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July 27, 2002
Robert Hirshon, President
American Bar Association
rhirshon@dwmlaw.com
Re: ABA’s Misinformation About Male Domestic Violence Victims
Dear Mr. Hirshon:
We are writing to express concern that the ABA may be misleading the public with outdated, inaccurate information about male domestic violence victims.
The ABA website states that males account for only 5-10% of domestic violence victims. The Department of Justice (DOJ) figures that it cites, however, are dated 1994. (http://www.abanet.org/domviol/stats.html.)
More recent DOJ figures show that: "Approximately 1.5 million women and 834,732 men are raped and/or physically assaulted by an intimate partner annually in the United States." (http://www.ncjrs.org/txtfiles1/nij/181867.txt.) That makes men 39% of victims, not 5-10%.
Dr. Martin Fiebert of California State University compiled 130 studies showing that both sexes initiate the violence at about equal rates. (http://www.csulb.edu/~mfiebert/assault.htm.) “Contrary to the claim that women only hit in self-defense, we found that women were as likely to initiate the violence as were men,” explains leading expert Richard Gelles in his 1999 article, “The Missing Persons of Domestic Violence: Male Victims.”
Male victims rarely seek help due to social stigmas and a lack of outreach to them. As a result the violence often escalates. Part of getting men to seek help involves helping them realize they are not alone. The misinformation on your website is therefore of particular concern to us.
We would hope that the ABA’s domestic violence committee is not purposefully selecting outdated sources in order to lower the number of male victims. In any case, we wish to bring this to your attention and we kindly ask that you correct it. Thank you.
Marc Angelucci, Esq.
Los Angeles, CA
Angelucci2000@alumni.law.ucla.edu
Steven Imparl, Esq.
Chicago, IL
SImparl@aol.com
Professor John Rooney, J.D.
Cooley Law School
Lansing, MI
rooneyj@cooley.edu
J. Steven Svoboda, Esq.
Berkeley, CA
arc@post.harvard.edu
Geoff Graybill, Esq.
Sacramento, CA
GeoffG50@aol.com
Mike Oddenino, Esq.
Los Angeles, CA
oddlaw@pacbell.net
David R. Burroughs
ABA Student Member
North East, MD
dburroughs@zoominternet.net
Professor Stephen Baskerville, Ph.D.
Howard University
Washington, D.C.
baskerville@starpower.net
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Thanks for pointing out the link error. It should be fixed now in the submitted text.
Scott
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According to the U.S. Dept of Justice (DOJ) (most recent statistics I have) there are 1,510,455 female victims of domestic violence annually, and there are 834,732 male victims of domestic violence. That is a total of 2,345,187 victims. When you divide 834,732 by 2,345,187 the exact percentage of male victims comes out 35.59% (DOJ).
Now consider the fact that no less an authority then Chief Bernard Parks of the LAPD has stated publicly that only 5% of domestic violence victims are male, and this was on June 28, 2001. Now apply LAPD’s skewed perspective to the national numbers. 5% of 2,345,187 comes out to only 117,259.35 male victims. That’s a huge difference of 717,473 men who would be falsely arrested nationally if Chief Park’s statistics are applied, and I can tell you that I have seen LAPD use that 5% statistic on more than one occasion.
Now you have some feeling for the magnitude of the problem that men are being staggered with in Los Angeles. What are the exact numbers? On Dr. Charles Correy’s excellent web site, http://www.dvmen.org/dv-86.htm#pgfId-1378736 there is an article titled, “WHAT DOES THE RESEARCH SAY ABOUT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE,” by David L. Fontes, Psy.D., CEAP. Table 33 in that article is titled, “Current Archival Data for Domestic Violence from the Los Angeles Police Dept. In that table for the year 1995 (most current year given) the percentage for domestic violence arrests of men was 85.7%, and the number for domestic violence arrests for women was 14.3%. Yes that means the number of male victims of domestic violence in Los Angeles is 14.3% (best available statistics) and according to Table 33 that number is rising every year.
Without a MEN'S COMMISSION in either the County or City of Los Angeles will the exact numbers (the whole truth) ever be known? What is the exact number for men being falsely arrested in Los Angeles for domestic violence? Does anybody even care? This scam must stop. Follow the money to see who is profiting from the misery of men. A good topic to be watchdogged and reported on. One last question has any LAPD Chief of Police ever been caught lnot telling the truth, while under oath, in a court of law?
Regards, Ray
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Ray. Please link in your email address. This can be done under the user options.
Warb
Disclaimer: My statements are intended to be personal opinion, belief, sarcasm, or allegation.
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by Anonymous User on Sunday August 04, @12:16PM EST (#5)
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Dear Mr. Hirshon,
The ABA should seek to advance justice, not perpetuate myths that prevent justice from being served. The ABA webpage on domestice violence (http://www.abanet.org/domviol/stats.html) presents a grossly misleading view that domestic violence against men is not a serious and significant problem. To serve justice, your website should be immediately changed to highlight to problem of domestic violence against men.
Some points:
1) Men are much more likely victims of violence of any sort than women. The extent to which men are highly disproportionately subject to violence is an important men's issue that is all too often ignored. Your domestic violence statistics ignored this sex inequity in "violent victimizations", and hence present a highly misleading picture of the extent to which men are subject to domestic violence.
2) Your section on "gender" states: "An overwhelming majority of domestic violence victims in heterosexual relationships are women." That's completely false. Moreover, you cite a statistic that 90-95% of domestic violence victims are female. That statistics has been discredited. More recent evidence from the US DOJ indicates that about 35% of victims are male, and more recent studies in this area indicate that the share of male victims may be 50% or more. To serve justice, you must get your facts right.
3) Your treatment of domestic violence should show some sensitivity to social, cultural, and politcal realities. Men have been conditioned not to complain about physical abuse that they suffer. That affects the extent to which they cry for justice against domestic violence. Moreover, domestic violence against women is a cause that has been highly institutionalized and has become politically powerful. In contrast, violence against men has been consistently trivialized. Those raising the issue have been subject to much abuse and intimidation. The law should protect the weak and the oppressed. On this issue, the weak and the oppressed are clearly men.
If you want law and lawyers to be respected, you have to show some courage. Start by addressing the serious and significant problem of domestic violence against men.
Regards,
J. Plumber
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Great letter J. Plumber. Here's a note that I sent. Tom
Dear Mr. Hirshon:
It is a sad day when a prestigious institution such as the ABA commits errors of fact as blatant as the errors about gender and domestic violence on your web page "American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence " located at:
http://www.abanet.org/domviol/stats.html
This page is riddled with inaccuracies and misleading information which paints a picture of domestic violence as being a simple scenario of women victims and male perpetrators. This is exactly the sort of misinformation that has been intentionally exported for years that has created our erroneous national assumptions about domestic violence. How sad to see the ABA as a mouthpiece for such ignorance and misleading information.
Please find some folks who can update the page with accurate information. Each day this page is allowed to stand it is a nod of consent to the lies that it claims to be truths.
Thank you
Tom
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