Respect women (… well, unless they respect men)

One surprising inclusion in the 2020 Australia Day honours list was a Member of the Order of Australia award for Bettina Arndt. It was surprising not because the recipient wasn’t deserving of it (she was), but because such public awards tend to favour those pushing politically palatable (and increasingly left of centre) causes.

You would probably be aware that Bettina is an active supporter of various issues affecting men and boys, and that this has put her in the cross-hairs of the feminist lobby on more than a few occasions.

And thus once the awards were announced, the feminist lobby went rather crazy. This included approaches being made to the Governor-General’s office by a number of politicians, including the Victorian Attorney-General, seeking to have Bettina’s award withdrawn. Such an approach is typical of the approach that feminists (and their attendant White Knights) often take.

(Update: In September 2020, it was announced that Arndt would keep the award)

And also true to form, although Bettina’s views have been described as “dangerous”, most of the media comment focused on her professional integrity rather than the specific issues she raises. Look for example at the Twitter stream for ‘New Matilda’ (@newmatilda) and you’ll see tweet after tweet after tweet concerning Bettina’s academic qualifications, but none addressing her views regarding (for example) an alleged campus rape culture.

Kindly read on for relevant details, including Bettina’s response to those launching the attacks on her.

Women on top. A paper by Bettina that highlights the favour in which Australian women are now held generally (26 June 2024)

The Kangaroo Justice of Sexual Assault Cases (2 October 2021)

Why the fuss about Bettina’s honours award? Find out who wanted her cancelled… – Bettina Arndt #MENTOO (2021)

New Matilda Statement On Bettina Arndt’s Defamation Of Nina Funnell (26 February 2020) Bettina Arndt has previously suggested that Nina was conducting a long-running & concerted campaign against her. Readers might wish to scan social media and form their own view. The Twitter stream @CEOWomensSafety could be one place to start.

Labor demands men’s rights activist Bettina Arndt be stripped of Order of Australia (25 February 2020) So we see that whilst most politicians are themselves too gutless to stand up for men/boys, they do manage to summon sufficient courage to punish people who will. Absolutely disgraceful

Episode of The Drum (ABC) shown on 24 February 2020 (video). One of the topics addressed was, what the panel perceived as, the desirability of stripping Bettina Arndt of her OAM. See The Drum’s Twitter feed for further discussion (@ABCthedrum)

Calls grow for Bettina Arndt to be stripped of Order of Australia (22 February 2020)

Divorce is painful enough without Bettina Arndt involved, by David Penberthy (15 February 2020)

When men are victims of domestic violence, by Augusto Zimmermann (8 February 2020)

Bettina Arndt interviewed the teacher who raped Grace as a child. She wants Arndt’s honours to be taken back (8 February 2020)

Gendered prejudice and the wrath of the left, by Tanveer Ahmed (7 February 2020)

In defence of Bettina Arndt (6 February 2020)

Agony Arndt: The Precarious Future Of One Of Australia’s Loudest Men’s Rights Voices (4 February 2020) How pathetic that a men’s magazine would make such a weak effort to identify and discuss the male perspective. They might have at least spoken to a male or female MRA, or someone who had a clue. And it seems this publication has quite a history of bowing at the altar of feminism (example 1, example 2, example 3). Sad effort, people, sad.

A video by Daisy Cousens entitled ‘Feminists attempt to cancel Men’s Rights Advocate – Bettina Arndt’ (4 February 2020)

Another great video – This time from ‘Independent Man’ addressing the story to date (2 February 2020)

A great Gary Orsum video entitled ‘Bettina versus the Three Stooges’ (1 February 2020)

And then the feminists came for Bettina Arndt (1 February 2020)

Bettina Arndt and the Australia Day honours, by Eva Cox (1 February 2020)

Batty ‘thrilled’ with government call to remove Arndt’s gong, calls for men to join push (30 January 2020)

‘Absolutely hilarious’: Row over Bettina Arndt’s honour explodes (30 January 2020)

Strip Bettina Arndt of OAM, says Victorian Attorney-General Jill Hennessy (30 January 2020) You can hear a related ABC radio interview here. Further details are available at the Twitter accounts of @JillHennessyMP and @thebettinaarndt

No. There is no evidence of evidence of Bettina Arndt’s ‘contributions to gender equity’ (28 January 2020)

Psychologist, Clinical Psychologist, Doctor Or None Of The Above? Will The Real Bettina Arndt AM Please Stand Up! (28 January 2020) Hit piece from Nina Funnell and Chris Graham

How can a woman who supports a convicted male paedophile be rewarded? by Jenna Price (27 January 2020)

One specific criticism that has been levelled at Bettina is in relation to her allegedly ‘going soft’ on paedophiles, particularly in relation to one specific interview she conducted. One of the odd things here though, is that I have yet to hear any feminist speak out about the burgeoning problem of female paedophiles. And thus more feminist hypocrisy.

Online change.org petition aiming to stop Bettina Arndt’s award (26 January 2020) There is more than one petition to revoke the award, as well as petitions to congratulate Bettina for receiving the award.

Rosie is sickened, by Mark Dent (27 January 2020) Recommended reading

‘Sickened’: Rosie Batty’s fury after men’s rights advocate is given Australia Day honour (26 January 2020)

Controversial commentator given Australia Day honour for ‘advocacy for men’ (26 January 2020)

Bettina Arndt awarded Australia Day honour for services to “gender equity” (25 January 2020)

Response/s from Bettina Arndt:

Qualifications beat-up fails again (29 January 2020)

Bettina in a videotaped interview with Chris Kenny on the Daily Telegraph web site (27 January 2020)

Bettina Arndt – Achieving gender equity through advocacy for men (video)

Nina Funnell tries to rain on my parade (January 2020)

Bettina Arndt hits back at ’poisonous’ side of feminism as backlash grows against her Australia Day honour (27 January 2020)

(Stay tuned … more to come on this issue)

Related posts within this blog:

Beware the ire of an angry feminist

On the censorship and erasure of non-feminist perspectives and opinions

I am not a feminist

 

Another federal government domestic violence inquiry – This one focuses on family law

“On 16 March 2017, a Committee of the Australian Parliament adopted an inquiry into how Australia’s federal family law system can better support and protect people affected by family violence. The inquiry was referred by the Attorney-General, Senator the Hon. George Brandis Q.C. The Committee aims to make recommendations that will improve the system for all participants.” (Source)

Members of the public were able to provide feedback in the following ways:

  • Community statements for individuals who wish to discuss their experiences of the treatment of family violence within the family law system with the committee.
  • Public hearings to gather evidence from stakeholders, including government agencies, non-government organisations, and experts in the policy area.
  • Written submissions addressing one or more of the terms of reference to be received by Wednesday, 3 May 2017.

The Chair of the Inquiry is Sarah Henderson MP, who is interviewed here on Sky News Australia. In this interview Ms Henderson unreservedly commends the work of Rosie Batty (strike 1), as well as mentioning some of the specific issues to be addressed in the Inquiry.

One such issue was the possibility of creating some sort of nexus between the nature of court orders made in relation to spousal support and property settlement, and the presence or alleged presence of family violence in the relationship. This is described in the Terms of Reference at point 4:

“How the family law system can better support people who have been subjected to family violence recover financially, including the extent to which family violence should be taken into account in the making of property division orders”

Men are already being blackmailed with allegations of domestic violence or sexual abuse in relation to child custody matters, and now it seems they will also have to worry about the impact of such allegations on their financial affairs (strike 2). How many more male suicides will this generate?

As of 21 June 2017, 114 public submissions have been uploaded onto the Committee’s web site. I tendered a brief submission which can be accessed here (see submission 113).

The Committee subsequently tabled its report in Parliament on 7 December 2017. The report, which makes 33 recommendations, is available to read on the Committee’s web page at this link. The media release for the tabling of the report can also be found at this link.

Under a 2010 resolution of the House of Representatives, the Government is required to respond to the report within six months. When the Government has provided a response it will be made available on the Committee’s web page.

Related media articles:

One in Three Campaign supplementary submission to Federal Parliamentary Inquiry published (24 October 2017)

Lone Fathers President To Address Parliament Inquiry On DV (28 July 2017)

Good men doing nothing‘ by Bettina Arndt (9 May 2017) with related Reddit discussion thread (see comment by ‘SantaOrange’)

Domestic Violence Inquiry To Take On The Family Law System (23 March 2017)

Other:

Greg Ellis shares harrowing story after ’10-word lie’ ruined his life overnight – Mirror Online (25 July 2021) An overseas example of family law in all it’s glory

Gender bias and wasted opportunities at the 2017 National Family Violence Summit

Today was the second and final day of the National Family Violence Summit. The Summit was facilitated by the Tara Costigan Foundation and sponsored by BaptistCare. An extract from today’s program is shown below:

And no, in case you were wondering, there was no corresponding session to discuss what women could do to help reduce family violence.

How would this aspect of the program be interpreted by the average Joe or Josephine in-the-street? They would probably see it as implying that men were responsible for family violence, and that therefore it’s men’s duty to eradicate it.

This is the equivalent of having every man in Australia stand at the front of the classroom with a dunce’s hat on. Except the domestic violence lobby is not saying men are stupid, but that they are evil.

This is an affront to men everywhere, and it is difficult to imagine a situation where women are now smeared and disregarded in such a manner.

And this despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of men never commit acts of violence, and that male victims of domestic violence are rarely acknowledged.

Look, I understand that the basis for establishing the Tara Costigan Foundation was the tragic death of a young woman at the hands of a bestial man. That man is now in jail and sadly we cannot undo what happened to Tara. But the Summit is, or at least should be, about addressing domestic violence in its totality.

The ‘big picture’ of domestic violence comprises substantial numbers of abusive men and women, and of both male and female victims of that abuse.  There is also a considerable (yet rarely acknowledged) element of bi-directional violence, where both partners perpetuate abuse.

And what of women’s role in addressing domestic violence, not only as empowered and autonomous individuals, but also in recognition of the fact that many women are also abusive. Not only is there a long-running problem with child abuse by women, but there is also a growing problem with female violence generally. These issues are alternately either excused away (“women are only ever violent in self-defence“), minimised or ignored altogether.

The agencies that deal with domestic violence are heavily imbued with feminist doctrine. They continue to falsely portray domestic violence as heterosexual male on female violence, despite this constituting just one slice of the pizza (albeit probably the largest one). Feminist agencies address domestic violence in the context of a theoretical approach known as the Duluth Model. The validity of the Duluth Model is hotly debated, and its success is questionable.

There have been so many talk-fests and inquiries in relation to domestic violence. Almost without exception their value has been severely compromised by a failure to open the floor to all ideas, especially those contrary to feminist dogma. That appears to have also been the case with the Summit, given that none of the speakers represented a men’s rights group, a father’s group, or an advocacy group for male victims of domestic violence such as One-in-Three.

Why is this allowed to continue particularly considering the amount of public funds being expended, and the miserable progress being made?

The situation in the U.K is similar to Australia in this regard, but some progress is being made via vigorous lobbying by groups and individuals such as GenderFreeDV and Philip Davies MP.

Here is Australia we have balanced views on DV being expressed by a small but dedicated number of journalists such as Bettina Arndt, Miranda Devine, and Corrine Barraclough. As far as sitting politicians go however, there is little cause for optimism just at the moment. One outcome of this situation is that there is almost no funding provided at all for male victims of domestic violence – or indeed for addressing men’s/boys issues generally.

Please can someone finally take some real leadership on this issue?

I did not attend the Summit and await the report that is to be prepared for submission to the government. I will re-visit this post at that time and make any necessary adjustments. In the interim I stand ready to be corrected by an organiser or an attendee if what I have stated is in error. Should such a person wish to detail their experience at this event please submit a comment below.

Here are some links to related news coverage:

Rosie Batty joins 7.30 to discuss the summit on family violence (28 February 2017)

Former army chief David Morrison calls for national day for domestic violence victims (28 February 2017)

The good thing to come out of horror of Tara Costigan’s murder (1 March 2017)

 

Australian 2016 Federal Election: No party willing to step up to the mark for men & boys

The last Australian federal election was held on 2 July 2016, and was ultimately (narrowly) won by the Liberal Party/National Party Coalition.

This post concerns those gender-related policy positions adopted by the three main players during the campaign: the Australian Labor Party (ALP), the Liberal Party/National Party Coalition (LNP), and The Greens.

In another blog post I provide details regarding the relevant positions adopted by some of the minor parties.

Gender issues did not feature amongst the key issues debated during the election campaign. The one specific gender-related issue which was aired was domestic violence. With that in mind, let’s look at what the major parties had to say on that topic:

The Domestic Violence statement provided in the ALP web site can be found here. The number of times the terms ‘men’ or ‘male’ (e.g. male victims) feature in this document = 0

The Domestic Violence statement within the Liberal Party web site is accessible here. The number of times the terms ‘men’ or ‘male’ (e.g. male victims) feature in this document = 1. That sole mention refers to the contentious ‘Mensline’ counselling service – read more about Mensline here.

The Domestic Violence statement in the National Party web site is here. The number of times the terms ‘men’ or ‘male’ (e.g. male victims) feature in this document = 0

The Greens Domestic Violence Policy is here. The number of times the terms ‘men’ or ‘male’ (e.g. male victims) feature in this document = 0. By way of contrast, the word ‘women’ features 31 times.

