New Study Reveals Gender Stereotypes in Domestic Violence

A Study done at the Arizona State University reiterates something I have said repeatedly over the last ten years, the media's portrayal of domestic violence hinders services for male victims as well as for women who are violent. Thank you so much for doing this study, it's true progress in the making!
In this pilot study participants were asked to look at news stories about domestic violence. The results on how participants perceived men and women's violence proved out that there are major gender stereotypes in the media.
The participants felt that if a man was violent he should be punished but that there should be more leniency and understanding for a woman who is violent. Also, people made excuses for women's violence, i.e. she was probably defending herself or he must have done something to make her mad. One of the students working on the research mentions that male victims are portrayed as wimps for getting beat up by a girl and not real men.
Kellie Palazzolo, an assistant professor in the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, Jennifer Scarduzio, a doctoral communications student, and two other graduate students worked on the project. The paper was accepted to the National Communication Association Conference and submitted to the journal Communication Quarterly.
In the article Ms. Palazzolo said hopes to take what they learned from this study and turn it into a prevention campaign that treats both male and females equally as having the potential to be aggressive in a relationship. I called and spoke with Ms. Palazzo about the research. I told her about our work, asked that she please keep us in the loop regarding her future prevention campaign and let her know that she could count on us to support that campaign.

To read the entire article, written by Rheyanne Weaver, click here

Group Health Center for Health Study finds that Men experience domestic violence, with health impact

From the Home office: A press release on May 19, 2008 on a study done about abuse of men indicates that domestic violence can happen to men, and that domestic violence against men is under - studied and often hidden. This study also debunks five of myths about abuse of men. See our website for other myths. It's great to see this research get media attention as that helps to promote public awareness so that society can see the need and start to address the problem. Men experience domestic violence, with health impact SEATTLE—Domestic violence can happen to men, not only to women, according to Group Health research in the June American Journal of Preventive Medicine. “Domestic violence in men is under-studied and often hidden—much as it was in women 10 years ago,” said study leader Robert J. Reid, MD, PhD, an associate investigator at the Group Health Center for Health Studies. “We want abused men to know they’re not alone.” His findings confirm some common beliefs but also debunk five myths about abuse in men: Myth 1: Few men experience domestic violence. Many do. In-depth phone interviews with over 400 randomly sampled adult male Group Health patients surprised Dr. Reid and his colleagues: 5% had experienced domestic violence in the past year, 10% in the past five years, and 29% over their lifetimes. The researchers defined domestic violence to include nonphysical abuse—threats, chronic disparaging remarks, or controlling behavior—as well as physical abuse: slapping, hitting, kicking, or forced sex. Myth 2: Abuse of men has no serious effects. The researchers found domestic violence is associated with serious, long-term effects on men’s mental health. Women are more likely than men to experience more severe physical abuse, said Dr. Reid. “But even nonphysical abuse——can do lasting damage.” Depressive symptoms were nearly three times as common in older men who had experienced abuse than in those who hadn’t, with much more severe depression in the men who had been abused physically. Myth 3: Abused men don’t stay, because they’re free to leave. In fact, men may stay for years with their abusive partners. “We know that many women may have trouble leaving abusive relationships, especially if they’re caring for young children and not working outside the home,” said Dr. Reid. “We were surprised to find that most men in abusive relationships also stay, through multiple episodes, for years.” Myth 4: Domestic violence affects only poor people. The study actually showed it to be an equal-opportunity scourge. “As we found in our previous research with women experiencing domestic violence, this is a common problem affecting people in all walks of life,” said Dr. Reid. “Our patients at Group Health have health insurance and easy access to health care, and their employment rate and average income, education level, and age are higher than those of the rest of the U.S. population.” Myth 5: Ignoring it will make it go away. Not so. “We doctors hardly ever ask our male patients about being abused—and they seldom tell us,” said Dr. Reid. “Many abused men feel ashamed because of societal expectations for men to be tough and in control.” Younger men were twice as likely as men age 55 or older to report recent abuse. “That may be because older men are even more reluctant to talk about it,” he added. For the rest of the press release see: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-05/ghcc-med051508.php