violence against women based on the flawed claim that DV originates from the disrespectful attitudes of men and boys.

I believe that, were we to take a broader and longer-term view of the DV issue, then we should be placing far greater emphasis on women’s role in perpetrating child abuse. This would see, for example, the provision of more behaviour modification programs for abusive women with the aim of reducing the level of domestic violence in both the current and subsequent generation.

Statistical information on child abuse, and related discussion:

As previously noted, many statistical sources regarding child abuse (esp. in the past 5-10 years) don’t detail the gender of the perpetrator. This problem was identified in this Australian study for example. This is rather curious given that gender is promoted as the pivotal issue in the sphere of domestic violence research. Of course there the majority of perpetrators are male and thus entirely consistent with feminist dogma.

(The above quote was a reader’s comment in relation to ‘The blind spot in our domestic violence crisis’)

Lucy Letby: Nurse accused of murdering babies ‘wrote note saying “I killed them on purpose”’ (18 April 2023)

Brisbane mother and girlfriend jailed after ‘heinous’ abuse of three-year-old boy (12 June 2020)

Vile mother who dressed her nine-year-old daughter in a Playboy outfit and restrained the girl while men raped her cries as she’s found guilty (12 March 2020) Australia

An inconvenient truth about child abuse | The Spectator Australia (14 July 2018) By Augusto Zimmermann – Recommended reading

Women who sexually abuse children are just as harmful to their victims as male abuser (21 August 2017)

New research on perpetrators of child sexual abuse released (29 September 2016) Australia

This U.K article notes that “mothers are the “unseen force” behind so-called honour-based abuse, inflicting violence on their daughters” and that “of the 100 “honour” crimes she studied, 49 involved mothers – but this was often not recorded in crime reports.”

FactCheck Q&A: does Australia have some of the highest rates per capita of fetal alcohol syndrome in the world? (18 April 2016)

Who abuses children? (September 2014)

The Cost of Child Abuse in Australia – Nov 2008 The sole reference to the gender of the perpetrator in this study was the following quote from another study (page 111)

“mothers were more frequently cited as being the perpetrators of maltreatment (63% compared to 45% for mothers and father respectively)”

Child Maltreatment 2013 (USA)

40.5% of all child abuse is committed solely by biological mothers 17.7% of all child abuse is committed solely by biological fathers 19.3% of child abuse is committed by both the mother and the father 6.4% of child abuse is committed by the mother and some other individual 1.0% of child abuse is committed by the father and some other individual 11.9% is committed by someone other than the parents 3.1% is committed by an unknown or missing perpetrator.

Child Maltreatment 2012 Department of Health and Human Services USA. Refer table 5-3. Other reports in this series can be found here.

Reddit discussion threads on the issue of perpetrator gender, included here as they contains links to further statistical sources of note:

Child Abuse – Who Are the Perpetrators? (2016)
Do mothers commit the majority of child abuse? (2016)
Anyone have statistics on the gender of the perpetrators of child sexual abuse? (2013)
Just in case everybody doesn’t know by now: the majority of child abuse is perpetrated by women, not men (2012)

The truth about women who commit domestic violence and child murders (7 April 2011)

“The Western Australian figures shed light on who is likely to abuse children in families and are in line with overseas findings. The data show there were 1505 substantiations of child abuse in WA during the period 2007-8. Natural parents were responsible for 37% of total cases. Of these, mothers are identified as the perpetrator of neglect and abuse in a total of 73% of verified cases.”

Mum, not dad, more likely to neglect kids (23 September 2009)

Most child abusers are women: report (11 April 2007) Australia

“The report shows there were 13,184 substantiated child abuse cases across Queensland in 2005-06. Women were responsible for 7,319 – or 55.5 per cent – of cases, and males for 5,846, or 44.3 per cent.”

Characteristics of child sexual abuse victims according to perpetrator gender (August 1995)

Some specific incidents of female-perpetrated child abuse:

Woman, 43, accused of poisoning a 10-year-old girl is charged with attempted murder (11 April 2026)

Woman charged over 2024 Sydenham house fire that killed two young girls (16 September 2025)

PhD student Nicole Virzi could face death penalty for baby’s alleged murder (26 August 2024)

Mother gets probation for abusing 3-year-old son (25 July 2024) incl. link to video. Revolting behaviour and then let off by the Court

Bionca Ellis, woman accused of stabbing 3-year-old Ohio boy to death in grocery store parking lot, smirks and giggles as the charges are read to her (10 June 2024) USA

