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Issues - Gender bias - Australia's June report
Send date: 30 June 2004 Compiled by Alan Barron,
Convenor, The Institute of Men's Studies, Grovedale Victoria
Australia. Website: www.mioms.com
Editorial:
Young women who enroll in `Women's Studies'
at our universities are often taught vitriol from feminist
pioneers such as Andrea Dworkin who teaches; "Heterosexual
sex is rape."
Marilyn French: "All men are rapists."
They learn that "female heterosexuality
is not a biological drive" but "a set of social
practices about the oppression and exploitation of women."
(Marilyn Frye).
They learn that lesbianism is the "means
of liberation of all women from heterosexual tyranny."
(Cheryl Clarke).
The nuclear family is "a cornerstone of
women's oppression: it enforces women's dependence on men,
it enforces heterosexuality and it imposes the prevailing
masculine and feminine character structures on the next generation."
(Alison Jagger).
Governments of various political hues spend
millions of taxpayers dollars outlawing racial and religious
intolerance, and yet at the same time pour tens of millions
of dollars into `women's' departments at our universities
who promote anti-male and anti- family tripe day in and day
out. Why is it not a crime to vilify
men and marriage?
_______________________________________________________
Looking after yourself: Had your Prostate checked lately?
The prostate goes through two periods of growth
throughout a man's life. The first occurs during the beginning
stages of puberty when it doubles in size. Its growth then
stops until about age 25. At this time, it slowly begins to
grow again and for some men can become problematic once they
reach their early 50s. It is strongly recommended that all
men over the age of 45 go for regular prostate exams and have
a test called a Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA)
Test.
PSA or prostate specific antigen is an enzyme
produced by the prostate cells. PSA levels can be used as
an indicator of prostate- related diseases, especially prostate
cancer. As part of a general prostate health program, your
doctor may recommend that you have a PSA blood test performed
periodically. After age 50, most men begin to experience some
degree of symptoms of prostate disorders, and the likelihood
of symptoms arising may continue to increase over time.
There are 3 major diseases associated with the prostate. They
are (1) benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), commonly referred
to as an enlarged prostate; (2) prostatitis; and (3) prostate
cancer.
It is very important that you understand the
symptoms and warning signs of prostate disease and tell your
doctor about any that you experience. Even in the absence
of urinary symptoms, in order to promote a healthy prostate
your doctor may perform periodic prostate exams and regularly
monitor your prostate specific antigen (PSA) level.
Only your physician can diagnose an enlarged
prostate, so have check- ups regularly.
Difficulty in starting to urinate
Difficulty in completely emptying your bladder
A weak urine stream that starts and stops
An increase in how often you feel the need to urinate
Urinating more frequently at night
A strong and sudden urge to urinate
Other urological conditions, including prostate
cancer, may have similar symptoms. You should see your physician
for regular examinations.
All men are at risk. The most common risk factor
is age. More than
70 percent of men diagnosed with prostate cancer each year
are over
the age of 65. Dramatic differences in the incidence of prostate
cancer are also seen in different countries, and there is
some
evidence that a diet higher in fat, especially animal fat,
may
account for some of these differences. Genetic factors also
appear
to play a role, particularly for families in whom the diagnosis
is
made in men under 60 years of age. The risk of prostate cancer
rises with the number of close relatives who have the disease.
(http://cis.nci.nih.gov/fact/5_23.htm.)
To sum up: all men over the age of 45 should
have an annual PSA test. By this age nearly half the male
population has some problems with their prostate. Over the
age of 50, more frequent PSA testing is recommended. Generally
speaking, the higher the PSA reading the greater the possibility
of cancer being present. Early diagnosis and treatment are
highly successful in combating prostate cancer. Two supplements
that may be helpful for the maintenance of good
prostate health are; Trinovin (made by Novogen), and Proseren
(made by Blackmores).
Family Court custody determinations when dissolution
of marriage granted:
* Women win residential custody in 79% of cases.
* Joint custody is awarded in 14% of cases.
