RADAR ALERT: ABC Primetime Awarded "RADAR Accuracy In Journalism" Award

Submitted by Matt on Sun, 2007-01-07 23:04

ABC's News Show "Primetime" has been awarded a "RADAR Accuracy In Journalism" award for its December 26th, 2006 story Turning the Tables: How Do People React When There's Abuse in Public, But the Gender Roles Are Reversed.

The story took a look at what happens when women abuse men. A video segment consisting of two trained actors in a city park was filmed to document public reactions to female-on-male violence. Reactions by the public were limited to the extremes. 163 passers-by were indifferent. Four women sent an emissary to talk with them, but left after the actress said, "This is not your business". However, one of the women did report it to 911. In contrast, another woman made a fist as she walked by, muttering, "Good for you. You go, girl!" (See video here).

This story documents our biases about domestic violence. According to Carrie Keating, a psychology professor at Colgate University, women assaulting or abusing male partners "is a big problem in this country". Our cultural biases exist predominantly because few media outlets have addressed the issue neutrally.

While the CDC estimates there are more than 800,000 serious cases of female-perpetrated abuse annually, this figure is known to be low. Men often do not report abuse, and few hotlines accept or assist men even if they attempt to seek assistance.

America's failure to address domestic violence, regardless of the perpetrator, is damaging to family and society.

Please take a few moments to send a message to ABC Primetime at abc.news.magazines-at-abc.com, thanking them for their work. Sample note:

Dear Primetime,

I thank you for showing the truth about domestic violence in your documentary story "Turning the Tables: How Do People React When There's Abuse in Public, But the Gender Roles Are Reversed".

Please keep up the good work. Without change,
social policy and law enforcement methods will continue hurting America's families and children.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Date of RADAR Release: January 8, 2007

R.A.D.A.R. – Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting – is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women working to assure that the problem of domestic violence is treated in a balanced and effective manner. http://www.mediaradar.org/.

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Later, a husband and wife out for some exercise observed the abusive situation and continued on their way. So "Primetime's" producers stepped in and asked, "Why not stop or at least call 911?"

"What they were havin' there…[they were] just havin' a little tiff. They'll be all right," said the man, a police officer in a nearby community. His wife told "Primetime" that she would have found it "more upsetting if [the young man] had put his hands on" the young woman."

"Oh, without a doubt," her husband readily agreed, acknowledging the double standard. "Call it old-fashioned views. If you're raised the way I was raised, you don't put your hands on a woman, right?"

Yes, thank god the male actor didn't attempt to defend himself, otherwise he might of gotten arrested by this officer.

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Submitted by Demonspawn on Mon, 2007-01-08 04:58

Women's violence on men is quickly becoming something normal in America. Here's what I read a couple of days ago on one consumer electronics forum:

    - when i pitched the idea of getting a new 40+ inch TV, she [his wife] almost swung on me. apparently she doesnt care that it hangs on the wall or has a clearer picture.

    - how can you let your wife take a swing on you?

    - i dont have the 'sulky' or 'silent treatment' wife. for all her supposed class and snobby upbringing, she'll get rowdy. trust me, the hottest chicks are the one's that'll get a little physical with ya.

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Submitted by nbdspcl on Mon, 2007-01-08 14:53

He is trained and taught from the word "GO" to defend himself, and the best course of defense is to respond with overwhelming force. It stops a fight.

And this is why women are injured in domestic disputes more than men. They are simply unaware that they've crossed the line. Call it "stupidity" or years of getting away with it and believing "he'll take it and not respond" - women are foolhardy in this area.

They also know, these days, of the double standards in VAWA, that allow emotional and verbal abuse UNLESS IT COMES FROM THE WOMAN.

The whole system needs to be overhauled considering what is known these days about domestic violence...that is, that women are just as likely or more likely to initiate it as men. I'd even go so far as to say that women are far more verbally abusive than men...because they've gotten away with it for generations.

oregon dad

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Submitted by oregon dad on Mon, 2007-01-08 15:58