Mom Sentenced in Death of 4-Year-Old Daughter Who Was Fed Mountain Dew in a Bottle, Causing Her Teeth to Rot (25 May 2024) USA

Stockport nursery worker guilty of baby’s manslaughter (20 May 2024) UK

Colorado paraprofessional arrested after police say video shows her beating autistic child on school bus (9 April 2024) USA

Woman who kept toddler, 2, in cage and also tried to sell child for £1million found dead (7 April 2024) UK

Monster mum who served up her 16-year-old daughter to a rapist confronted: ‘F**k yourselves’ (2 April 2024) Australia. Nothing but #SoundOfCrickets from Feminist HQ. As is usually the case

Ohio woman gets life in prison after toddler starved at home while she was on vacation (20 March 2024)

School shooter’s mum hosted hotel sex parties (3 February 2024)

YouTuber Ruby Franke sobs in court as she’s jailed for child abuse (21 February 2024)

Two women charged after allegedly tossing baby ‘like a toy’ outside bar (18 September 2023) USA

‘You f–king pig’: Mum’s comment to boyfriend accused of toddler murder (25 June 2023)

Girl drowns in hotel pool while mum drank at bar, prosecutors say (17 May 2023)

Charlie Nowland: 47-year-old charged with manslaughter, criminal neglect (26 April 2023) Australia

Judge’s socialite ex-wife charged with distributing child porn, planning to sexually abuse girl (22 April 2023)

Drug-addict mum jailed for eating daughter’s pet hamster Mr Nibbles in disgusting video (9 March 2023)

Mum dawdled on phone, slept while daughters died locked in sweltering car (14 February 2023)

UK nurse Lucy Letby accused of murdering seven babies allegedly told parent of bleeding newborn ‘trust me, I’m a nurse’ (12 October 2022)

Leiland-James Corkill: Killer lied to social workers, report finds (29 July 2022)

Mum arrested for selling her five-day-old boy for £2,900 ‘to pay for a nose job’ (12 July 2022)

Evil mum who slashed adopted son’s penis in sick punishment caught after 7 years on run (10 July 2022)

Woman jailed after prolonged abuse, killing of 5yo Malachi Subecz (30 June 2022) NZ

Five-year-old Logan Mwangi who was found dead in a river was kept ‘like a prisoner’ and ‘dehumanised’ in small bedroom ‘dungeon’ in days before he was murdered (12 April 2022) Boy neglected, abused and killed by mother, step-father and another.

Welsh mum ‘missed punishing’ son after death, court hears (6 March 2022)

Brothers, 4 and 6, found in street after midnight while their mum went drinking (4 March 2022)

Why Melbourne mum left her baby in boiling car for five hours (10 February 2022)

Woman is charged with attempted murder for allegedly stabbing two young children and injuring herself (3 February 2022)

Toddlers found tied and trapped in woman’s home, police say (14 January 2022)

Teen mum tosses newborn into dumpster in New Mexico (11 January 2022)

Police say woman sex trafficked five-year-old daughter to man who raped and killed her (2 January 2022)

Kaija Millar left baby in car for five hours in 37C to play pokies at Melbourne pub (3 November 2021) “I just want him to survive because I don’t want to go to jail.”

Teen mother, 19, bursts into tears as she is jailed for nine years | Daily Mail Online (7 August 2021)

Nurse Lucy Letby accused of murdering eight babies and attempting to kill nine (news.com.au) (11 May 2021) UK

Indiana woman arrested after child nearly dies from severe head lice infestation (news.com.au) (8 May 2021) USA

UK teen mum leaves daughter to starve to death after partying for six days straight (27 March 2021)

Cops release photo of woman who punched 2-year-old boy on subway (23 February 2021) Read the article … no criticism of the perpetrator, but bystanders were blamed for not getting involved.

Childcare worker charged after allegedly ‘binding disabled boy’s wrists’ (26 November 2020) Australia

Babysitter, 30, ‘squeezed baby girl, 1, to death until she felt her bones pop’ (16 November 2020) USA

Foster son of Britain’s most sadistic mum opens up about horror childhood (29 October 2020) UK

Boy traumatised after neighbours act out at noisy kids (19 August 2020) See how far you have to scroll down to find out the horrible neighbour was a ‘she’. Curious that

I ‘beat the crap’ out of my toddler. I hit so hard I hurt my hand (28 February 2020)

Monster mum ‘tortured and beat son, 2, so horrifically all that was left of him was his leg and liver’ (1 November 2019)

Dad busts babysitter kicking twin babies on nanny cam (22 October 2019)

