RADAR ALERT:
Why Is It So Hard For The Rocky Mountain News To Talk About Male Victims?

The Rocky Mountain News in Denver, Colorado just ran a column by Dora-Lee Larson titled, “Why is it so Hard to Call it Like it Is? Domestic Violence is a Crime.” Larson is the executive director of the Denver Domestic Violence Coordinating Council. Larson’s column was printed in response to a series of articles on “Battered Justice” that ran in the Rocky Mountain News February 5-9: http://denver.rockymountainnews.com/news/justice/ .

Three times in her article, Ms. Larson uses the phrase, “battered women.” But she finds it very hard to talk about “battered men.” She repeatedly equates men as abusers and women with victims. Only once does she give the slightest hint that women also may be batterers: “How many women and children’s lives have been spared if half of the (mostly) men who receive treatment stop battering?”

There is an entire web site devoted to documenting men in Colorado who were abused or killed by their girlfriends and wives -- www.dvmen.org -- apparently Ms. Larson finds it hard to talk about that.

Contact the Rocky Mountain News and tell them the following:

1. Dora-Lee Larson’s article glosses over the well-documented finding that women are just as likely as men to commit domestic violence: www.csulb.edu/~mfiebert/assault.htm .
2. Readers of the Rocky Mountain News should be asking Ms. Larson, “Why does she find it so hard to talk about male victims ?, ” especially when their plight has been repeatedly documented.
3. The Rocky Mountain News series on Battered Justice did mention male victims, but the overall series left the misleading impression that female batterers are infrequent and even treated unfairly by the criminal law system.

Here’s the contact information for Letters to the Editor:

• E-mail: letters@RockyMountainNews.com

• Snail mail: 100 Gene Amole Way, Denver, CO 80204

Here’s the contact information for Sarah Huntley, the reporter who wrote most of the articles for the Battered Justice series:

• E-mail: huntleys@RockyMountainNews.com

• Phone: 303-892-5212

Please cc your e-mail to , so RADAR can keep track of the level of response.

For this week’s Alert, we are looking for objective, thoughtful, persuasive letters to the editor to be sent.

Why is it so hard to call it like it is? Domestic violence is a crime

By Dora-Lee Larson
February 12, 2005

Many thanks to the Rocky Mountain News for bringing the issue of domestic violence back to the consciousness of the public in its recent series, "Battered Justice." As director of Denver's Domestic Violence Coordinating Council - who works with over 50 agencies, individuals, system representatives and others with a serious and long-term commitment to stopping domestic violence and saving lives - I am compelled to respond to several points:

• The domestic violence prevention movement is all about helping to save lives and we've had some success. We know things aren't perfect; we don't have the best antidote for abusive behavior. However, if perpetrator treatment works "only" 50 percent of the time, that's phenomenal. How many women and children's lives have been spared if half of the (mostly) men who receive treatment stop battering?

Why only highlight research that casts a negative light on batterer intervention programs? Why not give equal attention to a longitudinal study that shows treatment for batterers can - and does - work? Why not air criticism of the reliability and validity of the research that was cited?

Dr. Edward Gondolf , on behalf of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, conducted a study of batterer intervention programs. His research team found that the re-assault rate for the full sample of 840 men at the 30-month follow up was 36 percent for clients who attended two or more months of treatment vs. 55 percent for program dropouts. In other words, the success rate for program attendees was 64 percent, while the success rate for program dropouts was 45 percent.

• Another concern is with the series' various headlines, from "Battered Justice" itself to "Law for women now jailing them" and some of the content.

Assuming some of the general public might only see the headlines and many of those casual observers may be victimized, what message do these banners give victims? What is the message to abusers? It's likely not the best message: Is there any other serious crime for which no arrest or no consequences would be advocated?

What is it about domestic violence that makes it so difficult to call it what it is: a crime? If you push your girlfriend and she falls, bruising her arm, don't call the police, don't go to jail, don't go through treatment because she's your partner? But if the victim is a neighbor, a co-worker, or a friend, wouldn't we be demanding consequences? Why the double standard?

• Colorado's "Standards for Treatment With Court Ordered Domestic Violence Offenders" are the result of many years of grass-roots advocates (including formerly battered women), treatment providers and others working together to produce a mode of treatment for abusers that's as effective as possible. As these standards were being developed, most licensed professionals didn't want much to do with the process. Once the standards were institutionalized and mandated, however, concerns and issues abounded. Licensure for specific disciplines - e.g., Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division for alcohol treatment - has been around for a very long time. And that process is rigorous.

• Again, what is it about domestic violence? Applying restorative justice with its premise of reunifying or bringing together the victim and perpetrator in domestic violence is a slippery slope.

Being in a circle and experiencing pressure from peers and community leaders is likely to be effective when dealing with issues of vandalism, graffiti or petty theft because the likelihood of the peers and community leaders being "on the same page" about these crimes is high. The societal minimization and denial regarding domestic violence from these same peers and leaders is likely to be pervasive and rampant.

Most batterers do not take responsibility for their behavior and have perfected effective and insidious ways of intimidation, power and control - often only recognized by the victim. Situating a battered woman with her abuser and expecting some sort of conciliatory result can be tantamount to exposing her to all kinds of retaliatory consequences once the circle is over. The same has been said for couples counseling - there is some assumption of a balance of power in these constructs that simply doesn't exist for many abused women. As the News states, victim safety is the ultimate concern. Careful screening might reduce some risk. However, perfecting that screening would demand a tremendous amount of research and work.

The battered women's movement is a mere 25-30 years old. We don't have all the answers. More ethical, valid research is crucial and, meanwhile, we attempt to save lives however we can. We continually seek to better our response, and attention to issues like those raised by the Rocky Mountain News can only help us be better advocates (in the strict sense of the word) for all victims.

Dora-Lee Larson is the executive director of the Denver Domestic Violence Coordinating Council.

Date of RADAR Release: February 20, 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