None of the major parties have shown any interest in addressing issues that detrimentally affect men and boys. None of them have issued significant statements in support of male victims of domestic violence, nor have they made reference to female perpetration of violence.

The major parties are essentially all in lockstep with the feminist movement, the only area of divergence being the amount of money that each is willing to relegate to/waste on feminist causes.

Amongst the major parties, the Greens offer the most ardently pro-feminist perspective, with the ALP running a close second. It was the Greens, for example, who were the driving force behind the current federal Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality.

The federal budget released by the Government in May 2016 represented the first salvo in the election campaign:

“In this Budget the Government has allocated $100.0 million over three years for Domestic and Family Violence: New Initiatives To Break the Cycle of Violence. This builds on the $101.2 million provided for a Women’s Safety Package announced by the Government in September 2015 (detailed in the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Year Outlook 2015–16). This measure will draw on the recommendations of the Third Action Plan (part of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010–22), due for release in mid-2016. [Footnote]” (Source)

Further details of what were proposed and some related background information are provided at:

Domestic and family violence budget review 2016-17
The number of times the terms ‘men’ or ‘male’ (e.g. male victims) feature in this document = 0. Again, by way of contrast, the word ‘women’ features 28 times.

Budget Paper No. 2. Part 2 Expense measures. Social Services (See Domestic and Family Violence — new initiatives to break the cycle of violence)

With respect to media coverage, the first relevant item I noticed discussed one particular funding measure announced by the Government … see ‘Family violence legal aid boost of $30 million won’t solve crisis: Lawyers‘ (12 May 2016). As is essentially ‘par for the course’ , the article implies that all victims of domestic violence are female.

The next cab off the rank was the ALP in ‘Federal Election 2016 Campaign: Bill Shorten promises $65 million funding boost to family violence services‘ (14 May 2016)

“Labor will provide funding certainty to frontline family violence organisations if it wins government, Bill Shorten has promised. The Opposition Leader has committed $65 million over six years to ensure 1800 RESPECT, Our Watch and Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) can continue their work in tackling family violence.”

Again, each of the major Australian political parties is unambiguously pro-feminist, regardless of how overtly they choose to express it. At this point none of these parties have chosen to raise awareness of, or to provide practical support for, male victims of domestic violence.

During an otherwise tedious and predictable campaign at least Mark Latham entertained via poking pins into feminist/white knight thought bubbles.

Further coverage of gender issues during the campaign:

Feminist group ‘Fair Agenda‘ compiled their own scorecard on how the parties stack up in relation to domestic violence. You can probably guess that their criteria differ from my own.

Here is the election wish-list of another feminist group, the ‘Australian Women Against Violence Alliance‘. They sent me a tweet stating “All victims should have access to support” yet there is no mention of male victims here.

Suicide prevention funding not reaching men says Labor senator (16 June 2016)

Bill Shorten speech launching Labor’s gender equality policy (11 June 2016) Bill uses the word ‘men’ five times versus 55 times in the case of ‘women’. Whilst Australian women get reassurance, support and encouragement, the men get this:

“men who have harmed them and their children”
“men rely on women for childcare”
“childcare remains a responsibility that Australian men too often unfairly leave to Australian women”
“25 per cent of women nominate a lack of childcare as their reason for leaving the workforce. In the case of men, it is 3 per cent.”
“It is primitive and wrong that women are paying the mortgage on houses occupied by men who have harmed them and their children”

The ALP sees providing a myriad of policies to support women whilst providing none to address men’s issues as “gender equality”. But wait, there’s more.

Bill goes on to state that “Australia cannot afford six Liberal years of ‘budgets for blokes’.” Seriously Bill? You mean all that money lavished on the Ministry of Men’s Affairs? Oh wait, there isn’t one is there? In fact all I can see is hundreds of millions poured into organisations like these.

**I challenge Bill or any other ALP politician to add a comment to this post providing examples of current federal budgetary allocations which they feel only benefit “blokes”**

Bill has also promised a hand-out for women’s health. Real men don’t get sick right, mate? {insert gratuitous joke about ‘man-flu’ here}

What might political parties include in their electoral platforms if, you know, they gave a damn about men and boys? In this paper a fellow put forward some ideas in relation to the  2015 UK election.

Female journalists expose barrage of federal election sexist abuse (1 July 2016) With just one example of alleged abuse provided in this and the linked article, and no details provided regarding online abuse of male reporters, it’s hardly convincing case of a campaign of gendered trolling.

Despite the rhetoric, this election fails the feminist test (28 June 2016) The word ‘women’ appears 17 times in this piece by rusted-on feminist Eva Cox (‘men’ = 0 btw). But it’s ok, as we are reassured that “feminist issues are about a better society for all, not just advancing women in a male defined world”. And while feminists want more, they are being offered a veritable buffet compared to the situation for men/boys.

“While both the Liberal Party and the Labor Party have issued women’s policy documents, these are strong on equality rhetoric but short on the continuing gender inequities, instead offering some funding to fix service problems.” What a shame that the dog chewed the corresponding men’s policy documents.

Election 2016: Labor commits $88 million to provide safe houses for domestic violence victims (11 June 2016)

The f-word enters the campaign and trips up both major parties (8 June 2016)

Malcolm Turnbull declares himself a feminist and chokes up over his family history, Turnbull finds it easy to declare himself a feminist, and Grandfather PM talks up the power of girls (6 June 2016)

Australian Brotherhood of Fathers election campaign round-up (2 June 2016)

Gender differences in voting intentions in the current campaign as of 16 May 2016

Gender differences in voting patterns in previous Australian elections

Powerful coalition of women call for both parties to stop their war on women‘ (17 May 2016) The election campaign demands of one feminist organisation (WEL)

Why neither party should ignore gender in this election (13 May 2016)

Domestic violence: Rosie Batty launches Australian election campaign push (5 May 2016)

Finally, a quick glimpse of what’s happening in the U.S Presidential campaign: here and here. This UK article is entitled ‘Why are men’s issues consistently ignored in electoral manifestos?‘  (29 May 2017)

Here is Bill Shorten’s take on domestic violence – notice how much attention he offers re: male victims. (July 2017)

It looks like the 2019 federal campaign may see gender issues given a higher profile, though I suspect purely employing the feminist perspective. Here was the first shot fired … (more details here)

Shorten promises $400 million to boost women’s superannuation (19 September 2018)

Elsewhere in this blog you might also be interested in the following posts:

Partners in alms: A primer on the ‘Domestic Violence Industry’

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

Dealing with mens issues – The current situation in Australia

Sadly, Australian politicians only find the courage to criticise the feminist lobby after they retire

Release of the Final Report of the COAG Advisory Panel on Reducing Violence against Women and their Children

The final report of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Advisory Panel on Reducing Violence against Women and their Children was provided to COAG on Friday, 1 April 2016. See this page for a link to download the report, and this page for background information concerning the work of the panel.

Yes, add this to the already long list of Australian government inquiries into domestic violence. The mind boggles at the combined costs of these reports. It would surely be enough to pay for – oh, let’s see – behaviour management programs for female offenders in each state plus a network of refuges for men and *their* children.

It would be one thing if these inquiries were reaching out to different groups and generating new and different ideas – but in the case of gender issues like DV the reverse is true. It’s always the same faces on the panels, consulting the same groups, bringing forward the same ideas based on the same ideology. And all the while with no concrete progress being made save for a succession of costly PR-value-only campaigns farmed out to the same ‘old girls club’ consultancies.

The Panel delivered its preliminary advice to COAG in July 2015. The Australian Government adopted all of the Panel’s recommendations through the $100 million Women’s Safety Package.

The Panel delivered its second report in December 2015 and recommended priority actions which were all endorsed by COAG. This included a national domestic violence order scheme, the development of national outcome standards for perpetrator interventions, and a national approach to dealing with technology-facilitated abuse.

The members of the Advisory Panel are Ken Lay (Chairman), Rosie Batty (Deputy Chair), Heather Nancarrow (Deputy Chair), Maria Hagias, Darren Hine, Dr Victoria Hovane, Ms Tracy Howe, Mr Edward Mosby, Ms Julie Oberin, The Hon Bess Price MLA, and Ms Sue Salthouse.

“The Panel recommends that a new approach be adopted by all governments to achieve generational and lasting change:

  • Men must be held to account for their actions and supported to change
  • Responses must focus on empowering women and their children to make informed choices
  • Political leaders, businesses, industry and the broader community all need to commit to collective, long-term action to improve gender equality and change violence supportive attitudes
  • Children and young people must be recognised as victims of violence against women
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities need trauma informed responses, and
  • Integrated responses are required to keep women and their children safe.

The Panel’s Final Report includes 28 recommendations for COAG’s consideration, with innovative, practical and deliverable options for further joint Commonwealth, state and territory work to reduce violence against women and their children.”

This is the first I had heard of this report, and even then I only became aware of it via reading the Twitter stream of a feminist politician. So much for publicising the exercise beyond the feminist encampment.

“In developing its advice, Panel members undertook over 120 separate consultations with stakeholders and experts in primary prevention, victim support services, perpetrator treatment, technology, law enforcement, research and education, and the business community.

Targeted consultations were also undertaken to discuss specific issues in relation to children, women with disabilities, women from culturally and linguistically diverse communities and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and their children.”

How many such consultations were with father’s or mens rights groups or advocates? I have scrolled through the list in the report, and I can’t recognise any. Of those groups and individuals who were approached for input, were there many that did not subscribe to the dominant feminist view of domestic violence? Was there even one?

Based on my first glance at the report it appears to ignore male victims entirely. In fact I just word-searched the report using the term ‘male victims’ and got not one hit. Not an encouraging sign, yet not unexpected. The report also clearly implies that all perpetrators of domestic violence are male. And irony of ironies, there is a section on gender bias amongst people working with DV victims which only acknowledges gender bias against women.

Just to remind readers, if it were even necessary, that at least one in three victims of domestic violence are male.

I honestly cannot fathom how the panel members, all of whom would probably have fathers/brothers/sons, can sleep at night knowing they were complicit in an exercise wherein the basic human rights of so many were so cruelly disregarded.

Elsewhere in this blog you might also be interested in reading:

So what exactly is the ‘Domestic Violence Industry’?

Two awareness campaigns. Only one can be criticised. Cowed by feminism?

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

Sadly, Australian politicians only find the courage to criticise the feminist lobby after they retire

If any further proof were needed about the extent of power wielded by the feminist lobby in Australia then consider the fact that gender issues are rarely mentioned by politicians unless their views are in lockstep with the feminist position on the relevant matter. As for direct criticism of feminists or feminism … well that’s as rare as the proverbial hen’s tooth.

One of the few exceptions to the above rule that I am aware of is Victorian MP Graham Watt. Whilst his criticism was mute, it was certainly unambiguous. Another is former Senator Mitch Fifield who refused to roll over when subjected to a sexist slur in parliament. Queensland MP Tim Mander highlighted the hypocrisy of leftists/feminists who call for diversity and gender parity but look away when the gender balance favors women (media response).

ACT politician Mark Parton ruffled feathers when he claimed that middle-aged white men were being ignored in the rush to diversity.

That this is the case speaks far more about the effectiveness of feminist lobbying and infiltration of the media and public service, than about the actual number of adherents to feminist ideology out in the broader community.

In early 2015 only 18% of Americans considered themselves to be feminists, this figure representing a substantial drop in feminist numbers since 2013. Consider too that most of those identifying as feminists likely only possess a superficial knowledge of feminist theory and its tawdry history. In Britain now the figure is even lower, sitting at just 7%. Nevertheless, the feminist hierarchy has no qualms about claiming to be the font of wisdom with regards to what all women want, and how they should live their lives.

Yet despite this our elected representatives, from Prime Minister on downwards … are too busy cowering in fear at the thought of being labelled misogynists to take a stand. Thus they would rather please a screeching minority group than represent the best interests of the majority of their constituents.

This sad trend is addressed in this February 2017 article by respected British MP Philip Davies wherein he states:

“The recurring theme is the number of MPs in different parties who tell me, privately and in a whisper, “Of course you are absolutely right about this, it is all ridiculous” but – with very few but notable exceptions – will not dare to say so publicly.

This highlights two things. Firstly, most MPs lack courage – even to say things which are just plain common sense.

Secondly, it demonstrates how petrified MPs are at standing up to the increasingly extreme feminist agenda, which no longer seems to argue for equality and thinks it is perfectly acceptable to discriminate against men.”

The sitting politicians’ concerns are, unfortunately, understandable when one considers the harsh criticism meted out to those rare individuals who do dare to speak out (related article) and another entitled ‘Goodbye Spectator’.

One of those attacked for questioning the feminist-constructed status quo is former MP Gary Johns (example). All Gary had to do was question the merit of providing substantial funding to feminist advocacy groups (in lieu of direct funding of relevant government agencies), and secondly to query why male victims of domestic violence were being ignored.

Another former MP, Bill O’Chee, has written articles highlighting the plight of male victims of domestic violence (such as this and this).

