RADAR ALERT:
Minnesota Men Killed by Wives Unlikely to Answer Health Survey

Francis Manthey of Hill City, Minnesota was shot and killed in the early morning hours of March 5, 2003. His wife, Ardelle Manthey, has now been indicted on charges of first degree murder.

But according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune , the killing never happened. In fact, the 30,000 Minnesota men who were assaulted by their wives and girlfriends in 2004 were just imagining things.

The Star Tribune just ran an article titled, “3% of Minnesota Women Report Attack by Their Partner.” The article reported the results of a Health Department survey of 2,000 women. The Health Department did not bother to survey men. The results of the Health Department survey can be found here: http://www.health.state.mn.us/news/pressrel/violence030905.html .

The article quotes Carolyn Hamm of the Battered Women’s Justice Project: “We know that a lot of this stuff goes unreported.”

We might add, a lot of domestic violence against men goes unreported, as well.

Contact the Star Tribune and tell them the following:

1. Women are just as likely as men to commit domestic violence: www.mediaradar.org/research.php#waj
2. Good journalism needs to report both sides of the story to be balanced and fair.
3. The Star Tribune should now run an article about male victims of DV.

Please send a message to the Star Tribune . If you send a letter, keep it polite and short. Here’s the contact information:

Editor:

Anders Gyllenhaal
Minneapolis Star Tribune
435 Portland Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55488
E-mail: andersg@startribune.com
Telephone: 612-673-1734

Reporter:
Maura Lerner
Minneapolis Star Tribune
435 Portland Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55488
E-mail: mlerner@startribune.com
Telephone: 612-673-4414

If you are really upset by this biased survey, contact the Minnesota Department of Health directly:

John Stieger

MDH Communications
P.O. Box 64975
E-mail feedback: http://www.health.state.mn.us/webmaster/mail.html

Telephone: 651-215-1301

Sara Seifert

MDH Injury and Violence Prevention

Minnesota Department of Health
P.O. Box 64975
E-mail feedback: http://www.health.state.mn.us/webmaster/mail.html

Telephone: 651-215-2968

In this week’s Alert, we are hoping for a stand-up double from both the newspaper and the Health Department. Or if we get enough people to write in, maybe we’ll end up with a home run!

3% of Minnesota Women Report Attack by their Partner

Maura Lerner

March 10, 2005

www.startribune.com/stories/462/5283797.html

Three percent of Minnesota women aged 18 to 44 reported being victims of domestic violence between January 2003 and May 2004, according to a survey by the Minnesota Department of Health. In addition, 1 percent of those surveyed were victims of sexual assault.

Based on the findings, the department estimates that 30,000 women are victims of domestic violence in Minnesota every year, and another 10,000 are sexually assaulted. Less than half of those who needed medical care sought treatment for their injuries, the survey found.

The survey confirmed previous national and local surveys about the extent of violence against women, Sara Seifert, one of the authors of the study, said Wednesday.

"[The] take-home message for me is, we have pretty large numbers of victims of violence, and most of them probably are not going to a formal system for assistance," said Seifert, an epidemiologist with the Health Department's Injury and Violence Prevention program.

The telephone survey, conducted in 2004, asked 2,000 Minnesota women whether they had been victims of violence in the previous 12 months. Of those surveyed, 57 women said they had been physically assaulted by a spouse, boyfriend or other domestic partner; another 26 reported a sexual attack.

Of those injured, only about four in 10 sought treatment at a hospital or clinic, the survey found. Seifert said medical professionals and others need to do more to reach out to potential victims and to encourage them to seek treatment.

Carolyn Ham, of the Battered Women's Justice Project in Minneapolis, said she was not surprised by the findings. "We know that a lot of this stuff goes unreported, whether to medical professionals or to the police," she said. "But obviously it's still very much of a social problem."

The survey did not attempt to assess violence against older women, men or children, but concentrated on women 18 to 44 because they're often a prime target of such attacks, Seifert said.

Date of RADAR Release: March 13, 2005

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R.A.D.A.R. – Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting – is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's approach to solving domestic violence. http://www.mediaradar.org