LTTE: Domestic abuse against men still unrecognized

Domestic abuse against men still unrecognized

6/14/2012

Have you ever wondered why there are no domestic violence shelters for men? Have you ever wondered it out loud? If you’re like me, the answer you got was frightening.

Domestic violence doesn’t happen to men. Not in public. Domestic violence shelters simply do not exist. They are “battered women’s shelters” now.

“Violence against women” is another fine talking point. It is not more important than violence against men. Anybody with an ounce of common sense can tell you that throughout history more men have been victims of violence than women.

As U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy and the lobbyists at NOW have said, “a vote against VAWA — the Democratic Party’s favorite piece of legislation, the Violence Against Women Act — is a vote against women.”

Who could say no?

Has anyone ever heard it said that a vote for VAWA is a vote against falsely accused men because it denies them their due process rights? Has this even ever been allowed a vigorous public debate? I have not found any debate at all, really.

No wonder that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — the namesake and nephew of the most iconic Democrats of the last half-century — did not disclose the beatings he endured until after his abuser was dead.

ERIK B. ANDERSON
Independence Township