Group Health of Seattle recently announced an article in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine reporting results of a study on IPV -- Intitmate Partner Violence. See this letter submitted to the editor of the Journal:

Dear Editor of American Journal of Preventive Medicine:

I want to provide a perspective on the article "Intimate Partner Violence Among Men" (June 2008) based on a study performed primarily by the Group Health Center for Health Studies. My perspective derives from being a a current and long-time member of Group Health Cooperative while being a victim of domestic violence with injury. (I was not one of the men surveyed in the study.)

Though the article provides a short description of the "setting" for the study and states near the end of the article that the "findings also suggest that the failure of healthcare personnel to ask about and acknowledge men's experiences of IPV may be shortsighted," the article does not even begin to describe the sexist milieu in which the study was carried out -- a milieu found in many organizations.

During the period of the study, I personally experienced the sexist view of domestic violence held by Group Health, as illustrated by its literature, its delivery of that literature and Group Health's administrative mind-set.

Brochures provided by Group Health showed women and children as the only victims of domestic violence and implied that men were always the perpetrators. These brochures were made available in the stalls of women's restrooms but nowhere in men's restrooms. And when the administrator of one clinic was challenged about Group Health's sexist view of domestic violence, this writer was told the literature "adequately served Group Health's audience." This of course reflected the perception that only women are victims.

Is it any surprise then that during the time I was being assaulted over a number of years (sometimes with injury) that I never considered myself a victim of domestic violence -- even while sitting in Group Health next to one of these sexist brochures? I recall thinking how awful domestic violence was when I picked up this literature at Group Health. I did not, however, consider myself a victim. Why would I? The very institution that purported to be against domestic violence did not even acknowledge that I, a man, was a victim.

Given an institutional setting in which male victims are not acknowledged as victims, is it any wonder that men do not talk -- just as I didn't? Is it any wonder that health care practitioners would never ask men about abuse? Why would practitioners ask men about something that does not exist in the institution's view?

After 3.5 years of complaining to Group Health about its sexist literature, Group Health finally decided to publish a brochure that is nearly non-sexist. And as a token gesture, they placed the new brochures in a brochure holder installed in the foyer of the men's room of my clinic. When asked if they installed the brochure holders in all men's rooms throughout Group Health there was -- and still is -- a deafening silence.

Additionally, institutions that claim to offer a non-sexist view of domestic violence often fail to understand that the quality of service can be sexist as well. For example, the Seattle City Attorney web site provides resources for domestic violence victims. Resources for women include local agencies for face-to-face help. Resources for men are limited to web sites.

When research suggests that men are reluctant to speak up about being victims and organizations may be shortsighted in asking men about abuse, it would be wise to take a broader look at the culture in which the study is performed rather than simply conclude that differences between men and women are based simply on gender.

SEXIST POSITION OF KING COUNTY EXECUTIVE RON SIMMS
10/1/2007 2:42:19 PM

Ron Sims, the executive for King County, Washington, touted his advocacy to end Domestic Violence, joining the focus on DV because of October being the month to focus on DV. See this portion of his web page.

However, Mr. Sims is like most elected officials: no acknoweledgement that men are also victims.

• There is no acknowledgement that men are victims
• There is no acknowledgement that women are perpetrators
• There is no encouragement that discussion of DV should include all people, regardless of gender
• There is no encouragement to develop resources for DV victims regardless of gender

Rob McKenna, Washington State's Attorney General, has displayed his sexist view of domestic violence: men are the perpetrators and never the victims; women are never the perpetrators and the only victims. Text on his domestic violence web page (captured 2007-09-15) makes this clear:

McKenna's commitment to domestic violence issues reaches back to his time on the King County Council, where he led the council in supporting a pledge created by the Seattle-based Men's Network Against Domestic Violence, urging men to work on ending the cycle of domestic violence. The goal of the Men's Network Against Domestic Violence is to encourage men who are not abusers to start speaking out about the cycle of abuse and the role men have in creating attitudes that can cause violence against women to occur. The pledge can be downloaded from http://www.menagainstdv.org/pledge/.

• There is no acknowledgement that men are victims
• There is no acknowledgement that women are perpetrators
• There is no encouragement that women who are not abusers to start speaking out about the cycle of abuse and the role women have in creating attitudes that cause violence against men
• There is no encouragement to develop resources for DV victims regardless of gender

KUOW: UW'S MOUTHPIECE OF BIAS
4/10/2007 10:07

KUOW is the University of Washington's FM radio station that has a very large regional coverage area -- nearly all of Western Washington and into Canada. In the wake of the tragic death of Rebecca Griego the station decided to air a program the morning of April 11, 2007 about domestic violence. In the promotional announcement the night before to hype the program, the claim was made that domestic violence is more common than it appears; then, some statistics about female victims were put forth. Not one mention about both genders being victims. So, yes, the claim that domestic violence is more common than it appears is certainly true, especially when a major institution ignores that males are also victims. Think twice, or three times, before sending KUOW money.

UW SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK: PERPETUATING MYTH
2006/08/18 08:27

The University of Washington School of Social Work recently launched "Men's Domestic Abuse Check-Up", found at www.MensCheckup.org. No hint at all that men can also be victims, or that women can be perpetrators.