Mark Latham has attracted wave after wave of abuse after writing about feminism and motherhood, the current political approach to the issue of domestic violence, and celebrity ‘victim’ Rosie Batty. Listed below are a few examples of articles that have heaped scorn upon Mark for daring to offer an opinion contrary to the feminist narrative:

Em Rusciano: Good riddance Mark Latham (17 August 2015)
Men are second-class citizens? Give us a break, by Wendy Tuohy (2 May 2016)

Mark Latham and others in a Sunrise (TV program) panel discussion regarding feminism (1 May 2016) Video

Left bleaters ignore truth about wife beaters (29 February 2016)

In January 2016 Mark again found himself the target of furious feminist and ‘white knight‘ scorn after he commented upon the rampant gender bias and misrepresentation within the domestic violence debate:

Mark Latham attacks Rosie Batty in first podcast for Triple M on new segment called ‘Lathamland’ (22 January 2016)

Mark Latham under fire for Triple M podcast describing domestic violence as ‘coping mechanism’ (22 January 2016) with related reddit discussion threads here and here

Mark Latham’s spray makes him an apologist for perpetrators of violence against women, by Wendy Tuohy (22 January 2016)

Why we can’t and shouldn’t look away from the damage Mark Latham is doing (22 January 2016)

Mark Latham’s spray may be his last on Triple M after backlash over domestic violence comments (22 January 2016)

‘You do believe that Rosie Batty causes more harm than good?’ Mark Latham challenged on Sunrise about controversial domestic violence comments on Triple M… as radio station is slammed for hiring him (23 January 2016)

Rosie Batty responds to Mark Latham’s comments about domestic violence (25 January 2016)

Alan Jones and Mark Latham talk about domestic violence (31 October 2016) Audio. See media follow-up here and in The Australia (behind paywall). Jenna ‘Destroy the Joint‘ Price then had to weigh in with some righteous fury.

Mark Latham is not actually retired – he jumped across to the NSW parliament. And since then he’s still addressing feminism and gender issues, which is great. Here’s Mark asking questions about domestic violence and the BOSCAR report findings (October 2019)

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

In this interview with Bettina Arndt, former politicians Peter Beattie and Peter Reith discuss the non-feminist perspective on domestic violence (10 October 2016). On that note, see also this further video from Bettina entitled ‘Enough Talk, More Action’ (17 October 2019)

See too ‘Abbott slams “anti-men” policy, but why are other MPs silent?‘ by Corrine Barraclough (3 May 2017). Bravo Tony!

David Leyonhjelm also kicked some good solid goals. David moved from the federal government to the (NSW) state arena (see video), until exiting the political arena in 2019.

And last, but by no means least, Pauline Hanson – the only woman in federal parliament who has anything to say in support of men/boys (2023 video).

Beyond these few courageous individuals the picture is bleak indeed. So much for living in a parliamentary democracy. So much for freedom of speech. So much for teasing apart a problematic issue and discussing new and/or alternative solutions to achieve positive change.

Now shut-up and prostrate yourselves before the wonder and wisdom of 4th wave feminism.

Meanwhile in the USA Image

Other blog posts related to this topic include:

Dealing with men’s issues – The current situation in Australia
Beware the ire of an angry feminist
Going Batty: The making of a champion of the Domestic Violence Industry
Persistent pro-feminist and anti-male bias in the mainstream media
Australian taxpayer-funded organisations that do little/nothing for men (other than demonising them)
On the censorship of non-feminist perspectives and opinions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Partners in alms: A primer on the ‘Domestic Violence Industry’

The most visible elements of the domestic violence lobby in Australia are advocacy groups, charities and NGO’s such as ‘Our Watch‘, ‘DV Connect‘, the White Ribbon Foundation and ‘Domestic Violence NSW‘. Further groups are listed in this blog post, and with yet more examples provided here. And then in March 2020, 84 DV-related groups signed a letter to “Women’s Safety Ministers” calling for changes to purportedly better address violence against women.

In addition to scores of these mostly publicly-funded feminist groups, there exist various other significant pieces in the DVI jigsaw, particularly:

  • Feminist politicians and male colleagues imbued with a surfeit of chivalry (aka ‘white knights’)
  • Feminists and their allies leading or working within state and federal public agencies such as, for example, the Department of Social Services and the Australian Human Rights Commission
  • Feminists leading or working within academia and in market research/consultancy companies, and
  • Feminist and ‘white knight’ journalists and media commentators

It would appear that a high degree of inter-connectivity exists between the various parties involved in the Australian Domestic Violence Industry (ADVI). The links in this web comprise mutually-beneficial flows of tangible and intangible benefits such as funding/employment opportunities, power/prestige, and an often misguided sense of achieving social justice.

Each of these groups or individuals perform an important function within the network, the unifying theme being a shared desire to maintain and expand the network and to defend it against perceived threats.

I would hazard a guess that many of these individuals share similar demographic characteristics, with further points of commonality that include:

  • having studied the same university courses
  • enjoying social and/or personal relationships with others in the network, and
  • there being varying degrees of financial inter-dependency between them

The primary output of this industry should be a sustained reduction in the incidence of domestic violence involving both male and female perpetrators. Secondary outputs should include the provision of support for all victims and perpetrators of domestic violence, facilitating training of front-line workers who provide that support, and public education concerning the nature of domestic violence and available avenues of assistance.

The ADVI’s public education function has, however, been subverted to disseminating propaganda that is heavily imbued with feminist dogma. This has the effect of generating heightened hysteria which serves to generate further public/political support. It has created a deeply misrepresentative picture of the nature of the problem, and hence the nature of the most appropriate policy response.

One particularly egregious aspect of the ‘community education‘ undertaken by the ADVI is diverting attention from the growing incidence of violent behaviour by women, whilst engaging in the wholesale demonization of men within the community.

Anyway let’s turn our attention to the really important stuff – are these people actually getting runs on the board in terms of reducing the incidence and severity of domestic violence? For if they were then I might be inclined to keep these other concerns to myself. The reality though is that, as best we can tell, the ADVI seems to be making little or no progress at all.

How is the ADVI’s effectiveness measured? Well for the most part it isn’t, and that’s a big part of the problem. Most industries have measures of output, sometimes known as ‘key performance indicators’ (KPI). An obvious KPI for the ADVI would be the incidence of domestic violence in the community. But based on what the ADVI itself is telling us though, that figure is moving in the wrong direction (think now of the regular use of descriptors like ‘epidemic’).

On the issue of  KPI’s, I came across a table in this article entitled ‘Survey of public information on key performance indicators for combating domestic violence in Australian jurisdictions‘. Sadly I note that the performance indicators for national, ACT, Tasmania, South Australia and Victorian government don’t address the safety of all citizens, only that of women and children.

In July 2016, a feminist-saturated non-profit organisation known as ANROWS, released a report that might constitute the first attempt to evaluate efforts to reduce the incidence of domestic violence against women. The summary included the following observations:

“Most evaluations used a mixed-methods design but few had robust outcome measures and none assessed the relative impact of specific components, so the authors were unable to identify effective components or service models.”

“To build an evidence base on effective integration, the report found that future evaluations should be theory-driven, measurement focused and comprehensive, including process, output and outcome indicators.”

Every industry includes dedicated and hard-working people who make a positive contribution. In the case of the ADVI however, an inordinate amount of energy and resources are devoted to simply sustaining itself … and to ballooning ever larger.

On that note, I have noticed a recent trend whereby larger players in the DVI are ‘up-sizing’ their services (and income streams) through a strategy of extending their influence and claimed expertise into other areas such as workplace harassment and in-school ‘educational’ programs.

Most of those calling for more money to be spent on domestic violence appear to be laboring under the misapprehension that the government is spending very little in its battle against domestic violence. Their memories extend no further back, nor broader than, the latest trumpeted hand-out. In truth, and in contrast, the amounts involved are quite staggering.

The total outlay towards combatting domestic violence, whilst difficult to accurately measure, is certainly be in the order of hundreds of millions of dollars. This was confirmed in a statement in 2015 by former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull:

“The fact is there are hundreds of millions, billions of dollars, spent across government that address issues connected to and related to domestic violence. You know, look at money that goes into homelessness, for example.”

It’s most troubling that no-one seems to have produced a detailed tally of how much money has been injected into the ADVI at the federal and state/territory level, including how funds were spent, by whom, and what the outcomes were. Not the media, nor feminist advocacy groups, not even hugely costly government inquiries. Compare and contrast this with the issue of trying to account for money channeled into the Indigenous lobby (Twitter thread on that issue).

Such an exercise would be difficult, but certainly not impossible. All that is required is sufficient political will to compile such a resource. The main difficulty arises because applicable funds would be allocated in various different portfolios even, for example, within a particular jurisdiction. Then again, such references usually only appear in the public domain when they paint a politically palatable picture. Perhaps that’s the real issue here.

A 2014 paper produced by the Parliament House library, although woefully incomplete, is one possible starting point in compiling such a spreadsheet. It’s weakness is that it only provides details of the dollar value of some of the relevant federal funding, and nothing whatsoever regarding state/territory funding.

(Addendum June 2019: ‘Coordination and targeting of domestic violence funding and actions‘, Auditor-General report No. 45 2018/19 (p7), stated “Total expenditure by the Commonwealth across the life of the National Plan to date, is around $723 million”)

(Addendum December 2019: Some further relevant government commitments made during the 2019 federal election campaign are noted in this other blog post)

Another indicator of the scale of expenditure at the state level is provided in the 2016 report of the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence, which informs us that “the Victorian Government estimates that funding for programs and services aimed at dealing with family violence in 2014–15 was $80.6 million” (p41).

A few further snippets of info can be gleaned from this other blog post wherein I briefly examine several feminist advocacy groups, noting both the level of public funding received and the nature of expenses incurred by each.

Financial statements for advocacy groups ‘Our Reach‘ and ‘White Ribbon Australia‘, for example, tell us that most of the funding received goes into the pockets of staff, directors and consultants. The average staff salary within such organisations is in excess of $80,000/year, consistent with information obtained from an online salary comparison site (pictured).

payscaleRegrettably though, only a trickle of money subsequently makes its way past generously-rewarded tertiary-educated femocrats and consultants to reach front-line workers assisting female victims of violence. Note that relatively speaking, only a miniscule amount is directed towards helping male victims.

Clearly, maintaining, building and controlling this torrent of public funding is central to what is at stake in maintaining the circle of influence that is the ADVI.

It is only common-sense to recognise that when one combines the elements listed below, one creates an environment in which substantial waste might occur and in which corrupt conduct could flourish:

  • a significant degree of cronyism
  • federal and state governments that equate being seen to care about an issue, with throwing money at it, with the aim of fashioning electoral popularity
  • little accountability and poorly defined or non-existent review or audit processes with regards to the expenditure of public funds
  • an ‘ends justifies the means’ mind-set borne from ideological fervency, including the suppression of alternative viewpoints.

Regardless of whether criminal intent is present, or simply misguided or self-serving behaviour, the key common-sense questions that need to be answered include:

Exactly how much public money has been spent by federal/state and territory governments in recent years? Who received it?

Have public funds been distributed fairly, responsibly and cost-effectively? To what extent has auditing or program evaluation occurred, and was this done independently?

Are the resourcing decisions that emerge from this feminist milieu in the long-term best interests of the broader Australian community? Here’s a recent example of what can, and increasingly will, happen (re: Kids Company, UK). And on that note, kindly refer to this July 2021 paper by Canh Dang.

A further complication is that many people refuse to contemplate that these organisations may be contributing very little to a remedy, with a common attitude that ‘they mean well’ and thus should not be insulted with requests to verify/justify what they have done with the considered public funds that they have been given responsibility for. Conversely, those people seeking to impose accountability become the focus of aggression for even publicly considering that care agencies might be incompetent or dishonest. It must have been a similar situation, for example, when the first public claims were aired concerning Catholic priests sexually abusing children.

The subject of feminist enterprise centred around the issue of domestic violence has been addressed by well-known Canadian MRA 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.”

Another good paper concerning the nature of the domestic violence industry can be found here (Dalrock, July 2013).

In closing I would make one further observation in relation to the ‘old girls club’ character of the ADVI. Most organisations within the ADVI have a board of directors and/or an advisory group. Whilst my research was hardly exhaustive, I was unable to find a single example of a board or advisory group that included representation by a men’s group or fathers group. This exclusion of relevant stake-holders, and general lack of gender diversity, is accentuated by the fact that many DV-related organisations have few or nil male employees. Surely this is very much at odds for a movement that elsewhere stridently champions the benefits of gender diversity and inclusiveness?

Let’s take the example of WESNET who state that they work “within a feminist framework“, which most would assume to include a strong commitment to gender equality. And yet in the next breath, WESNET supports women only management committees as most appropriate to women and children focused services and to services employing women only.”

WESNET makes a feeble effort at an appearance of objectivity, stating that although “pro-women; this has sometimes been misconstrued as meaning “anti-men” but this is not the case.” Yet search as I did I could not find a single admission regarding female perpetration of violence, nor an expression of support for male victims of their violence.

Another similar example is an allied organisation known as AWAVA, whose advisory board is entirely female.

Finally in this interview with Rosie Batty on the ABC’s 7:30 program, Rosie discloses her frank assessment of likely progress in combating DV in Australia (based on continued reliance on the feminist/Duluth approach):

“HAYDEN COOPER: … We’ve all heard that horrendous statistic of one in three women who’ve experienced physical violence. Have you seen any sign yet that that statistic, that figure is improving?