A girl has died after her nanny ‘forgot’ her in a hot car (23 September 2019) USA

‘Mum cut my throat’: Toddler’s shocking dinner-table confession (13 July 2019)

Vile mum films herself beating her toddler daughter and sends footage to jailed ex-husband to get back at him (5 June 2019)

Baby dies after mum took him clubbing and fell asleep on him (8 June 2019)

Violent mum dragged father of her child around ‘like a rag doll’ in Wythenshawe school (18 April 2019) UK

Chilling story of the ‘kind’ Victorian midwife who murdered hundreds of babies (8 December 2018)

Teachers allegedly used zip ties to restrain young students (2 October 2018)

#Diversity #Inclusion (September 2018)

East Texas mum made explicit videos of her 8-year-old daughter and tried to sell her for sex (24 June 2018)

We lost the battle but we’ll win the war: Father of little girl who was brutally attacked by own mother …  (27 April 2018) Australia

90 days in jail for Eagan home day care provider convicted of inflicting brain injuries on 1-year-old (29 September 2017)

Woman charged in child’s gruesome death in hot car released on bail (22 September 2017) Canada

Lesbian couple who beat their 5-year-old son with a hammer, duct-taped his eyes shut and kicked him in the groin in a brutal attack that caused him to suffer two strokes are jailed for 20 years (21 September 2017)

Woman spiked two-year-old boy’s Fruit Shoot drink with enough morphine to kill an 11-stone adult and tried to blame the boy’s father (9 September 2017) UK. Serious child abuse + false allegation, and is then awarded a pussy-pass

Adelaide mother escapes jail sentence after bashing eight-month-old daughter with a spoon (8 September 2017)

15 mothers who viciously killed their children (15 July 2017)

Texas mum left two kids in hot car as punishment (25 June 2017)

‘I was sexually abused by my mother and I need to talk about it’ (17 June 2017)

An Albury mother has been charged with serious child neglect (10 May 2017)

Kolkata Teacher Brags About Molesting A 10-Year-Old Boy, Accepts She Is A Pervert (23 March 2017) India

Mother accused of daughter’s attempted murder told police she was ‘possessed’ (9 March 2017)

Girl, eight, allegedly bashed to death by grandmother wrote ‘I hate this life’ in her diary (3 March 2017)

Mother allegedly assaulted two sons for opening Christmas presents early (23 December 2016)

Video of Pecos woman hitting her daughter (21 December 2016)

Toddler starves to death and his sister, two, is left alone with the body for three days after their mother leaves them without food to spend nine days with her lover (8 December 2016)

2 Wisconsin women charged in death of 7-year-old who was starved, burned and beaten (3 December 2016)

Girl 5 died after her mother sedated her with heroin (30 November 2016)

Mother left her son, 2 in a washing machine … (27 November 2016)

Day care worker hangs 1-year-old boy (21 November 2016)

Nanny charged with abuse after being filmed ‘putting buttocks in disabled boy’s face and dragging him across floor’ (6 October 2016)

My childhood home – scene of my nightmares (4 October 2016)

2 women found drunk in Salem parking lot with infants, police say (20 September 2016)

Woman who battered and knifed 8 year old boy jailed for 15 months (20 September 2016)

Mother guilty of bruising son’s genitals (15 September 2016) Australia, with related Reddit discussion thread here

Gold Coast mother accused of shocking abuse of her daughter including rape, torture (3 September 2016)

Mother who repeatedly beat her children across the arms legs and backs with a TV CABLE is spared jailed after a judge rules it would be worse for them if she went to prison (24 August 2016)

Mother accused of poisoning her nine-year-old daughter by putting URINE in her intravenous drip after she was admitted to hospital with life-threatening condition (19 August 2016)

Abused girl says her name is ‘idiot’ as mum Jennifer Deden and Clarence Reed are arrested for child abuse in Arkansas (18 August 2016)

Girl whose mum put her in a oven begs for her to remain in jail (29 July 2016)

Mother found guilty of allowing death of baby at hands of boyfriend (29 July 2016) The headline tries to diminish responsibility of mother – the mother did not merely “allow” the death, she was an active participant in the abuse and was also charged with murder. Pussy-pass?

