New Approach to Domestic Violence

**frostyboy** · #1 14th-August-2008

By susanstohelit at Feministing Community: New Approach to Domestic Violence

Quote:

On my way to work this morning, I heard a radio piece about a new domestic violence program in Brooklyn and thought it worth sharing with the Feministing Community. Transcript can be found here.

Men who have been convicted of domestic violence may be ordered to attend a "Domestic Violence Accountability Program" for 6 months as an alternative to serving jail time. The program looks at domestic violence as the outgrowth of extreme sexism (although I would call it misogyny) and tries to tackle the abusers' attitudes towards and ideas about women. So, the sessions are run by both a woman and a man, so the abusers see a woman in an authority position. The men are challenged when they refer to women as girls, or when they try to defend cat-calling as a compliment, among other things.

What I found most interesting about the program is it's insistence on reframing the issue as a men's issue, because so often the emphasis is layed on the victims rather than the perpetrators. For example, the program director is seeking to start the nonprofit "A Call to Men," and he talks about reframing domestic violence statistics to say "the leading cause of injury to women is men’s violence," rather than "domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women".

Another key tactic is comparing sexism to racism, since most of the men are black or Latino. For urban men who have constantly experienced racism, this seems to be an effective way to give them a sense of what women go through - obviously sexism and racism are different and have different nuances that shouldn't be ignored, but the basic feeling of being harassed or injured by a member of a privileged group is probably comparable (although as a white woman, I admit I've never experienced racism and I can't speak to that experience).

Unfortunately, the program staffers assume that the men won't actually stop being abusive and so they warn women to expect that their partners will be the same as before. I'm unsure, then, what the goals are - if the men's attitudes won't change sufficiently to stop abusing women, is this having any effect? Moreover, by letting them take this class as an alternative to jailtime, are we putting more women at risk? Then again, jail doesn't mean the end of abuse, and it may in fact breed more abusive behaviors thanks to the prison environment. Maybe this class won't stamp out the abusive behaviors, but it might lead the men to change some of their opinions regarding women, or raise their sons to be a bit more respectful of women. I don't honestly know - I haven't been in an abusive situation and I can't speak to what would work here. But taking a fresh approach to this problem, seeing it as a men's issue that needs to be confronted at the root of men's attitudes towards women, may be part of the answer.

Marx · #2 14th-August-2008

I wonder what they offer female offenders?

Oh silly moi! female offenders don't exist...

Garak · #3 14th-August-2008

Quote:

INSTRUCTOR: OK, I know I don’t see a phone out. Put it away.
REPORTER: Recording the class is not allowed. Nor is interviewing the men. The program director is afraid they might use the interview to convince their partners they’ve changed.

LOL, they don't want it recorded because they are afraid their man-hating secret will get out. A recording device cannot be dismissed as a "criminal" and has more credibility than a man.

The next time someone finds themselves in one of these types of classes, please make a recording, just don't pull the recording device out for them to see and they will never know.

**CaptDMO** · #4 14th-August-2008

Quote:

Unfortunately, the program staffers assume that the men won't actually stop being abusive and so they warn women to expect that their partners will be the same as before. I'm unsure, then, what the goals are -

To provide gainful employment for Jr. College grads, establish gum'mint paid "experts" as "authorities" on the subject- without all that messy demonstrable competence stuff, and to establish an additional "fee" component to displeasing missy enough to CLAIM uncorroborated "domestic violence" as modified by the rejected " Duluth Model" ?

I could be wrong.

False malicious claims of DV, child molestation/assault, rape, etc. are ALL detrimerntal for the life of the victim. When the legal penalty for proved cases of such malicious false accusations is UNIVERSALLY ANSWERED with 20 years- no parole, then I'll begin to listen to what such mean spirited cunts have to say again.

But THEN, they won't have quite as much to say.

**CaptDMO** · #5 14th-August-2008

Normally, I'd simply "modify" and add. I agree why- I can't do that here.

...feel free to forward my sentiment to susanstohelit at Feministing Community, reminding them, of course, that these are the sentiments of CaptDMO. NOT "the board" at A.M., NOT
the entire MRM/F4J advocacy, and NOT "men".

I'd do it myself, but the "posting policy" concerning ANY critical positions from mature caucasian heterosexual adult males MAY be dicey throughout the Feministing "Community".

**Percy** · #6 15th-August-2008

The Soviets sent dissidents to psychiatric hospitals. This is just 'privatising' the same brainwashing, punishing, abusing, emotional terrorism, coercion system.

shaazam · #7 15th-August-2008

"The men are challenged when they refer to women as girls, or when they try to defend cat-calling as a compliment, among other things."

they must be suffering from myopia astigmatism and their teenage romantic delusions still extant to make that grave mistake - and what a costly mistake it can prove to be

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