ROSIE BATTY: Look, it’s going to be a heck of a long time before we start to see changes to our statistics turn around.” (Source)

Well no-one can accuse Rosie of setting the bar too high. Meanwhile just keep signing those cheques, Prime Minister.

rebecca

neave

Image

This graph was posted on Twitter by @JamesLNuzzo – A link to it’s source can be found here.

See also:

Domestic abuse charity worker who stabbed her ex-boyfriend during campaign of violence is jailed (19 September 2024)

Federal government calls out states for missed DV staffing targets ahead of anticipated $351m support package (5 September 2024) That’s right folks, change nothing, just spend more!

Australia was just handed a report card on how it’s tackling gendered violence (22 August 2024) The feminist lobby’s idea of a “report card”. It oozes a ridiculous amount of bias and misrepresentation.

Feminism’s cash cow implodes, by Bettina Arndt (4 August 2024)

The Australian government hands out hundreds of millions per year in grants to businesses. We find much of it is wasted (18 July 2024)

An illuminating account of the early history of the DV shelter movement

Aussie men have had enough – has a push-back begun? (May 2024) Video

‘Systemic’ underpayment of community and social services workers revealed in UNSW report (23 May 2024) DV workers are under-paid, says Their ABC

DOJ’s Kristen Clarke testified she was never arrested. Court records and text messages indicate she was (1 May 2024) USA

‘Men need to hear this’: Independents call on the government to address domestic violence ’emergency’ (22 March 2024) Why only men? Do these politicians know anything about domestic violence (apart from feminist catch-cries?)

Thousands applied for this payment to escape domestic violence. Fewer than half received it (16 January 2024) Count the number of references to men and male victims.

What action looks like (?) … Tanya Plibersek announces we’re investing more than $260 million in First Nations women and children’s safety (19 October 2023)

Women and children are still dying in domestic violence incidents. A proper plan and funding are needed (21 August 2023)

WA family and domestic violence services hold urgent meeting amid ‘crisis’, as cases increase (9 August 2023)

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

Senator Katy Gallagher advises that the gov’ts 2023 Budget will be “dedicating almost $590 million to the National Plan to End Violence against Women & Children” (Source) No mention of male victims or female perpetrators, as is par for the course.

Time to #ShiftTheBurden: what the 2022-23 Federal Budget means for our sector (May 2023) Report by the pro-feminist ‘No to Violence’ group

Newly opened remote women’s shelter cannot provide refuge due to security risks, building defects (31 March 2023)

ANROWS survey reveals 1 in 4 Australians’ shock belief about domestic violence (29 March 2023) “Two in five people (41 per cent), according to the findings, mistakenly believe that domestic violence is committed equally by men and women”. It’s a shock when feminist’s No. 1 #CashCow is under threat

Family violence jobs – information for potential employment seekers produced by the Victorian government (27 February 2023)

NSW election: Labor’s pledges on domestic violence could affect existing services, PBO warns (24 March 2023)

“One of the most egregious, shameless statistical falsehoods I’ve seen in a long time, one that thoroughly shames @MayorofLondon @TenderUK in the recently published Teachers Toolkit on addressing gender-based violence & abuse” (22 February 2023) UK Twitter thread by Ally Fogg. But on the positive side, and only following lobbying by men’s rights activists, some statistical corrections were implemented

Labor’s plan to stop social services worker exodus (1 December 2022) Hey, maybe the main problem re: staff bailing out of feminist organisations isn’t salary level

Queensland Audit Office reports a lack of information sharing in Queensland domestic violence response (10 November 2022) Why am I not surprised?

The true nature of domestic violence, a video by Mark Latham (2022)

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

Erin: Beyond the Bruises — The Life and Legacy of Refuge Founder Erin Pizzey (21 September 2022)

Police reveal false allegations driving the domestic violence industry, by Bettina Arndt (undated)

Domestic violence gravy train, by Bettina Arndt (14 September 2022) Recommended reading

Disgraceful act costing NSW $3.3b during Covid-19 pandemic (12 September 2022)

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

Transparency International Australia CEO calls for federal ICAC to look into lobbyists, Scott Morrison’s secret ministries investigation (21 August 2022)

Security upgrades to women’s refuges as abusers turn to technology (21 August 2022) NSW, Australia. Not even a passing mention of female perpetrators, male victims or male refuges. I bet that doesn’t surprise you, does it?

The Queensland Government hands another $2 million to a feminist NGO based on call data provided by them (DV Connect) (3 August 2022)

RISE row prompts fresh look at how sensitive contracts are awarded (27 July 2022) I’ve seen a few articles like this one and expect to see plenty more, as state/local administrative bodies increasingly find the courage to challenge previously funded non-performing feminist NGO’s

‘Vital piece of evidence’ for 10-year domestic violence plan finally sees the light of day after Morrison government delay (14 July 2022)

Protecting boys from sexploitation: Why the eSafety regulator isn’t interested (8 July 2022) Another excellent paper by Bettina Arndt

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) (Postscript September 2022 – Here are similar guidelines – unrelated to Our Watch – without feminist bias having been applied)

Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre founders meet following federal budget’s $25-million pledge (20 April 2022) Zero mention of male victims … as is par for the course.

Expert Addresses Common Misconceptions About Men Who Experience Intimate Partner Violence (19 April 2022)

Male domestic abuse: Lack of refuges ‘inexplicable’, charity says (31 March 2022) Not so inexplicable when you see & listen to those who are running the show

There’s $1.3 billion for women’s safety in the budget and it’s not enough (30 March 2022) Here is a link to the budget statement for women – No statement was provided for men

This infographic contains information on how the Government is helping to end violence against women and children by providing funding across four pillars: $203.6 million for prevention, $328.2 million for early intervention, $480.1 million for response and $290.9 million for recovery. It also includes shows information on the Government’s commitment of $19.0 million for national data and evidence on women’s safety, funding of $22.4 million for a National Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence Commission announced in November 2021 and an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander action plan.

Queensland’s ‘patchwork’ response to domestic violence has clearly failed, police veteran says (14 March 2022)

Record boost to prevention and consent initiatives (6 March 2022)

Femicide Census: there’s a disturbing reason for the falling number of murders (27 February 2022) UK. What’s disturbing is the feminist lobby seeing the need to invent a reason to explain a drop in female victims number, in a manner that won’t threaten their (taxpayer-sourced) cash flow.

Founder of domestic abuse charity investigated after tweet saying service is for women only (31 January 2022)

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

Domestic abuse charities condemn ‘harsh’ sentencing of Penelope Jackson, by Patrick Sawer at The Telegraph (30 October 2021) Paywall protected article. An extremely inappropriate move by the Industry, speaking up here on behalf of a recently convicted (female) murderer. (Relevant case here)

NSW government to deliver 75 women’s refuges in biggest ever spend to tackle domestic violence (21 October 2021) The word men or male (as in male victims) doesn’t appear in this article – not even once.

‘Culture of Dishonesty:’ Lawmakers Need to Call Out Domestic Violence Half-Truths, Falsehoods, and Lies (22 October 2021) USA

Fall from Grace (4 October 2021) What people working in the DV field should look like

The Great COVID Domestic Violence Fundraiser – Quadrant Online (13 August 2021)

Police resent enforcing unjust feminist laws – former police officer speaks out. – Bettina Arndt #MENTOO (3 August 2021)

Detecting financial misreporting | Research for the World | LSE Research (7 July 2021)

Palaszczuk government to spend $30m on domestic violence prevention (news.com.au) (13 May 2021)

‘A very broken system’: why are Queensland police still getting domestic violence cases so wrong? (8 May 2021)

What women’s ministers should ask: why decades of no progress on violence? (7 April 2021) This article might be interesting, but behind a paywall

In the UK, it is estimated that the domestic abuse industry received close to £400 million a year for women. Yet despite acknowledging there were 786,000 male victims, the DA bill only sets aside £500,000 for male victims, 64p per male victim! (Source: Domestic Abuse Bill: policy equality statement Refer para 71)

Services to be cut and ‘lives lost’ in Queensland’s looming domestic violence funding ‘catastrophe’, advocates warn

‘Domestic’ violence – gender, truth and lies (21 March 2021) Discusses the UK situation, and I don’t agree with everything here, but it does raise some pertinent points

Stripping charity of £5m because it’s not gender-neutral ‘puts lives at risk’ (27 February 2021) UK. And in fact funding not removed but re-allocated to organisations that were willing to meet the required commitment to assist *all* victims regardless of gender.

This Christmas the Morrison Government needs to fully fund services that keep women safe and children feeling abuse safe (22 December 2020) Australia

Lobbyland. Fixing corruption risks in lobbying (5 October 2020) by David Solomon, Australia

Urgent funding plea to aid victims of abuse (26 September 2020) Australia

‘Revenge porn new normal’ after cases surge in lockdown (18 September 2020) UK, with a similar article in ‘The Independent’. A new funding angle it would seem.

Women’s Safety NSW calls for the Australian federal government to spend $15 billion on domestic violence over twelve years (18 September 2020)

The Domestic Violence racket explained (15 September 2020) UK video. Recommended viewing

Curb cash flow to the domestic abuse lobby (9 September 2020) UK

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

It is ‘all men’, to varying degrees: men’s violence against women is a systemic crisis (29 July 2020)

Comprehensive package to support WA family violence response (22 July 2020)

Governments strike $2b legal funding deal (30 June 2020)

A safe place to escape family violence during coronavirus (10 April 2020) The Victorian government hands out tens of millions of dollars more

Queensland government pledges another $5.5 million for domestic violence during Covid-19 pandemic (8 April 2020) Note that $500,000 of this has been set aside for an awareness campaign #FacePalm

“The package complements the $24.7 million coronavirus housing and homelessness response package announced by Housing Minister Mick de Brenni last month. It will also complement the Australian Government’s $150 million funding package announced by the Prime Minister late last month.

The COAG Women’s Safety Council where Queensland is represented by Minister Farmer, has agreed that $32.5 million will be provided as an initial response to states and territories to help meet urgent need, with a further $97.5 million to be allocated over the next six months”

$1.1 billion Medicare, mental health, domestic violence package on its way in response to coronavirus crisis (29 March 2020)

The government’s inaction on domestic violence slammed as ‘appalling’ & ‘irresponsible’ (9 March 2020) It’s not just the gender bias that is noisome here, it is the industry’s utter lack of self-awareness/judgement. The system isn’t working, and of course it’s the government’s fault … and the solution is for them to hand over more money now.

The Domestic Violence Industry, by Bettina Arndt (28 February 2020) Recommended reading

Blame for Florida’s non-profit pay scandal points to state officials as hearings start (23 February 2020) $51 million goes completely unaccounted for at the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Later the Miami Herald reported that the nonprofit organization paid its former CEO, Tiffany Carr, more than $756,000 a year (Source).

$5 million in paid time off? Records show domestic violence agency CEO got that and more (13 February 2020) USA

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

Funding for women’s group under review after call for ban on man-woman relationships (28 January 2020)

7 myths about domestic violence (23 January 2020)

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

$6m in family violence funding to help double the sector’s workforce (25 November 2019)

Failed charity White Ribbon tied in knots (6 November 2019)

Unpaid White Ribbon staff to get taxpayer-funded lifeline (21 October 2019) Australia

The Australian Women Against Violence Alliance because every industry needs a lobbying platform to oppose threats like proposed inquiries that may challenge the feminist perspective (and related income streams)

Domestic violence still at ‘unprecedented’ levels despite hundreds of millions being spent (5 September 2019) A lesson in asking questions about the industry without asking any of the real questions

Audit of the Office on Violence Against Women and California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (August 2019) See how they cheat

Stop the feminist control of domestic violence funding (29 July 2019) by Bettina Arndt

Audit doubts outcomes of plan to tackle domestic violence (14 June 2019) Australia. Gee, why am I not surprised? Here is a link to the actual audit report.

Claims of mismanagement, nepotism at big domestic violence service (31 May 2019) And I predict that there’s plenty more stories like this to come

Where’s the oversight on government grants? (10 April 2019) USA

White Ribbon organisation gets a little government hand-out because …. err … some reason (17 February 2019) Video of Senator Leyonhjelm

Morrison promises $78 million for combatting domestic violence (11 February 2019)

Refuge charity boss Sandra Horley accused of bullying culture (7 January 2019) UK. Expect many more stories like this one. And look at her salary!

Four years on, it’s impossible to hear Rosie and not want to do something (2 November 2018)

“The NSW Domestic and Family Violence Blueprint for Reform is funded for $300 million over the next four years. While it might not match the $1.9 billion promised by the Victorian government, it’s certainly a huge step further than the minuscule $18.2 from the Federal government.”

“As Rosie Batty said at the forum last week, “cut out the word ‘family’, cut out the word ‘domestic’ – this is just violence. And let’s call it what it is. It’s terrorism.” (my comment: But it seems we can’t cut out the DV = violence against women label that appears on almost all inquiries or gov’t agencies or NGO’s)

2018 federal budget: Turnbull Government all talk, no action on family violence (10 May 2018) Strong pro-feminist perspective in body of article but some federal/state expenditure data provided (although no links to sources provided)

Former employees warn of ‘toxic’ culture at domestic abuse charity Refuge (22 June 2018) UK

The sad truth about the Luke Batty Foundation (19 February 2018) and Wrongdoing at Luke Batty Foundation is indefensible (22 February 2018) Mark Latham’s Outsiders discusses alleged financial irregularities and the abuse & turnover of female directors and staff, culminating in the closure of the Foundation.