* Men win residential custody in 5% of cases.
"The reason why husbands and wives do not
understand each other is because they belong to different
sexes," -Dorothy Dix.
1520 The Aztec king Montezuma II killed by
Conquistador Hernando Cortez.
1859 Frenchman Charles Blondin walks across
Niagara Falls on tightrope.
1894 Tower Bridge in London is officially opened.
1938 The comic superhero, Superman makes his
first appearance
1891 Sir Stanley Spencer, English artist.
1918 Susan Hayward, American actress, who won
Oscar for I Want to
Live.
1966 Mike Tyson, World heavyweight champion
boxer
* How women have gained under the Howard Government
* Biased report presented on domestic violence
* 'Don't be a DAD!', urges Australian civil
rights group
* Secret men's business: Size does matter
* Men - victims of increasing domestic violence
* Male chemistry does it for both sexes
* Military losing battle over soaring sexual harassment
claims
Korea: Woman to pay husband for having baby
by another man
England: Fathers 'have key role with children'
after families split
USA: Women account for more than 40% of spousal homicides
USA: Wal-Mart vows to promote more women
___________________________________________________________________
Since 1996, when the Howard Government came
to power, more than 600,ooo jobs have been created for women.
There are now more than 4 million women in the paid workforce.
In education, there has been a 30% increase in the number
of female students commencing undergraduate courses, a rise
from 90,137 in 1993 to 117,156 in 2003. In terms of post-graduate
course, in 1993 there were 28,214 female students, but by
2003 this had risen to 41,194 –a dramatic
increase of 45%. Australian women now have access to record
levels of child-care. The Howard Government has doubled spending
on child- care and has increased the number of Commonwealth
funded childcare places by more than 210,000 since 1996, taking
the total to 530,000 places under the Howard Government. (Family
World News, Volume 11, No 5, May 2004.)
Comment: But what has the Howard Government
done for men?
Domestic violence was the single biggest contributor
to death, illness and disability among young women, a report
has found. Violence at the hands of an intimate partner was
a far more serious problem for women aged 15-44 than risk
factors such as high blood pressure, obesity, illicit drug
use or smoking, the Health Costs of Violence report found.
At the report's launch in Melbourne today, VicHealth
chief executive Rob Moodie said the results were shocking
and showed that domestic violence was serious and prevalent
and carried with it an enormous cost.
"One in five women report being subject to violence at
one time in their adult lives," Dr Moodie said. "Intimate
partner violence is very common and it has severe and persistent
effects over many years on women's physical and mental health."
Domestic violence was responsible for almost nine per cent
of the disease burden among Victorian women aged 16-44, and
for three per cent of the disease burden for adult women overall,
the report finds.
Sixty per cent of the health problems identified
in the report were mental disorders and a further 15 per cent
were due to increased use of tobacco, alcohol and illicit
drugs. Chief amongst health problems suffered by the victims
of domestic violence were depression, anxiety and suicide.
Women aged 18 to 24 suffered the greatest incidence of domestic
violence, with 4.9 per cent of women in that age group reporting
being victims of physical or sexual
violence in the previous 12 months compared with 2.8 per cent
of all adult women in that time.
Acting Victorian Premier John Thwaites said
governments needed to work harder to help victims. "This
report tells a shocking story, it tells the story that far
too many women are being assaulted by their intimate partners.
It's quite clear as a state, as a nation, we're going to have
to act and act now to reduce this terrible violence against
women."
Police Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon said
her officers saw the enormous impact of domestic violence
daily and the force was developing an education program for
all police. "This particular work that's been launched
today gives us some real evidence of the enormous impact of
family violence in our communities," she told reporters.
"The police understand when they go to a domestic violence
incident that they are to take action, they are to apply
for intervention orders, but we are also looking at ways of
keeping the woman who is the victim and the children in the
house and having the perpetrator leave. This education program
will be mandatory across Victoria Police and I think it will
be very clear about what we want police to do."
