Two years ago, Lara Stemple, Director of UCLA’s Health and Human Rights Law Project, came upon a statistic that surprised her: In incidents of sexual violence reported to the National Crime Victimization Survey, 38 percent of victims were men––a figure much higher than in prior surveys. Intrigued, she began to investigate: Was sexual violence against men more common than previously thought?Some two years later, Stemple and her colleagues published a report titled “Sexual Victimization Perpetrated by Women: Federal Data Reveal Surprising Prevalence.” (Editor's Note: The study is available only by purchase.) It is based on data pooled and analyzed from the years 2010 to 2013, and it reveals a “surprisingly significant prevalence of female-perpetrated sexual victimization, mostly against men and occasionally against women.”
And very little study of the matter. Gee, I wonder why?
To date, no existing clinical studies examine large numbers of female sexual perpetrators. As a result, we understand less than we might of a category of sexual perpetrator that, while not the most common, will still victimize many thousands each year.Why not? Part of that answer can perhaps be found in the nature of the narrative itself. The idea of sexually aggressive women doesn’t fit our stereotypes, researchers of the study pointed out:
Stereotypes about women “include the notion that women are nurturing, submissive helpmates to men,” they write. “The idea that women can be sexually manipulative, dominant, and even violent runs counter to these stereotypes….”When studies showing women started domestic violence about half the time came out there was lots of screaming; it may have been solid science, but it really screwed with the 'women are always victims' narrative. Now "This information about female sexual predators doesn't fit, and so hasn't been studied." And the same Usual Suspects will throw fits when it is.
The result is that “perpetration is downplayed among professionals in mental health, social work, public health, and law, with harmful results for male and female victims.”
*Other than people with a grasp on reality, at least
5 comments:
A cop told me this, and some volunteer work at a battered women’s shelter confirmed it: “the vast majority of time, spousal abuse is almost always a case of two idiots fighting, and the smaller or weaker idiot losing.”
If you are ever tempted to contribute to charities claiming to support battered women, don’t. At least, until you’ve seen what goes on in those shelters.
And in most jurisdictions, a man being abused by his wife or girlfriend is SOL; lots of times the cops won't do anything unless there's a witness or video.
And all she has to do is scream "He hit me!" to put him in jail until there's an investigation, and unless he has that witness or video he's screwed.
My brother-in-law (former Marine, no less) was battered by a woman (had a child with her - I'm still not clear if they ever married). He wound up mostly just fending her off, but she did get a few licks in before he managed to stop her.
A part of the problem in women's violence towards men is much like a chihuahua attacking a rottweiler. The weaker dog will get in a thousand strikes, that all cause a small amount of damage. The Rottie, when retaliating, gets one blow in, but what a blow.
Same with domestic battery, in a lot of cases. Woman gets in a thousand hits and cuts and other blows, man defends himself and gives her a black eye or bruise, HE goes to jail, HE loses his rights, HE is a felon/pariah for the rest of his life.
Even worse, many 'battered spouses' actively hurt themselves in order to gain support from the police.
I'm not saying that men are innocents. Just women are more often guilty than the system shows.
Just ask yourself, if someone calls in a false battery or assault complaint, what should be done? If it is a man, he'll most likely be charged with at least a misdemeanor, all the way up to a felony depending on the seriousness of the complaint. If it is a woman? Hand her a set of roller-skates, because that's what she'll do, skate free of any repercussions on her calling 'wolf' without any wolf attack at all. Seen it with my own eyes. Some of these women have called in dozens of false reports, all targeted at some poor goober, who will pay for it one way or another for a long time, while the complainer will remain unpunished.
“The idea that women can be sexually manipulative, dominant, and even violent runs counter to these stereotypes….”
Says the man who has never been divorced...
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