Feminists laugh at the idea of violence against men (2017) Video. One can just imagine the women pictured being appointed to head a feminist NGO ‘fighting’ domestic violence. And voila …

Cory Bernardi is using provocative motions to make ideological points in the Senate (16 November 2017) showing how DV organisations can/do attempt to influence policy in other areas in support of feminist ideology. See rebuttal from Corrine Barraclough here.

DV Connect chief executive Diane Mangan axed from role amid dispute (8 November 2017)

Senior Australian public servants demonstrating their unswerving support for the feminist narrative and the DVI (12 April 2017) Video

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

Victorian budget 2017: record spending to break family violence (2 May 2017) Open wide all those feminist snouts!

“The same policies will only produce the same tragedies. That’s why I promised to change it all.” So said Premier Andrews, and yet the same fundamental approach is to be followed – with the addition of all those millions more taxpayer dollars. In other words an approach underpinned by feminist ideology/the Duluth Model, and with ‘awareness’ and support services run by the same feminist lobby groups who have previously received funds in the past. And this despite those groups shunning male victims, turning a blind eye to female perpetrators, and producing no measurable improvement in the incidence of DV.

Family Violence Workforce Census (April 2017) Interesting to see the feminist Victorian Government acknowledging this glad-handing network as an ‘industry’. Further details available here.

Our Watch charity invited to assess its own schools gender equity program (4 February 2017) An obvious conflict of interest, but might as well keep the $$ within the family, right?

Domestic Violence Industry: Nights with Miranda Devine (12 January 2017) Miranda talks with Sex Therapist, Psychologist and Men’s rights activist, Bettina Arndt about the misuse of AVO’s and the industry that surrounds it. Australia

The White Ribbon Breakfast ~ where the cash cow meets the gravy train (28 October 2016)

Feminist charity quits Scottish Women’s Aid network in dispute over male director (21 October 2016) UK. Related Reddit discussion thread here.

Domestic violence double standards – male MP was forced to stand down when cautioned for assaulting partner yet Sarah Champion receives support for same crime (26 September 2016) UK

UK Domestic Violence Charities’ Finances (16 September 2016) Recommended reading.

“What is the overall level of public funding to UK Domestic Violence (DV) charities? The answer is not widely known (is it known at all outside the closed doors of the sector itself?). The financing of the DV sector is obscure partly because of the many hundreds of different charities in the sector.” Just as is the case in Australia

Exposing the fraudulent DV lobby (9 September 2016)

Bashing of ‘domestic violence industry’ beyond the pale, by Anne Summers (3 September 2016) Wishy-washy defence of the ADVI that avoids ALL of the points of criticism, relying primarily on the straw-man argument that if you disrespect the ADVI then you are also disrespecting victims of domestic violence:

“How despicable – and un-Australian – for politicians and journalists to so cruelly mock those who suffer racism or violence with the ugly inference that they are just fodder for an “industry””

“the people who work to end the epidemic”? Firstly there is no “epidemic”, and secondly I am unaware of any evidence to support the assertion that the feminist ADVI is doing anything to “end” it … or even reduce it.

Vested interests ‘have taken over the domestic violence debate’: Leyonhjelm (26 August 2016)

Wales gives 77 times as much money to women’s groups than men’s groups (21 August 2016)

Always beating up on men, by Bettina Arndt (20 August 2016) with introductory piece here

The Domestic Violence Industry – Parts 1 & 2 (17 July 2016 & 6 August 2016)

Stop the man-bashing: It’s time to fight back against feminism, by Corrine Barraclough (29 July 2016) Australia

Victoria Is Spending More Money On Domestic Violence Than The Federal Government (15 July 2016)

Revealed: The Lavish Spending That Brought Down Britain’s Only LGBT Domestic Abuse Charity (5 July 2016) UK, with related Reddit discussion thread here

Public money wasted on domestic violence organisations, by Bettina Arndt (9 July 2016) More than 180 readers comments at last count, the vast majority of which support Bettina’s position on the matter.

ACT government dreams up a new way to top up the coffers of the DVI – A domestic violence levy, by Angela Shanahan (18 June 2016)

F4J call for inquiry into violence & drug taking at contact handover involving Domestic Violence charity in Greenwich (17 May 2016) UK

Domestic violence ad campaign to focus on ‘influencers’ in bid to change attitudes (20 April 2016) Australia. This is the new campaign. There is little/no evidence that such campaigns actually reduce the incidence of DV, but by jingo $30million sure will help some lucky pro-feminist PR/marketing company. And here Mary Barry, CEO of feminist advocacy group ‘Our Watch’ barracks on the irresponsible people feeding the feminist juggernaut with ever-more $$$

Family Violence royal commission proposes policing, social services, courts overhaul (31 March 2016) Australia. Commissioner Neave admits we don’t really know how much is being spent on combatting family violence, only that millions, maybe billions, more needs to be spent. Even if it requires a special tax levy.

Letter to Malcolm Turnbull: domestic violence must be a budget priority (16 March 2016) More sir!

Shane Warne Foundation not alone in charity spending ambiguity (15 March 2016) Australia. More and better scrutiny of not-for-profits? Bring it on – and let’s start with feminist organisations.

To see just how out-of-control the DVI can get, please read ‘Spain gender laws: A country against men‘ (18 February 2016)

Australian of the Year David Morrison’s $15,000 speaking fee (4 February 2016) Elizabeth Broderick $10k/gig and Rosie Batty a bargain at only $5k. Oh and now it transpires that he’s getting $200,000 for 25 days work. Hands up who thinks the same sorts of generous arrangements would be uncovered if anyone was brave enough to delve into the finances of high-profile SJW women?

Rosie Batty’s legacy: more women leaving abusive relationships (24 January 2016) Please Sir! May I have more (money)? More calls from women (based on statistics generated by groups with a pecuniary interest, and which are unlikely to ever be verified/audited) does not necessarily equal lowering the incidence of domestic violence at all, let alone doing so in a cost-effective manner.

Thanks for your words about respecting women, Mr Turnbull. Now show us your deeds (7 January 2016) Australia

“I’m not discounting Turnbull’s commitment of $100m for domestic violence services. It is a good start” Except of course this commitment was hardly a “start”, more like the latest big ladle of mash in a very large trough. Note the author is already using the DV Connect call figures as leverage to argue for more funding.

Influx of calls to domestic violence helplines this year (6 January 2016) And of course the veracity of DV Connect’s record-keeping will be subject to careful scrutiny.

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

Smoke, Mirrors And Violence Against Women (5 January 2016) Australia

Vera Baird facing probe after awarding more than £500,000 of taxpayers’ money to the charity she runs with force police chief (26 December 2015) UK

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

Domestic violence initiatives to receive $41 million funding package from Federal Government, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to go hard against domestic violence, and Domestic violence experts welcome $100m boost, but say more is needed  (24 September 2015) That’s a lot of happy feminist snouts in a very large trough of public funds, whilst female perpetrators and their victims continue to be ignored.

Former Premier Anna calls on men to report mates guilty of domestic violence (15 September 2015) Domestic violence unabated? It’s nothing to do with the strategies being utilised and the underlying philosophy (i.e. feminism/Duluth Model), nope it’s because a) more government funding needed and/or b) men aren’t doing enough. Priceless!

Vernon Beck – How the Domestic Violence Industry Destroys Families (19 July 2015) Canadian video

Anti-Islam group deregistered for masquerading as domestic violence group (2 July 2015)

Rosie Batty – The Opposite Case (28 June 2015)

A welcome response from government to domestic violence crisis (5 June 2015) Since when does handing millions more to the same groups, running the same programs, whilst not reducing the problem one iota, constitute governments “lifting their game“?

How £210,868 (88.6%) of the 2013/14 income of Engender, a radical feminist campaign organisation, was paid by Scottish taxpayers (27 May 2015)

Anti-violence funding ‘lacks transparency and cohesion’ (16 May 2015)

Budget 2015: ‘Government failed domestic violence test’ (13 May 2015) A ‘fail’, yet another $17 million goes into the pot. Oh, and just a few days later (17 May 2015) here is another $4 million

This article exemplifies the ‘hurry up and spend more’ tone of most DV-related coverage in the mainstream media

$17M boost for domestic and family violence support (1 April 2015) Queensland Minister fails to identify the nine organisations that will get the $$$

Three Accused of Stealing Funds from Domestic Violence Shelter (31 March 2015) Expect to see more stories like this

Coalition reverses Labor’s funding cuts on homelessness with $230 million commitment prioritising victims of domestic violence (23 March 2015)

National $30 million campaign to tackle domestic violence (5 March 2015) Open wide, here comes lots more public funding for “awareness”

Baird promises Domestic Violence Minister (6 March 2015) More costly affectatious pandering to the feminist lobby. Disregard the fact that the cost of changing letterhead paper, brochures, business cards and office signage etc, would probably be enough to maintain a refuge for male victims of domestic violence for a couple of years. How about a Minister for Skin Cancer? Minister for Stopping Motor Vehicle Accidents? (Refer this blog post)

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

Domestic violence funding in NSW: Rosie Batty as Australian of the Year raises profile of state ‘epidemic’ (26 January 2015)

In January 2015 the West Australian government went against the flow and bravely decided to terminate a costly failed experiment (Domestic violence court axed). Despite the fact that they made it clear the decision was not based on saving money – that it was counter-productive in terms of victim outcomes – they were castigated by feminists on the basis of being uncaring about the welfare of ‘women and their children’:

“Attorney-General Michael Mischin’s decision comes nine months after the release of details of a draft review which found that offenders dealt with in the five Perth family violence courts, which cost close to $10 million a year to operate, were 2.4 times more likely to go on to commit further acts of violence than matched offenders in the mainstream system.”

And yet despite the WA decision, just a week later either the same, or a very similar, system was proposed for Queensland.

In reading this article one recognises certain parallels between ‘rape culture’ and the ‘epidemic of domestic violence’, and the two-legged remoras that attach themselves to each: ‘The Hunting Ground’: Reaping Profit from Rape Hysteria (26 March 2015)

A brilliant funding strategy” – How and why feminists took over the domestic violence movement Interviews with Erin Pizzey, Senator Anne Cools, Warren Farrell and others (You Tube video)

How did male victims of domestic violence disappear? A video by Tom Golden (9 April 2012)

How Much Taxpayer Money is Enough for Domestic Violence Programs? (20 April 2009) USA

Differences in Frequency of Violence and Reported Injury Between Relationships With Reciprocal and Nonreciprocal Intimate Partner Violence (May 2007) One of the many papers that show just how wrong the feminist lobby can be.

Finally, this series of email exchanges is really quite eye-opening about the theoretical basis for the way in which feminist domestic violence agencies conduct themselves. See NCFM South African Member Jason Dale, a must read email exchange about the Duluth model of domestic violence (23 March 2015)

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Elsewhere in this blog you might be interested in:

Going Batty: The making of a champion of the Domestic Violence Industry

Two awareness campaigns. Only one can be criticised. Cowed by feminism?

Australian feminist attacks integrity of advocacy group for male victims of domestic violence

Grotesque hypocrisy by feminist politicians (re: domestic violence)

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

Australian Government cuts back funding to advocacy groups, except feminist ones

NSW feminist groups seek to roll back reform of domestic violence shelters

Going Batty: The making of a champion of the domestic violence industry

I have absolutely nothing personal against Rosie Batty, and in fact as a parent myself I have a great deal of sympathy for anyone who has lost a child under such horrific circumstances. Her tragic loss has provided her with a unique and potentially valuable insight, but it does not qualify her to direct public policy on dealing with domestic violence in the community. She is but one person affected by a scourge that has affected thousands of Australians.

This is a complex topic and we need to hear about, and be open to, the experiences and opinions of many others. We should also ensure that we consider different theoretical/ideological perspectives and not, as is done now, exclude serious consideration of all but one approach (feminism/Duluth Model).

Rosie has transformed herself and/or allowed herself to be transformed, into a veritable battering ram for the domestic violence industry. Feminist advocates and their allies in the media and political sphere have, like so many roman centurions, arranged themselves around her and are pressing her forward. Broader political events here in Australia have added further momentum as politicians look about for suitable populist issues with which to score cheap points and/or divert attention from other matters. This is patently obvious in Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull’s adoption of DV as one of his personal cause celebre.

This focussing of attention could have been a great thing in terms of getting decisive action on the issue of family violence and related issues like child abuse and elder abuse. But it won’t be. It won’t be because the whole episode is being choreographed by the archly-feminist domestic violence industry.

As a result all we will get is more of the same old failed and shockingly biased resourcing decisions and ‘initiatives’:

  • The continued turning-the-other-way when it comes to supporting male victims of DV and their children
  • The continued turning-the-other-way in relation the incidence of violent behaviour by women
  • The continued insistence that both the problem and its solution rests entirely in the hands of men
  • The continued emphasis on the discredited ‘Duluth model‘ of theorising domestic violence
  • The continued pouring of millions of dollars of public funds towards feminist consultants and advocacy groups
  • The creation of yet more consultative groups and the convening of more inquiries/royal commissions.

