Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Does Anyone Else Find This Offensive to Male Victims?

I just read about a campaign over in London that is meant to bring more awareness of male victims of domestic abuse. I think it's wonderful that they are trying to bring more heighten awareness to the fact that "one man dies as a result of domestic abuse every three weeks." click here to read the article However, I find the campaign offensive to male victims. The campaign uses an image of a man with no genitalia with a caption that reads,

"we know how it feels to be a victim of male domestic violence.”

National Centre for Domestic Violence campaign

This may heighten awareness of male victims of domestic violence but what does the image do for a male victim? Maybe they think differently in the UK, " we feel that the shocking nature of the image we’ve used really reflects the seriousness of the issue.” click here to read the article To me it suggests that if you are a man being abused you have been stripped of your manhood. How will that make more men come forward and talk about their victimization? Is this the message they want to give male victims and the public about domestic abuse against men? I would love to hear your thoughts and comments on this campaign.

1 comment:

  1. This is a disturbing photo for an important campaign. I know what they are trying to do, and it will get attention, but I don't like what it implies. Men are survivors of abuse and have so much more strength than this castrated man suggests;they deserve our respect. This photo is going to perpetuate the stigma that keeps men silent about what they are going through. Who is going to want to risk being compared to this guy? Another thing - the photo makes me want to look away and keep on walking, instead of reading further. I would rather see something that encourages a conversation about the issue versus a conversation about the photo itself. I think this is more risky than helpful.

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