Woman charged in Boscobel infant’s death first blamed father (28 July 2016)

Queensland mum jailed for abusing four daughters (22 July 2016) Australia

Three and a half years jail for mum who dumped newborn in drain (21 July 2016) Australia

Mother, 40, ‘locked her naked five-year-old son in a cupboard for more than 10 HOURS while she went on a family day out to Blackpool’ (12 July 2016)

Day-care worker pleads to raping, videotaping toddlers (2 July 2016)

Stepmother of five-year-old Josiah Williams handed 99-year sentence in brutal starvation case (29 June 2016) USA

Brockton babysitter accused of horrific child abuse on two boys (14 June 2016) USA

Red Deer mom charged with using son to make child porn sent to U.S. man (2 June 2016) Canada

Woman ex-soldier used electric shock dog collar to punish toddler and beat him so hard she broke a wooden spoon (26 May 2016) UK

What do I do? Wife verbally abusive and now starting to get physical with toddler (13 May 2016) Reddit discussion thread

NSW mother charged with attempted murder after allegedly hitting her young son with her car (10 May 2016)

Double Jeopardy on Sunday Night: Will baby Chloe’s killer ever be brought to justice? (4 April 2016) Australia

Brisbane mum jailed for child cruelty (29 March 2016) Australia

Single mother, 35, is arrested for ‘putting her two-year-old daughter in the oven, leaving her with third-degree burns’ (21 March 2016)

Mother Stabs Her Baby 90 Times With Scissors After He Bit Her While Breastfeeding Him! (8 March 2016)

Vacaville woman convicted of having sexual relationship with young boy (8 March 2016) USA. It was her own son

Babysitter Moriah Gonzales was caught smothering a baby with her hand, police say (5 March 2016) USA

Nanny who beheaded Russian child says it was revenge for Putin’s Syria strikes (3 March 2016)

Mum Christi Howell and her boyfriend Casey Shackleford allegedly waterboarded her son (20 February 2016)

Mom charged with murder after allegedly running daughter over with lawn mower (18 February 2016)

Grandparents deny seeking revenge for mum’s sexual violation of baby (28 January 2016) NZ

Mom Sentenced For Molesting Son (25 January 2016) USA

Day care teacher who turned classroom into a ‘baby fight club’ found guilty (17 January 2016) USA

Lesbian couple ‘beat one woman’s 5-year-old son with a hammer, duct-taped his eyes and kicked him in the groin until he bled and suffered two strokes’ (14 January 2016)

Woman eludes murder conviction for son’s death after beating (4 January 2016)

Mum who sexually abused her own daughter is jailed for 9 years (9 December 2015)

FGM: mother and retired nurse both found guilty of mutilating two sisters (12 November 2015)

Rachel Kinsella charged with intentionally poisoning her nine year old son repeatedly (8 November 2015)

Mildura Mother used daughter as ‘sex slave’ to satisfy husband’s lust (5 November 2015)

Mother and her lesbian lover ‘beat toddler to death over eight days then tried to frame seven-year-old boy for his murder’ (6 September 2015) and related reddit discussion thread

Woman Gets 23 Years For Killing Baby Girl In 2012 (4 September 2015)

Mother, 71, jailed for historical sexual abuse of twin daughters (28 August 2015)

Hunter Valley woman appears in Cessnock court charged with injecting daughter with urine (19 August 2015) Australia

Mother charged with torture and murder of Tyrell Cobb (14 August 2015) Australia

Woman Accused of Tossing Infant from 4th-Floor Window (8 August 2015)

Queensland’s Task Force Argos helps shut down Philippines-based child abuse ‘service’ for ­foreigners (26 June 2015) A ‘service’ run by women, by the way

County Commissioners will investigate Pocono Child Abuse Response (18 June 2015)

Psycho woman goes on a rampage with 2 children, father doesn’t do anything (15 June 2015) Video

Mother allegedly hit five vehicles during police chase while children in the car (14 June 2015)

Mom sentenced to 40 years for raping own children (7 May 2015) USA

Woman accused of putting her newborn in plastic bag, leaving it in her desk drawer (27 April 2015)

Texas woman helped starve boy to rid him of a ‘demon’ (16 April 2015)

B.C. woman put superglue in baby nephew’s ears because she was jealous of son-bearing in-laws (8 April 2015)

Mother, accused of molesting daughter, jailed for bail breaches (31 March 2015)

Mother used one-year-old baby as weapon in Alice Springs street fight (21 March 2015) Features the comment “Women who are victims of domestic violence should seek help from relevant support agencies long before it reaches such a crisis point.” Of course she’s a “victim“, rather than a perpetrator … she’s a woman, right?

