NEWS FLASH

On Tuesday December 21, the Washington Post concluded its three-part series on maternal homicide. Tuesday’s article Mending Shattered Childhoods, provides an in-depth account of the murder of Cherica Adams and the struggles of her surviving son.

The main article is accompanied by three shorter articles: "Bittersweet Childhoods of Love and Loss," "Boyfriend Indicted in Slaying of Girlfriend, Fetus in Fairfax" and "Baby Cut from Mother’s Womb Leaves Hospital."

This series is an example of newspaper coverage which ignores male victims of domestic violence.

BACKGROUND

Research shows that women are just as likely as men to instigate domestic violence:

1. Law professor Linda Kelly reviewed the domestic violence research in the Florida State University Law Review and concluded: "leading sociologists have repeatedly found that men and women commit violence at similar rates.".

2. Psychologist John Archer reviewed 522 articles and concluded, "Women were slightly more likely than men to use one or more act of physical aggression and to use such acts more frequently." (Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 126, No. 5, 2000)

Summaries of the actual studies can be seen at http://www.csulb.edu/~mfiebert/assault.htm

MALE AND FEMALE VICTIMS ARE PRESENTED DIFFERENTLY

Domestic violence is an equal-opportunity problem. But the Washington Post continues to emphasize the paradigm of male-as-perpetrator, female-as-victim.

The Washington Post coverage of female victims tends to be more frequent and extensive, and to include color photographs. These articles are often given prominent location on page one of the section, above the fold.

In contrast, the WP treatment of male victims is different: The articles are much less frequent, shorter, and present the issue of male victimization in abstract terms.

This bias was seen in the recent Maternal Homicide series, which concluded that 207 expectant or new mothers die each year from homicide. The series never acknowledged the fact that the Department of Justice has found that 510 men die each year from domestic violence [see Table 1].

PERSISTENT BIAS

What is distressing is the Washington Post reporters have seemingly ignored the efforts of WP readers to correct the bias.

On March 25, 2000, the Post ran a Letter to the Editor which warned: "Your article 'What on Earth?' [02/18/00] wherein you publicize the allegation that 'one in three women around the world has been physically assaulted by her husband or intimate partner' is dangerous reporting."

A June 7, 2000 Letter to the Editor explained, "women are as likely as men to commit violent acts against their opposite-sex domestic partners. This is borne out by research. Further, most studies show that domestic violence is not gender-motivated but the result of psychological disorders, alcohol and drug abuse."

On August 17, 2000 the Post published a Letter to the Editor which stated, "Every credible study on domestic violence has shown that women initiate domestic violence as often as men. One study published in the American Journal of Public Health in 1989 found that according to FBI statistics, wives had been the perpetrators of 43.4% of all spousal murders."

This pattern seems to be explained by Armin Brott, MD, who wrote an article which appeared in the Post on December 28, 1993. Dr. Brott presciently wrote, "Despite all the evidence about female-on-male violence, many groups actively try to suppress coverage of the issue."

THE BIAS NEEDS TO STOP

The Washington Post needs to follow accepted journalistic standards of fairness, balance, and objectivity in its coverage of domestic violence.

1. Letters to the Editor: letters@washpost.com
The Washington Post
1150 15th Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20071

(Include your name, address, and daytime telephone number)

2. Donna St. George
E-mail: stgeorgedr@washpost.com

3. Washington Post Ombudsman:
Michael Getler
E-mail: ombudsman@washpost.com
Telephone: 202-334-7582