Victorian Health Minister Bronwyn Pike said
the report made it clear that domestic violence was a significant
health issue. "The results of this study show the whole
community needs to be involved in the effort to prevent domestic
violence," she said. The findings released in the study
were based on a review of existing research by a panel of
experts. (By David Killick, AAP. As reported in Mamumit Exchange,
16/6/04).
Half of the truth is often ignored in reports
such as this. There are two sides to a coin and two sides
to family abuse and violence. Sadly, our governments are under
the influence of anti-male (misandrist) feminists and are
only conducting research for the advantage of women, while
totally neglecting men and boys. Biased and sexist reports
such as this one are what is termed advocacy 'research': they
are not real research but are cobbled together to push a particular
agenda, with the intent of favouring a particular group. In
the case of this report, the aim is to advantage (favour)
women in relationships with men, so that they have a ready-made
and believable (socially/legally acceptable)
excuse and justification for terminating a relationship or
family, for vilifying a man or (all) men, for keeping the
children (of a relationship), as their custodian, and for
ripping off innocent men by stealing their property and income
(and their families, their homes and their lives).
Australian civil rights lobby group, Fathers-4-Equality,
has urged all Australian men to refrain from having children,
if possible. In response to growing concerns that legally
enforced sexism continues to permeate through every aspect
of the family law process, single fathers across Australia
have lost faith in ongoing
political discussions and committee's that seem to be going
nowhere.
Along with the federal government's wavering
commitment to the principle of equality within the family
court, and in light of the opposition leader's grand vision
of replacing committed single father's with "male role
models", many men have given up on any hope of truly
being fathers again. Sonja Hastings, spokesperson for fathers-4-equality,
stated that "if the treatment fathers received in the
family court was to occur to women in any sector of society,
there would be justified outrage." But judges, lawyers,
politicians and many women's groups are of the view that discrimination
against men is acceptable in modern day society.
Ms Hastings urges all Australian men to think
seriously about the consequences of having children in this
country. She says that "no matter how decent, hardworking
& caring you may be as a father, that in the event of
separation, you will more than likely not get custody of your
child, you will lose up to 80% of all your assets, you will
have to pay up to 5 times the cost of raising a child, &
most importantly you could never see your child again, and
the law will do nothing to help you."
However, if you still want to have children,
Ms Hastings supplies the following suggestions:
i. Ensure you sign a fair and reasonable pre-nuptial
agreement before marriage, and use this pre-nuptial agreement
to document an understanding of equal and shared parenting
(50/50 joint residence), if you were to have children, in
the event of separation.
ii. And don't work too hard! If extra money
is required by your family, let your wife work her fair share
of the overtime. Remember that for every extra dollar you
earn for your family, this is an extra reason that the family
court will use to deny you fair access to your children.
Fathers-4-equality is lobbying the federal government
to introduce a legislated presumption of 50/50 shared physical
custody, rebuttable if child abuse can be substantiated, or
if both parents agree to an alternate agreement. This they
claim would put a stop to the modern day 'stolen generation',
whereby children are robbed of their natural rights to have
meaningful relationships with both their
parents. (Manumit Exchange, 8/6/04.)
When it comes to fertility, size does matter,
the larger the volume of the testicles, the greater chance
of potency. In the Western world, male fertility rates are
declining. One in 20 Australian men are infertile. A generation
after the world's first test-tube baby in 1978, today, one
Australian child in 50 is conceived in vitro, or about 5,000
per year. Andrologists uses an Orchidometer (or Prader's balls)
to measure testicular volume. The first three blue shapes
are used for the clinical evaluation of pre-pubescent boys.
The three ellipsoids range from four milliliters through to
15, to the big daddy, 25 millilitres. The average volume of
the testicle of a Western male is between 15 and 30 millilitres.
When adult, an average testicle can:
* produce 50 to 100 million sperm a day.
* produce 15 to 30 millilitres of ejaculate
(1 to 2 tablespoons).