Blogger Mum Poisoned Son To Death With Salt (2 March 2015)

Mother charged in brutal stabbing of 4 year old son in NW Harris County (27 February 2015)

Mum arrested for abuse after ‘beating daughter and sending her to school in grade-shaming T-shirt’ (25 February 2015)

Joyce Hardin Garrard charged with making nine-year-old granddaughter Savannah run until she died (23 February 2015)

Mother Accused Of Punching Son In Face For ‘Being Too Feminine And Gay’ (20 February 2015)

“Listen to their screams…”: Mother’s chilling phone call to husband ‘as she burned their three daughters alive’ (12 February 2015)

Father finds surprising video on his son’s IPad (9 January 2015) Click on video and scroll to the one minute mark

Queensland woman charged with trying to kill two kids in house fire (30 December 2014)

Children stabbed to death in the Cairns suburb of Manoora (20 December 2014)

Five-year-old Scottish boy suffered a ‘sickening and violent death’ that was so gruesome medics had to be given counselling – as police question mother (6 December 2014)

Texas mum ‘hid daughter’s body in fridge’ (5 December 2014)

No jail time for former Lake Charles woman in scalding case (30 October 2014)

Mum who tried to turn daughter against father condemned as ‘child abuser’ (12 June 2014)

Mum tried to sew daughter’s mouth shut (18 October 2014)

Woman, 48, jailed for seven years after horrific torture of teenage nephew (16 October 2014)

Killer mum in court to access daughter she injured in horror attack (7 October 2014)

‘Sickened’ judge jails woman for ‘horror’ child abuse (6 October 2014)

Mother pleads guilty in Shaniya Davis’ death (18 October 2013)

General discussion of child abuse:

Intimate partner violence a major risk factor for filicide but researchers say new data provides a roadmap to intervention (2 July 2024) Feminists again trying hard to avoid female accountability for filicide (Australia)

Brutalised children can become brutal adults: An interview with clinical and forensic psychologist Dr Naomi Murphy (3 May 2023)

Rotherham mum-of-two stormed into post office and attacked elderly owners with screwdriver (18 March 2022) UK

Feminists throw children under the bus – by Bettina Arndt (30 August 2021)

Feminism’s shameful betrayal of boys – by Bettina Arndt (2 June 2021)

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

Women caught on video abusing children (10 March 2019)

Half of Canada’s prisoners were abused as children, McMaster study suggests (21 February 2019) Article doesn’t identify the ratio of male/female abusers, which generally means ‘predominantly female’

An article informs us of the considerable danger caused by dads drinking, but neglects to mention the (even greater) danger caused by mums drinking (17 February 2019) and subsequent Tweets from Bettina Arndt (and another).

The Female Abuser Is Protected by Society (30 May 2018)

A study has found kids who get smacked are more likely to assault their partners as adults (11 December 2017)

Mothers who sexually abuse their sons, by Ginger Gorman (8 June 2017) Australia

Unspoken abuse: Mothers who rape their sons, by Ginger Gorman (15 January 2017)

Why do mothers abuse children? It must be the fathers, so says the US government (28 June 2016)

Children are the forgotten victims of family violence, by Jeremy Sammut (7 December 2015) Australia

When mothers abuse (5 November 2015) Australia

Women who kill, by Janet Bloomfield (28 August 2015)

New research shedding light on sex abuse committed by mothers against their sons (8 August 2015) Profiles the work of Lucetta Thomas

Maternal Punitive Reactions to Children’s Negative Emotions and Young Adult Trait Anger: Effect of Gender and Emotional Closeness (16 April 2015)

Child-killer parents should have subsequent children taken away: coroner (10 April 2015)

Let’s not forget the real victims of family violence… children (5 April 2015)

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

Why deliberately alienating a father from his child is domestic abuse (9 December 2014)

Most of this blog post concerns killings by women, but child abuse is addressed towards the end (13 October 2014)

Five reasons feminism should deal with women who abuse children (20 October 2014)

Mum, not dad, more likely to neglect kids (23 September 2009) Western Australia

Turning a child against a father with false accusation is…child abuse (4 August 2014)

Some people have suggested that feminist ideologues using pre-pubescent girls in expletive-laden videos to further their cause is also a form of child abuse (commentary here and here). Another one is seen when feminist mothers bemoan the fact that they are rearing a male and map out a path of indoctrination, see this article for example.

Other related posts within this blog include:

On women having flings with children and students

The often contrasting reaction when mums and dads kill their children

On violence carried out by women and girls

Image

killer_mummy

childabuse

https://twitter.com/cm677427/status/1504605109623619586?s=20&t=AeF_PInqqRUHscgJ8wYhkw