Home violence a men's issue, speaker argues

Submitted by anthony on Tue, 2010-04-27 18:20

Article here. Excerpt:

'Domestic and sexual violence is a men's issue, not a women's issue, said a U.S. educator, author and filmmaker in Victoria last week as part of Prevention of Violence Against Women Week.

"Men, and masculinity itself, have been rendered invisible in conversations about domestic and sexual violence," said Jackson Katz [link added], co-founder of Mentors in Violence Prevention program, a widely used domestic- and sexual-violence prevention program in U.S. colleges and professional athletics.

Issues such as sex assault, domestic violence, sexual harassment and sexual abuse of children have historically been regarded as women's issues "that some good men help out with," he told a conference hosted by the Ending Violence Association of B.C. at the Fairmont Empress hotel.

And the problem with that is that it allows men to tune out of the discussion, and not participate in finding solutions, Katz argued. As soon as men hear it's a women's issue or gender issue, "there's a chip in our brain" that directs a man's attention elsewhere, he said.
...
Katz said men in leadership roles must mentor younger men and boys to respect women or, as bystanders to sexism, challenge other men about their views.'

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Comments

Still around... I just wish he'd take up the matter of violence against men, or at least recognize the mutuality of most cases of DV, or the degree of the problem among sub-groupings in society that are conveniently overlooked due to political correctness (gays and lesbians, certain religious groups, etc.). Somehow I do not think he will do so any time soon.

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Submitted by Matt on Tue, 2010-04-27 20:58

Is there anything more abusive than being neglected and blamed based on your gender alone when you are a victim. God that is just sickening.

On a side note; why is it always about respect when the woman is a victim. Men do far more crime to other men than they do to women. Why don't we teach men to respect each other. Its obvious society sees men as the disposable ones.

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Submitted by fondueguy on Wed, 2010-04-28 01:48

"Men do far more crime to other men than they do to women. Why don't we teach men to respect each other."

This is a big part of MRA work and personal growth work for men. Nymphotropism is easy for men to accept and reinforce when they don't have much respect or consideration for their fellow men. This is a huge problem I think for us as MRAs both as MRAs and in terms of getting progress with our movement. The so-called "competitiveness" that I have heard more than a few women gleefully like to discuss as being a "male trait" is for the most part an expression of a lack of general appreciation or respect for a man's fellows. It is also an attempt I feel by some women who have given it some thought to keep us divided among ourselves, or maybe an expression of their feeling threatened by men's relationships among one another. In either case, it's an obstacle we have to work on overcoming.

The rallying cry of the feminists in the 1960s and '70s was "Sisterhood!" We could use some "Brotherhood!" on this side of the fence.

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Submitted by Matt on Wed, 2010-04-28 14:55

A lot of comments in the paper and it's pretty one sided, going against Katz's inaccuracies.

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Submitted by MR on Wed, 2010-04-28 18:55