Ejaculate consists of only 5% semen, the rest is made up of
30%
fluid from the prostate, 60% fluid from the seminal vesicles,
and 5%
natural lubricant. (Good Week End, 12 June 2004, pages 16-21.
An Australian study has found men are notoriously
lax about their health: one in four blokes has not seen a
doctor in a decade says Professor Doreen Rosenthal, a board
member of Anthology Australia, the government funded research
centre dedicated to male reproductive health. And men's sexual
health problems are incredibly common. About one million men
suffer from erectile dysfunction; one in 20 is infertile,
and in 200 suffers from testosterone deficiency; and 50 per
cent of all men experience prostate problems. (The Herald
Sun, 2 June, 2004, page 24.)
Federal Attorney-General Phillip Ruddock has
appointed Diana Bryant QC as the new Chief Justice of the
Family Court. She replaces Alistair Nicholson who recently
retired after 16 years of service.
Ms Maree Johnston will become the first female
principal of a Catholic boys school early next year. Next
year she will become the principal at St. Joseph's College,
a Christian Brothers school in Melbourne's inner north. (The
Age 19/6/04, page 6.)
Comment: This is a wrong decision. Boys need male role models.
They will have enough experience of female bosses when they
enter the work force in the years ahead. For a conservative
religious body to make such a serious error in judgment, borders
on the incredulous.
About one-third of domestic violence victims
treated in Australian hospitals are men, of all ages and from
across the socio-economic spectrum, a new study has found.
Many victims also had been abused as children,
said Dr Peter Stuart, the study's author and director of emergency
medicine at Lyell McEwin Hospital in Adelaide. Of 1,326 people
who presented at two Adelaide emergency departments over the
80 shifts studied, 8.7 per cent described themselves as victims
of domestic violence. The majority of victims were women aged
between 17 and 35 years who had been to hospital at least
once before to be treated for injuries sustained in an assault
and who were likely to have been abused as children.
"But ... domestic physical assault is not
isolated to this group of patients but is also relatively
common in men and all age, employment and cultural groups,"
Dr Stuart said. "This finding confirms the ubiquitous
nature of domestic violence and highlights the difficulty
in establishing a risk factor profile based on personal characteristics
that would enable the selective screening of patients for
domestic violence."
People with part time jobs or stay-at-home parents were more
likely to be abused than those in full time employment or
the unemployed, Dr Stuart reported in the latest issue of
the medical journal Emergency Medicine Australasia. Almost
30 per cent of the domestic violence victims were men, Dr
Stuart said. Elderly patients for the most part refused to
participate in the study, and Dr Stuart
excluded those who had serious injuries, attended the emergency
department between midnight and 8am, or whose partner refused
to leave the room. "As many of these patients are at
significantly greater risk for domestic physical assault,
the study is likely to underestimate the prevalence for recent
assault," he said." (By Kylie Walker, The Australian,
31 May 2004. Manumit Exchange,
31/5/04.)
Male chemistry does it for both sexes- Testosterone
may help a low sex drive
Testosterone may lift flagging libidos for middle-aged
women and men, but at what cost? The "hormone of desire",
testosterone, is getting good reviews in recent studies on
improving libidos for men and women.
In patch form for women, and gel form for men,
studies just released show this naturally occurring hormone
revved up women with low libidos after hysterectomies, and
gave that extra sexual shot to men
who had low testosterone levels, called hypogonadism. The
preliminary findings on the female patch were presented at
a recent meeting of the American College of Obstetricians
and Gynaecologists. Lead investigator Dr James Simon was cautiously
optimistic, saying: "We hope we are one step closer to
providing an
effective therapeutic option."
Previously, medical authorities had warned that
testosterone was unproven for libido enhancement and might
not be worth the risk, because it had not been tested for
efficacy and safety in proper scientific trials. But findings
from Simon's study of 562 surgically menopausal women found
improvements in desire,
satisfaction with sex, orgasm, responsiveness and self-image.