None of which have been proven to have any significant effect on reducing actual rates of perpetration and/or re-offending

And thus now we are witnessing a competition amongst state and federal politicians as to who cares the most about domestic violence, with ‘care’ manifesting itself through hideously costly inquiries and hand-outs to advocacy groups.

Here is a timeline of events:

Father who killed son, Luke Batty, at cricket ground had history of mental illness, says boy’s anguished mother (14 February 2014)

Luke Batty’s grieving mother speaks out on family violence (19 February 2014)

“The mother of Luke Batty says Australians need to have a greater understanding of family violence. Rosie Batty has also urged men to address the problem, in a long and emotional interview less than a week after her 11-year-old son was killed by his father at a Victorian cricket ground.”

Rosie Batty blasts Studio 10 host Joe Hildebrand on morning TV (2 April 2014)

Rosie Batty storms out of her murdered son’s inquest, almost in tears (23 October 2014)

It’s a disgrace some want Rosie to share the blame (23 October 2014)

Rosie Batty appointed ‘Australian of the Year’ (25 January 2015)

Rosie Batty’s speech after becoming 2015 Australian of the Year (25 January 2015)

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten seized the opportunity of Rosie’s appointment to climb higher upon the feminist bandwagon by calling for a federal Royal Commission on domestic violence. Someone should remind him that a federal inquiry is already underway and is due to report in March 2015.

Predictably the media then went to the Government to ask them whether they would support a national Royal Commission. Thank goodness that the Government stood its ground against this misguided proposal – at least thus far – although they did make other concessions.

Domestic violence funding in NSW: Rosie Batty as Australian of the Year raises profile of state ‘epidemic’ (26 January 2015)

Rosie Batty, Australian of the Year, will save lives of family violence victims, former police commissioner Ken Lay says (26 January 2015)

Ken Lay is one of the most well-recognised ‘white knights‘ on behalf of the Australian feminist movement, known for his frequent use of the incorrect statement that the “overwhelming majority” of domestic violence was perpetrated by men upon women.

Rosie Batty: I’d like to see a government campaign to stop domestic violence (27 January 2015)

Rosie Batty and Ken Lay appointed to new domestic violence advisory panel (28 January 2015)

I posted a quite cordial comment in response to this article but gee whiz, look what happened:

This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our community standards. Replies may also be deleted. For more detail see our FAQs.

Imagine that, a pro-feminist news source (The Guardian) censoring a (polite and non-threatening) dissenting viewpoint. Seriously now, this happens so often that I really must get into the habit of creating screen-saves each time I post a comment. (And so I did – refer below)

Any response to family violence must include funding legal services (29 Jan 2015)flooding

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

We must support Rosie Batty as she highlights domestic violence (6 February 2015)

Rosie Batty on why passion must lead to change on family violence (7 Feb 2015) In this article Rosie again makes no mention of the existence of male victims or female perpetrators. Rosie also suggests that the courts are biased towards the interests of the men’s rights movement and the rights of fathers.

‘Stop blaming the victim’: Rosie Batty to address MPs (2 March 2015) Rosie admits that the factors driving violent behaviour are “not readily understood“, whilst in the same paragraph asserting that it’s all about “gender inequality and “men’s sense of entitlement that a woman is their possession“. Except for violence committed by women, of course.

Rosie Batty calls for funds as poll finds family violence feared above terrorism (6 July 2015) and related reddit discussion thread

Rosie Batty should apologise for this insult to Tony Abbott (28 September 2015)

See also:

Rosie Batty challenges men to ‘step up’ to end violence (3 April 2024)

Dad begs people not to judge cancer-stricken mum suspected of killing son in murder-suicide (31 August 2020) What a contrast!

Batty ‘thrilled’ with government call to remove Arndt’s gong, calls for men to join push (30 January 2020)

Rosie Batty speaks out against Australia Day award winner Bettina Arndt (26 January 2020) And this item by Bettina addresses points raised by Batty and her feminist cronies

Family law inquiry given green light by Senate as Rosie Batty questions Pauline Hanson’s role (18 September 2019)

Why people are furious John Setka reportedly invoked Rosie Batty’s name, by Wendy Tuohy (12 June 2019) It seems that he was expressing concern about the Domestic Violence Industry generally, rather than specifically about Rosie Batty, but look at the reaction.

Queen’s birthday honours list recognises trailblazers Rosie Batty and Ita Buttrose (10 June 2019)

The sad truth about the Luke Batty Foundation (19 February 2018) and Wrongdoing at Luke Batty Foundation is indefensible (22 February 2018) Mark Latham’s Outsiders discusses alleged financial irregularities and the abuse & turnover of female directors and staff, culminating in the closure of the Foundation.

If only Rosie Batty Hadn’t made her trauma about power (31 July 2017)

Rosie Batty joins 7.30 to discuss the Summit on family violence (28 February 2017)

Mark Latham’s attack on Rosie Batty rejected by head of Rosie Batty Foundation (1 November 2016)

‘Women are being traumatised’: Rosie Batty call to end cross-examination by ‘abusers’  (25 October 2016) No mention, of course, of men traumatized via abuse and/or false accusations.

Rosie Batty partners with Lancome for domestic violence campaign (18 September 2016)

Anti-violence campaigner Rosie Batty shares son Luke’s struggle with male role models  (13 September 2016) Conveniently ignores the fact that girls are equally likely to grow to become abusers after exposure to violence/neglect perpetrated by mum and/or dad (or mum’s male partner).

Rosie Batty and Danny Blay Speak about MRA’s (15 June 2016)

Rosie Batty Says Men Who Have Never Hit Women Can Still Be Dangerous (15 June 2016) And women? Hmm, not so much it seems

Rosie Batty to lead family violence survivors council (23 March 2016)

Rosie Batty: Face to face with a domestic violence perpetrator (15 March 2016)

“The prospect of a feminist party in Australia intrigues Ms Batty. But she is not sure if she would make the giant step from activist to politician. “I would never discount it … who knows, all I do know is that I genuinely want to make a difference and so if I was comfortable and confident that I could make a significant difference through a political career, I think I would definitely consider that. I think it would be a real privilege to be given that opportunity.””

Saying goodbye to Rosie (25 January 2016)

Mark Latham slams Rosie Batty’s ‘feminist nonsense’ in podcast spray (22 January 2016) Some very interesting comments to be found amongst those in this reddit/r/Australia discussion thread

Outstanding response to Rosie Batty article (7 January 2016)

Liberal MP Graham Watt remained seated during Rosie Batty standing ovation (27 November 2015) See readers comments

Mark Latham argues we are putting women in danger (27 June 2015)

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

Sanctified bigotry (10 February 2015)

Rosie Batty launches anti-domestic violence app for young women (15 February 2015) How easy it would have been to market this App as a tool for both young men and women, and what a sad indictment of feminism (& Ms. Batty) that this did not occur.

Is Rosie Batty Using Her Child’s Death For Her Own Fame And Fortune? (25 Jan 2015) Whilst many will consider this an unduly harsh and cynical assessment of the situation, I’ll let you be the judge as to the validity of the points raised within the context of the broader Australian DV debate.

For non-Australian readers: The meaning of the phrase “going batty

In exchanges within the reader’s comments section that follow various articles on the topic of DV, I have noted supporters of Ms Batty asserting that she is a champion for all victims of domestic violence. Her own Twitter profile makes it quite clear that is not the case.

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The often contrasting reaction when mums and dads kill their children

An outpouring of grief with considerable introspection versus an outpouring of anger and condemnation. A sober discussion of contributing factors versus angry dismissal in response to any mention of “excuses”. This is the stark difference in the nature of media coverage that filicide attracts depending on whether the murderer was their mother or their father, respectively. In the past week in Australia we have unfortunately witnessed examples of both.

On the 18th December Charles Mihayo was jailed for life with non-parole of 31 years for killing his two young daughters. He had experienced a bitter divorce and enjoyed only limited (and disputed) visitation rights in relation to his children.

On the following day eight children were found stabbed to death in a house in the Cairns suburb of Manoora. The victims were aged between 18 months and 15 years. A trial has yet to take place, but it is believed that they were killed by Mersane Warria, the mother of seven of the victims.

Media coverage of the Mihayo case

“A man who cold-bloodedly murdered his two young daughters in a “hideous crime” will spend more than 30 years in jail.

Supreme Court Justice Lex Lasry described Charles Mihayo’s crimes as “hideous” and said that he was at a loss to understand why the children had had to pay with their lives so Mihayo could cause suffering to his former wife.

Justice Lasry said the 36-year-old’s actions were devoid of any justification or explanation.”

Much mileage was made from the suggestion that Charles’ crime was primarily motivated by a desire to “get back at” his wife, the accuracy of which remains uncertain. Yet, even if that were true, there are many examples of women committing similar crimes as revenge for real or imagined transgressions by their partners. The following are examples of media coverage of this man’s trial:

http://www.mamamia.com.au/news/two-sisters-murdered-Melbourne/

http://www.mamamia.com.au/news/charles-mihayo-faces-court/

http://www.skynews.com.au/news/top-stories/2014/12/18/melb-man-jailed-for-life-for-killing-daughters.html

Media coverage of the Cairns massacre

Even before a suspect was announced, the calm and sympathetic language of the investigating police and civic leaders suggested that the killer was a woman and someone who was known to the victims …

“As it stands at the moment, there’s no need for the public to be concerned about this other than that it’s a tragic, tragic event. The situation is well controlled at the moment,” he told reporters.

“There shouldn’t be any concerns for anyone else out of this environment and as we progress further we’ll be sharing the results of our investigation …

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said he was “saddened and shocked” by the tragedy, and that his thoughts were with the family and friends of the victims …

“Indeed, the whole Cairns community and the people of Queensland will feel the effects of this tragedy, particularly at a time of year when families come together.” (Source)

Mother accused in Cairns massacre had dark, troubled past (22 December 2014) In contrast no-one appeared to express much interest about Charles’ past. This article has since been removed from the msn.com web site.

‘She knows what’s happened, but it hasn’t sunk in yet’: Mother charged with killing seven of her children and a niece will undergo mental health checks before trial (22 December 2014)

http://www.mamamia.com.au/news/carins-stabbing/

Cairns deaths: Tree planting memorial service honours eight children killed in Manoora (20 December 2015)

Addendum January 2017: Despite being the worst single incident of domestic violence in Australia, I understand that the perpetrator, Mersane Warria, has yet to be convicted of any crime. Naturally, nothing but silence from the feminist lobby. Here is a further article from May 2017.

Discussion

The examples mentioned in this post represent such a small sample that many will argue that this is no basis upon which to draw any meaningful conclusions. Yet many other writers have made the same observations as have I, after looking at the reporting of other similar earlier incidents.

Australian statistics tell us that mothers are the most common perpetrators of child homicide, with women accounting for 52% of child homicide offenders between 2002 and 2012. This of course excludes the incidence of abortion.

And yet despite this it would seem that the media, and probably the community generally, just cannot or will not grasp the idea of women as killers or abusers. If a man behaves in this manner, well that’s almost to be expected. If a women kills or abuses then that is an aberration, and there must have been extenuating circumstances (quite possibly involving some degree of pressure or influence by a man/men).

Notably absent from media coverage of the Cairns tragedy (and most other incidents involving filicide or abuse by mothers) were:

  • public generalisations about violent behaviour by women generally,
  • suggestions that women in general shared a collective responsibility for ensuring that other women did not also kill or abuse
  • judgemental commentary by feminist spokespersons/feminist lobby
  • recognition being given to the fact that more mothers kill their children than do fathers

http://www.msn.com/en-au/news/other/mothers-who-murder/vi-BBh3gZe?ocid=TSHDHP (Today show interview with Xanthe Mallet)

http://tenplay.com.au/channel-ten/mothers-who-murder/about

With regards to the second last dot point, one example of the feminist drum being struck involved comments made by a staff member of ANROWS who sought to imply a nexus between the dreadful actions of Ms. Warria and the issue of male violence towards women. This suggestion was subsequently the object of scorn in a reddit discussion thread.

With this post I am certainly not suggesting that the gender of the parent that kills makes the tragedy any more or less grave, or more comprehensible to the average person. What I would say however is that both types of incidents should be reported in a similar and gender-neutral manner, for example:

  • if a presumption of innocence until proven guilty is applied to female accused then so to should it applied to male accused
  • if anonymity is maintained for a female accused then so too should it be maintained for a male accused
  • if the personal background of a female perpetrator is recognised as being worthy of discussion (and an ameliorating factor) for female perpetrators, then that should also be the case for male perpetrators
  • if the behaviour of males generally is relevant in considering the degree of guilt (and degree of punishment imposed) in the case of men, then so too should the behaviour of females generally be relevant for women

To do anything other than the above is to fail to recognise and act upon the merits of gender equality, and to deny natural justice.

I’ll finish this post with a well-stated reader’s comment in response to an article about violence towards women that singled out male sporting stars for special attention:

“I read your article, It’s Time the footy world took a stand, with weary resignation for it is an article I have read countless times before. They weren’t penned by you, but the hypocrisy and double standards presented in your piece were the same.