Helping to publicize the project's gender-biased approach to domestic violence are newspapers such as the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which, of course, never posed the question of why only male abusers are invited to call.

To promote the program, the School of Social Work is placing ads in a few places, including King County (Seattle) Metro busses and Seattle's alternative newspaper The Stranger. The School of Social Work is also running radio ads.

The project purports anonymity, but offers a toll-free number. Toll-free numbers capture phone numbers, even from phones with caller-ID blocking turned on.

That the School of Social Work has a clear view that domestic violence is an affliction found only in men is reflected in nearly every aspect of this project, such as:

• The news release only mentions male perpetrators and female victims
• The background document only cites female victims and makes the purpose clear: "This new approach is designed to aid the concerned man in taking stock of his behavior and thinking through his options"; women who are violent apparently should not be concerned.
• The University of Washington purchased the domain MensCheckup.org, but not WomensCheckup.org

One technique of abuse and control is denying a person's reality. By adopting and publicizing a gender-biased solution to domestic violence, major institutions like the University of Washington and major departments like the School of Social Work pepetuate the societal myth that only women are victims of domestic violence -- in essence practicing a massive social denial.

The following questions were sent to the UW News Service, the UW President, Dean Edwina Uehara, and Professor Roger Roffman (who everyone pointed to as the project director). Roffman refuses to answer the questions in writing via email and won't consent to a recorded phone interview to insure accuracy:

• What is the source of funding?
• Why are women with the same violent history or potential not invited to call? Why does the program align itself with the mistaken notion that only men are perpetrators of DV?
• How can the study claim, per the PI story, that a man can be anonymous when the phone number is automatically delivered to an 800 number via ANI (automatic number identification)?
• Being that the 800 number will automatically capture the number from which the call originates, how can a man trust that the social workers (or whoever) on the other end will not pass 1) the content of the conversation and the 2) phone number to law enforcement?
• Who will be talking with the men who call? Women or men?

BIAS ON THE BEACH
2006/08/14 20:24

I happened to see an episode on Miami Beach Patrol tonight. Police were called out to the beach because of an altercation between boy friend and girl friend. The boy friend told the cops that the woman had done the hitting. One of the investigating cops couldn't believe it, saying "Look at the size of that guy." The cops handcuffed the guy and were getting ready to haul him off when another beach goer showed up to tell the cops that he and his family had seen it all -- the woman initiated the violence and hit the guy 15 times while he was on the cell phone. Then, the cops took away the right person. This illustrates perfectly the way cops seldom believe the man -- and why men would be reluctant to call the cops in the first place even if a victim.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ISN'T ONE-SIDED
2006/06/28

Don Dutton, Professor of Psychology at the University of British Columbia and author of Rethinking Domestic Violence, challenges the existing view that domestic violence affects only women in his Candadian National Post article.

SEATTLE'S GROUP HEALTH COOPERATIVE: BASTION OF BIAS
2006/05/30

The Seattle PI's editorial of May 28, 2006 is just another organization buying into GHC's long-standing bias that women are the only victims of domestic violence. The PI editorial focused on the recent results of a DV study by GHC, which surveyed only women. The PI editorial doesn't mention men nor even raise the question of why men weren't included.

Since at least October 2002, GHC has been purchasing and distributing a brochure that portrays women as DV victims and men as DV perpetrators. Further, GHC installed brochure holders in the stalls of women's restrooms for this brochure. No such literature or brochure holders are found in the men's restrooms. In the fall of 2005 the GHC Board of Directors was asked by a long-term GHC subscriber to adopt non-sexist DV literature and non-sexist distribution of non-sexist DV literature. The Board declined. No surprise, then, that GHC had only surveyed women.

As long as GHC continues to perpetuate the myth that only men are perpetrators and that only women are victims, and as long as unthinking newspaper editorial boards help perpetuate this myth by not even raising the issue of why men weren't surveyed, there can be no evolvement in the discussion of DV -- a topic women rightly deserve the credit for in bringing the issue into the light of day.

FORMER SHERIFF, NOW CONGRESSMAN, SHOWS BIAS
2004/11/27

In the Fall of 2004, King County (Washington) Sheriff Dave Reichart ran for a Congressional seat in the House of Representatives (and won). One of this promotional TV ads was this:

Woman #1 talking and in vew: It's frightening

Woman #2 talking and in vew: You never recover from this.

Woman #3 talking and in vew: It's unforgivable.

Dave Reichart and in view: Domestic violence is a crime that violates every shred of human decency.

Female Narrator [as men prisoners shown walking through jail]: As sheriff , Dave Reichart didn't just talk about these offenders. He went after them. One day he nearly lost his life stopping one.

Dave Reichart and in view [then quick view of older woman, woman #3, pregnant woman and child]: As sheriff we've toughened our approach. In Congress, we'll toughen federal law to stop the violence. I'm Dave Reichart and I approve this message because talk alone never protected a wife, a mother, or a child.

Any reasonable person would conclude from this commercial that Reichert sees only men as perpetrators and only women and children as victims worthy of protection.