You speak of this “attitude to women” as though it is some collective dogma that a large percentage of the AFL community adhere to rather than a problem for a handful of individuals who happen to be footballers. This phenomenon only ever applies to the male population whenever an individual male commits a crime or any offense. We are all immediately asked to stand up, speak out , swear an oath, wear a ribbon or condemn our gender. It is an outrageous but now very common reaction to any incident involving a man.  If the same articles were appearing when women behaved badly I would not be quite so outraged, but this has never been the case.

A mother butchered eight children late last year, another grandmother in Northern Queensland murdered two of her grandchildren and attempted to burn alive another two, a mother bashed her daughter to death and horrifically permanently maimed her other daughter, a woman shoved her new born baby down a drain-all in a period of four months… I saw no articles asking mothers of Australia to take a stand. I heard no-one on radio ask if there was a problem with mothers and their attitude to children. No, these incidents are very quickly hushed up and we move on remarkably quickly from even referring to them.

Ask yourself, Rita, when was the last article or reference in the media to the mother her sliced up eight children? It is as thought she has disappeared from the face of the earth. Yet when Arthur Freeman killed his daughter by throwing her off the West Gate Bridge, this “monster’s” name has remained in the headlines and on people’s lips for five years. There is another major article about him in today’s Herald Sun. You’d think there are enough male monsters floating about without having to dredge up Freeman yet again. Did you know that a woman by the name of Gabrielle Garcia killed her little boy on the same bridge only a couple of months earlier? Probably not.

You condemned the fact that friends of Nick Stevens said he was a “top bloke” or “good bloke” inferring that these men were cold monsters who thought there was nothing wrong with beating up your partner. Yet every time a mother murders her children you can be assured that countless female friends were label her a wonderful , caring mother and a good friend. Gabrielle Garcia is a perfect example of this reaction.

Garcia’s family was devastated by her suicide. Her sister Monica set up a shrine near the lonely spot where Garcia was found under the bridge, writing a letter saying “we will never forget you both. We will always love you. We understand your pain and hope you have found peace and happiness now.”

Such compassion for a woman who murdered her boy.

Gabriella Garcia adored her 22-month-old son Oliver. According to Pedro Soto, her close friend and the last person to see her alive, all the Melbourne mother wanted to do was to protect him.

Here’s another comment on a woman who hired a hitman to kill her husband

“If she did do what the police say she did, I don’t believe it was premeditated. I believe it was a spur-of-the moment act, something done on impulse in the heat of anger that resulted in something shocking.

“We’re not talking about some kind of evil diva here. We always thought of her as a fairly good person And I think, you know, that she’s probably very devastated right now.” No reference at all the poor dead husband. Are they brutes with no sensitivity or is it because they were asked what they thought of the accused and answered the question .

There have been countless occasions where such words have been spoken by people who know a different side of an alleged killer but I don’t recall articles of condemnation suggesting these people were insensitive or in some twisted fashion supporting or defending their violent behaviour.

But the real zinger in your article is this line:

In the warped moral code of professional football, cheating on your wife with hundreds of eager groupies is ok but betraying a teammate is a dog act. Wow.

You openly acknowledge that there are hundreds of females willing to sleep with a man they know is married but this is no cause for concern or moral outrage or a demand that our schools start educating our young women to change their disgraceful belief that because a man is a sports celebrity he is a target, a notch on your belt so to speak. These girls will do anything to bed these young men just so they can boast about it to their friends. Talk about sexual objectification! Where is the article pleading for the education of women so they understand that men are not their property simply because they are famous. Yet you attack the young male individual who has these girls throwing themselves at him or infer that the young men alone are responsible for the sex that takes place. It is simply sickening to see the finger of condemnation only ever pointed in one direction.

Are you suggesting that these girls (groupies) would not have more of a problem with a girlfriend who slept with their husband/partner whilst happily turning a blind eye to their shenanigans with other married footballers? 

It’s called human behaviour but you, like all female journalists only ever choose to focus on one gender.”

Postscript: The January 2016 Port Lincoln tragedy

Reddit discussion thread on this topic (9 January 2016) Read the thread and feel the anger – far in excess of any similar thread concerning a mother murdering her child. My post was down-voted into oblivion within an hour of being posted. Typical. People were still down-voting it hours after it was removed (?) Last time I checked there were 12 down votes with 3 comments. I have cut and pasted the most substantive of the comments below (‘Karismatic’), and to which I will reply shortly.

reddit_zap

Hatred wrong after Port Lincoln tragedy, says Adelaide’s Julia Trinne who lost son when father killed him (9 January 2016)

OPINION: Why are we sympathetic to men who kill their kids? by Caroline Overington (8 January 2016) Australia. Only a feminist could reach this conclusion, and guess what?

PS: I see now that in the Women’s Weekly web site the article has a different title, “Why are we sympathetic to parents who kill their kids?“, although it still written in a way that implies that most child-killers are male, for e.g. “This trend is most evident when the murderer takes his own life, as well as that of his children
Damien Little murdered his two boys. So why are we calling him a “top bloke?” (6 January 2016) The feminist perspective, delivered without a hint of irony
 caro

See also:

Media coverage of the murder of Luke Batty was addressed in this blog post

Key question about Blue Mountains mum after two boys found dead (11 September 2024)

Police reveal horrendous details after dad found 10yo dead (14 August 2024) Australia. Nil mention of the term ‘domestic violence’. Color me surprised

Ky. Mother Faces Possible Death Penalty After Toddler’s Death. Her Defense Lawyers Blame Social Media (26 May 2024)

Mum reveals grief after 10-year-old daughter is found dead (15 August 2023) UK

Lauren Dickason: Final moments before three girls were smothered to death by their mother in New Zealand are revealed (10 August 2023)

Prominent cancer doctor ‘shot her baby’ in suspected murder-suicide (7 August 2023) USA

‘Doomsday mum’ Lori Vallow sentenced for murdering her children (1 August 2023) USA

Dylan Scanlon: Mum who poisoned and beat son, 5, guilty of murder (13 July 2023)

Inquest into crash that killed Charmaine McLeod and her four children begins and Child killed in stabbing in Riverwood in Sydney’s west (1 June 2023) Two further tragic cases of filicide committed by a mother and father, respectively

Further article re: the McLeod family suspected murder/suicide (31 May 2023)

Lori Vallow Daybell Killed Her Kids for ‘Money, Power and Sex,’ Prosecutors Say at Her Trial (10 April 2023)

Baby in hospital bin: Woman who can’t remember son’s birth, death is convicted (3 April 2023)

Unapologetic and profane impact statement from a Woman jailed for life for killing her son, 6, with shotgun as he sat in back of car after his dad filed for custody (February 2023)

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

Lindsay Clancy’s husband issues plea after wife charged with strangling 3 kids (30 January 2023) “Patrick Clancy described his wife Lindsay as “loving” and “caring”” – try swapping genders and see what feminist have to say about expressing sentiments like that.

Lindsay Clancy accused of murdering her two children and injuring third (26 January 2023)

Mom sentenced to 40 years for killing 8-year-old son (18 January 2023)

Nichole Bradshaw murder: Mum’s chilling texts before allegedly killing daughter (20 October 2022)

Mom Stabs Young Children, Killing Daughter, in Custody Battle: Police (8 August 2022) USA

Connecticut mother Sonia Loja left twisted note before killing three children (30 July 2022)

Mother of three charged with murder after three kids die in house fire (26 July 2022)

Mom accused of killing 3 kids was new to L.A., looking to make friends, according to Facebook post: report (13 May 2022)

Government in Greece begs for calm amid outcry over the deaths of three young sisters (2 April 2022)

Boy, 7, found dead in garden without his asthma inhalers as addict mum ‘prioritised drugs and ignored doctors advice’ (28 March 2022)

Police discover three bodies, a woman and two girls, in burnt out car in Melbourne (25 March 2022) with further coverage of this tragedy here.

Mum and two children found dead in Perth car fire (15 March 2022) This tragic incident is described in more detail at ‘Kids killed in horror car fire in Perth fire named‘ (17 March 2022) Note, again, the subdued tone of the article.

Mum admits killing two-year-old son found ‘submerged in bath’ by gran (26 February 2022)

Mom decapitates 6-year-old son and dog, claims the devil was speaking to her, police say (17 February 2022) USA

Woman arrested after baby’s body found in freezer in Corowa, NSW (20 January 2022)

Why a judge ruled a mother who killed her two young daughters is not guilty of double murder (22 December 2021)

‘Are you going to do something to me?’: Two young sisters killed by their mother (14 December 2021)

UK stepmum accused of murder took picture of lifeless 6yo boy, court told (15 October 2021)

Timaru, New Zealand: Three children dead, woman in hospital as police begin murder probe | news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site (17 September 2021)

Bereaved father joins child safety campaigners to urge Government to retain parental alienation within the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (linkedin.com) (11 September 2021)

Kaylee-Jayde Priest sentenced: Mum allegedly posted TikTok video after killing daughter (news.com.au) (7 August 2021)

London: Mother who killed her daughter in Mitcham sentenced | Metro News (24 June 2021)

Mum accused of killing five of her six children by drugging their breakfast and drowning them (news.com.au) (15 June 2021)

Beck family tragedy in Pascoe Vale: Mother shot 3yo before killing herself (news.com.au) (5 May 2021) Judge asserts that mother killing the daughter was being “altruistic” (had dad killed her then I’m seeing alternative descriptors here)

Nahla Miller: Ohio child allegedly killed by mother Tianna Robinson (news.com.au) (26 April 2021)

Kelly Wilkinson, Kobi Shepherdson: Parental alienation is no excuse for violence Stop blaming women and the courts for why men kill their kids (23 April 2021) Did somebody say ‘double-standards’? Men can’t defend themselves (or other men) and women can’t be blamed. Ever. So what should men do? Stay in their bedrooms and remain silent … the authorities will be along in just a moment.

Mother arrested for killing her three children in Los Angeles (12 April 2021)

Tragic scene that awaited Perinovic father after murder-suicide revealed (17 February 2021) Australia

Young mother charged with manslaughter over her baby girl’s sudden death (11 February 2021)

Mum murdered toddler by scalding her then leaving her screaming to cover her tracks (8 December 2020) UK

Mum who admitted to killing four-year-old son Tyrrel Cobb walks free after sentence is reduced and immediately suspended (4 December 2020) Australia

US therapist kills her twin daughters in their sleep in murder-suicide (27 October 2020) USA

Mum allegedly killed five of her kids as her son watched (4 September 2020) Germany

Dad begs people not to judge cancer-stricken mum suspected of killing son in murder-suicide (31 August 2020) What a contrast!

Nevada mom kills husband, kids in murder-suicide: Cops (8 March 2020)

Horrified dad called 999 after nurse wife allegedly ‘stabbed kid to death and left baby fighting for life in bloodbath’ (3 March 2020)

The uncomfortable truth about filicide, by Jasmin Newman (28 March 2020)

Why do men kill their families? Here’s what the research says (25 February 2020) On page one we get stats for women killed by partners, but not men (again). The author then informs us that “research shows they (familicides) are almost exclusively committed by men in heterosexual family relationships.”

What happened in Brisbane on Wednesday has to be a turning point, by Georgie Dent (20 February 2020)

Queensland Police spark anger with ‘open mind’ comment on murder of Hannah Clarke and children (20 February 2020) We are all reminded that there can be no ‘excuses’ for male killers.

Mother asks little girls to search for kitten under bed, shoots them both & stabs the youngest 35 times (6 February 2020) USA

Woman who allegedly admitted to killing her son cries for him (30 January 2020) I dare say that some of the dad’s who killed their children, also cried for them. But we wouldn’t read about it in the mainstream media.

Mother, 22, who confessed to killing her three-year-old son, two-year-old daughter and seven-month-old baby girl in their family home in Phoenix (23 January 2020)

Mom Lisa Snyder charged with murder of kids found hanging in basement (2 December 2019) Unusually neutral, albeit brief, coverage of this horrible incident.

Woman charged with murder after two children found dead in car south of Brisbane (24 November 2019)

Ohio mom is sentenced to 37 years for killing her three infant sons (20 November 2019)

Texas mom Ashley Auzenne kills her 3 kids in murder-suicide a week after her divorce (1 November 2019)

Mum found clutching dead daughter, 8, in car boot after killing her to spite ex (20 October 2019) UK

WA teen mum jailed for murdering baby (11 September 2019) Australia

Georgia mom posted ‘I could not ask for better children’ before allegedly killing them, then herself: police (23 August 2019) USA

Child domestic violence deaths (14 August 2019) Australia. Link to related graphic here.

NSW mum under police guard following three-year-old daughter’s death (3 August 2019)

The clues that homicide detectives will trace in possible murder-suicide crash that killed Charmaine McLeod and four kids (1 June 2019)

Chilling detail behind mum and child’s cliff plunge (23 May 2019)

“it’s important that people realise (Ms Ludwig) was not a monster”. Despite the circumstances and whatever led to this, she was a lovely person and that’s what she should be remembered for, not what social media is saying about her”. Yeah, it’s not like she was a guy

Mother, aunt of missing 6-year-old arrested for his murder (27 April 2019) USA

Jennifer and Sarah Hart drugged their kids before driving off California cliff (5 April 2019)

Former science teacher, 36, who drowned her daughter, 3, in bath after wrongly accusing husband of having affair (16 March 2019)

Selfie-obsessed mum, 24, dismembered toddler (13 February 2019)

Mothers murdering their children on the rise, while fathers declining (8 February 2019) Australia. See also this related article by Terry Goldsworthy from ‘The Conversation’

Mother who beat her newborn baby to death and stuffed it inside a teddy bear is jailed for just a YEAR in Switzerland (1 February 2019)

Why are more mothers killing their children? (25 July 2019)

Drug user mother, 20, says her baby son’s death after being pulled from a bath was just a ‘tragic accident’ and ‘not her fault as she wasn’t the one washing him at the time’ (8 December 2018)

Mother weeps as vision of her stabbing son to death is shown in court (3 December 2018)

Houston horror: Father discovers son’s headless body in rubbish bin (3 December 2018) USA

Football Player, 18, and His Little Sister Allegedly Shot in Their Bedrooms by Mom: ‘Pure Evil’ (6 November 2018)

Why a ‘good bloke’ shot his tiny sons and drove them off a pier (29 June 2018) Next: Why journos place apostrophe on the term ‘good bloke’ but not good mum

Joanne Finch appears at Melbourne court accused of murdering eight-year-old son (29 June 2018)

Mom who strangled newborn, threw body in trash sentenced (26 June 2018) USA

When we make excuses for male violence, we encourage it, by Van Badham (17 May 2018) But it appears that making “excuses” for female violence, which is quite commonplace, is perfectly OK

Sarah Nicole Henderson told husband Jacob that she had shot daughters Kenlie and KayLee Danielle (5 November 2017)

Melbourne mum admits infantcide (24 October 2017)

Mum Lamora Williams killed sons Ke’Younte Penn, two, and Ja’Karter Williams, by cooking them in her oven (18 October 2017) USA

Cruel mum who fed drugs to four-year-old daughter who died complains her 13 year sentence is ‘too long’ (27 September 2017) UK

Baby girl who tragically drowned in the bath just days after child services raised concerns about her mother (27 September 2017) Australia. “Close friends of the 19-year-old mother said she was devoted to her baby”. Jane Caro, might we anticipate your strong objection to this?

Mum, 32, who allegedly stabbed newborn son says God told her to do it (12 September 2017) USA

Orono mom found dead with 5-year-old son left suicide note lamenting custody rift (6 September 2017) USA

A teen reunited with her birth mother, who then killed her and burned her body, police claim (23 August 2017)

Mother abuses baby before his death: ‘I wanted to kill him’ (17 August 2017) Australia

Mum left bitter suicide notes before killing kids, husband’s girlfriend (12 August 2017) USA. More on this crime here including this excerpt:

“(in) an Inquistr.com  article summarizing this story, a university feminist wrote a comment. Her remark, the highest ranked comment on the article appears below

The feminist would not hold Jessica accountable for her crimes. Instead, she took the tact of implying husbands have no attachment to their children and relationships with men should be devalued.”

Alberta mother who killed son, sentenced to 26 months in Indigenous healing lodge (7 July 2017)

Woman ‘stabs husband and four kids to death’ in Loganville, Atlanta (6 July 2017)

‘Sorry, thought you deserved one last memory of her’: Mother ‘sent partner a final picture of two-year-old daughter before smothering her to death after he ended their relationship’ (6 July 2017)

Reservoir woman charged with stabbing murder of 13-month-old daughter (5 June 2017)

Police investigating after mother and young son found dead at Glenelg North (26 May 2017)

Infanticide law in Victoria: How is this not murder? (21 March 2017) Australia. This – making gender-specific laws – is definitely the wrong path to take.

Little angel Seth Docherty died alongside his mother Stacey in their Hillsdale apartment (14 March 2017)

“she was a really great mum” and “she was a loving mother and a very good and caring person”

Mother drugged 9-year-old daughter and burnt her to death amid bitter custody battle (11 March 2017)

Mum accused of drowning sons in bath ‘first tried to run them over while they were tied up with twine’ (10 March 2017)

Mother to be charged with murder, attempted murder of sons in Moama (3 March 2017) Australia. No anger for the killer, but media lashes out at absentee dad (see related reddit discussion thread here and a rebuttal here)

Michelle Leask pleads guilty to manslaughter over death of seven-week-old baby Lili (9 February 2017) Australia

Akon Guode pleads guilty to murdering three children she drove into lake (16 January 2017) Further report regarding trial testimony here and here

“He said no Victorian mother had ever been imprisoned for infanticide, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail.

“Often people who kill their children are cases that are meted out with life sentences. This is not a case of that kind,” he said.”

New Mexico girl Victoria Martens, 10, ‘had STD before murder’ reportedly at the hands of mum Michelle Martens, Fabian Gonzales and Jessica Kelly (11 January 2017)

Cairns woman, 43, charged over 1996 mutilation death of baby boy (9 January 2017)

Mum Egypt Moneek Robinson is accused of killing son Aries Juan Acevedo cause she thought he was Hitler (8 January 2017)

Mother kills 12-month-old son, then dies in apparent suicide: Police (27 December 2016)

Ruislip murder: Mother killed son before taking own life in murder suicide, detectives say (17 December 2016) UK

Mother admits to killing her baby before dumping it in a cooler bag (7 December 2016)

Court docs: Mom killed her 2 young children so that husband couldn’t have custody in divorce (18 November 2016) USA

Family of four found dead inside Sydney northern beaches home (18 October 2016) Australia

Maggie Watson’s mum not guilty by reason of insanity (13 October 2016) NZ

Mum Michelle Martens ‘had sex with daughter Victoria’s killer Fabian Gonzales 20 minutes after girl’s death’ (12 October 2016)

330 child homicides (2 October 2016) UK. Recommended reading. This paper also illustrates the depth of bias employed by feminist groups such as Women’s Aid.

Mum jailed over ‘violent’ death of abused baby who had meth in system (3 October 2016) Australia

Amber Pasztor accused of abducting and killing her own children is ‘evil’, says her mother (28 September 2016)

Girl, 2, found dead in Miller, in Sydney’s south west (14 September 2016)

Third suspect in court in ‘brutal’ murder of 10-year-old Albuquerque girl (28 August 2016)

Kylie Anne Hie has admitted causing the crash that killed her daughter Charlotte (18 August 2016)

How fiction helps us understand the reality of a mother abandoning her newborn baby (29 July 2016) Let’s retreat into a discussion of fantasy in order to mitigate the culpability of women who kill defenceless children. But no such softly-softly approach in response to men who offend in a similar manner. More an ’empthy chasm’ than ’empathy gap’. See similar article in The Conversation here and here.

Port Denison murder-suicide inquest: Coroner says court stress weighed on homicidal mother (29 July 2016) And yet the authors of this other article assert that women rarely perpetrate muder/suicide. They add:

“Murder-suicide is most often perpetrated by men – but this is hardly surprising. Men are generally the perpetrators of murder, and men make up the majority of suicides in Australia, too.” Heartless much? That many men kill themselves is held up as proof that men are violent.

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

4 Children Stabbed to Death in Memphis, Mother in Custody (2 July 2016)

Akon Guode may not have to face court after triple-0 call caused her to collapse (30 June 2016)

Mom fatally shot daughters to punish her husband (28 June 2016) USA

Texas mum who killed two daughters before being shot by police was a gun advocate (26 June 2016) She stated that she did it to hurt her husband

Major differences between women and men who commit deadly violence (14 June 2016) Reddit discussion thread with linked paper

French woman accused of murdering daughter on beach blames witchcraft (20 June 2016)

The degree of delusion demonstrated by feminists can be astounding. In this article the author asserts the reverse position to that proposed in this blog post. In other words, that male perpetrators are let off the hook (with regards to media coverage) compared to the critical scrutiny faced by violent women.

Mom suspected of killing 2 children in murder-suicide was seeking sole custody of kids (8 June 2016)

Phoenix Mother Murdered Her Three Boys, Dismembering Two of Them (5 June 2016)

Liam Fee: Mother and partner guilty of murdering two-year-old boy (31 May 2016) UK. The partner was another woman btw

Mum jailed for 24 years after horrific murders of her two young daughters (18 May 2016) UK. Jane Caro, please note the “she was a wonderful mother” comment – I’m sure you’ll rail against that, right? Oh, and Jane, this child rapist is said to be “a very engaging and charming young lady” – I’m sure you’ll savage all those involved, right?

Saskatchewan mother gets 5 1/2 years in prison for slitting six-year-old son’s throat during custody fight (19 April 2016) Canada, with more here

sanayaMother of Sanaya Sahib confesses to toddler’s murder (12 April 2016) Australia. See screensave – can you imagine this message being posted in the case of a male offender? Dream on

Dead toddler grew up in ‘dysfunctional environment’ (12 April 2016) Oh, and look, now the media is busily trying to link this toddlers to death to a man/men (any man/men), and now it appears the authorities are doing likewise.

Police investigating deaths of a woman and a young boy at Sydney’s Maroubra Beach (25 March 2016)

Pianist’s estranged wife charged with killing 2 daughters (21 March 2016) USA

Boy, five, is shot dead by his mother in murder-suicide despite his father’s attempt to get a restraining order against his ‘mentally ill’ ex-wife (15 March 2016)

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

Melbourne woman Anitha Mathew burnt sons alive in revenge plot, coroner finds (8 March 2016) Australia. See related Reddit discussion thread here.

1 child killed every 2 weeks by family member: time to free children’s lives from violence (28 February 2016) Australia. Note again how in situations where there are as many or more female perpetrators, the topic of gender is not mentioned. Yet when there are more male perpetrators – or it can be falsely claimed that there are – then perpetrator gender is absolutely central to the discussion. Just another example of the entrenched hypocrisy of feminists and feminism.

NSW mum charged with son’s murder (23 January 2016) Australia

Croton mom pleads guilty, to serve probation in daughter’s death (19 January 2016) USA with related reddit discussion thread here

NEW study shows fathers more likely to kill their children than mothers — or does it? (14 December 2015)

Mother suspect in death of girl, 11, at Auchenflower (9 December 2015)

Madera County woman charged with murdering daughter also accused of abusing four other children (8 December 2015) USA

Mother pleads guilty to murdering two children in Santa Ana hotel after losing custody battle (4 December 2015)

Mom Fatally Attacks 2-Year-Old Daughter Who Won’t Eat Noodles: Prosecutors (2 December 2015) USA

German police arrest woman after discovery of eight dead babies (14 November 2015)

Just Say Goodbye – ‘Devoted’ Mothers Kill? (11 November 2015)

Mom accused of tossing newborn girl had baby son die in 2008 (1 October 2015)

Teenage mother avoids jail after killing daughter and dumping body under tree (24 September 2015) Australia

Campsie ‘murder suicide’: First photo of Nguyen family (22 September 2015)

Girl, 7, was shot dead by dad for ‘revenge’ (5 September 2015)

Women who kill (28 August 2015)

Prosecutor: Mom says she killed young sons to help daughter (18 August 2015) USA and related reddit discussion thread

Mother charged with murder after baby’s death (24 July 2015) Australia

Former teacher Erin Agren ‘killed husband, toddler, then shot self’ (22 July 2015)

Granted this July 2015 case involves an aunt rather than a mother, but as with the Cairns massacre, note the ‘kid gloves’ treatment by the police/media:

“He said the aunt wasn’t under police guard and was assisting police but had not been formally interviewed”

Mother gets 18 years for killing 8-year-old son in NYC hotel (29 May 2015)

Mother deemed not responsible in son’s death due to mental illness (27 April 2015)

Megan Huntsman gets up to life in prison for the deaths of six of her newborn children (21 April 2015)

Lacey Spears jailed for 20 years for murdering son Garnett with salt overdose to attract blog hits (9 April 2015)

Melbourne lake crash: Police to question woman driving car that crashed in Wyndham Vale lake, leaving three children dead (9 April 2015)

Mom charged with kid’s death at Midtown restaurant is schizophrenic, received positive psychiatric review 6 months ago (1 April 2015)

Australia’s most horrific case of child abuse: Boy, 7, died after being starved, fed his own waste and beaten by his siblings as God fearing step-father filmed them… but mother said he fell off a pogo stick (31 March 2015)

Records: Mom forced daughter to put dead sister in freezer (27 March 2015)

Deasia Watkins charged with aggravated murder after beheading baby daughter Jayniah (18 March 2015) and here also

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

Reddit mensrights discussion thread in relation to the Cairns murders

Woman kills her children – some search engine results

Female annihilation (female perpetrated) (17 February 2015)

Mother charged with ‘house of horror’ murders of eight children may never face trial if psychiatrists deem her mentally ill (23 December 2014)

A mum guilty of infanticide after killing her baby girl and injuring the child’s twin has avoided jail  (28 March 2014)

Fiona Anderson: Pregnant suicide mum was begging for help but no-one heard (21 April 2013)

Children most often killed by their mothers (25 September 2012) NZ

Seeking to understand the inexplicable (Mothers are just as likely to kill their children as are fathers) (Sydney Morning Herald, 24 February 2012)

‘Mentally ill’ mother who killed child found guilty (8 June 2011)

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

Child murder by mothers: patterns and prevention (October 2007)

Women: The forgotten child murderers (3 February 2001)

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