The women wore a thin, transparent testosterone patch on the
abdomen, which released a low, controlled dose of natural
testosterone. The side-effects were minimal and researchers
are now investigating how it works with women who have undergone
a natural menopause. This was a short-term study of 24 weeks,
and impact on cholesterol levels, also a concern, was not
measured.
For men, AndroGel - a testosterone gel that
is rubbed onto the skin - proved safe and effective over more
than three years of use, according to a study published in
the May issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology &
Metabolism. According to researchers, men in the study experienced
"rapid and sustained" improvements in sexual function
and mood, decreases in fat mass and increases in lean body
mass, and increases in bone mineral density in the spine and
hips. A male fountain of youth, it seems. The controversy
over use of testosterone for men has been ongoing. Many doubt
the need to define so-called male menopause, let alone to
treat it, and have called the use of this hormone to reverse
flagging libidos and flaccid erections akin to an uncontrolled
experiment. Those with prostate cancer are ruled out because
it feeds the cancer, and the
study authors recommended monitoring patients closely for
prostate problems.
Six of the 163 men in the study developed prostate
"disorders" during the AndroGel trial. The authors
recommend those using the product have a check of their PSA
levels - used to detect prostate cancer - and digital rectal
examinations before starting therapy and periodically throughout
treatment. Is testosterone the wonder drug for rejuvenating
men and women? These trials seem to indicate it could be.
But hormone therapy was once touted as the answer to all menopausal
problems, and look where that led us. (By Carolyn Susman,
The Age, 29 May 2004.)
Military losing battle over soaring sexual harassment
claims
REPORTS of homosexual harassment in the Army
and Navy have soared as
confidential documents reveal major failings in the ability
of the Australian Defence Force to deal with sexual intimidation.
An internal report obtained by The Australian
newspaper shows the total number of sexual harassment complaints
inside the Defence Forces doubled last year to 122. And out
of those 51 were complaints by men against other men. The
previous year there were only 12 complaints of sexual harassment
of males by other serving males. The report on unacceptable
behaviour in the Australian Defence Force, obtained under
Freedom of Information legislation, reveals an
alarming rise in male sexual assaults against females in the
Navy, up to 27 in 2002-03. The Army reported 20 cases of sexual
assault by males against females, while the Air Force force,
which has the lowest level of sexual assault and harassment,
reported four. The internal report seriously questions the
response of Defence Department officials to victims' complaints,
saying "there is still a significant number of sexual
offence complaints where management
inaction or uncertainty has significantly drawn out the length
of the case". It comments that many victims withdrew
their complaint of sexual assault due to the stress of the
legal process, and "their unwillingness to be subjected
to further trauma". Of the 62 complaints of sexual assault
in the three services, only seven ended up with formal action
being taken. The ADF had 51,791 permanent members in June
2003. The Army had 25,289; the Navy 12,864, and the Air Force
13,638.
News of the rise in sexual assaults comes as
the defence organisation is under fire for its mishandling
of the prisoner abuse controversy, and is struggling to contain
other social problems such as drug and alcohol abuse in the
ranks. The issue of sexual assault in the Navy first erupted
in the early 1990s after a series of assaults against female
sailors aboard HMAS Swan. That controversy saw the Navy introduce
new rules to try to prevent sexual harassment of crew members
while at sea. Women are now allowed to serve on both Navy
surface ships and submarines.
A spokeswoman said the Defence Department had
encouraged the reporting of unacceptable behaviour and the
increase in complaints might indicate a heightened level of
awareness due to increased familiarity with new reporting
mechanisms. Toll-free telephone advice lines are also available
for service personnel subjected to unacceptable behaviour.
The victims of most cases of sexual assault in the Army were
subordinate in rank to the respondent, while in the Navy most
sexual offences were committed by a person of equal rank.
Six cases of sexual assault were reported in the Air Force,
and half of those were by someone of equal rank. In the previous
year, 2001- 02, the Navy received reports of 18 servicemen
being sexually harassed by males of a lower rank. The report
shows 85 per cent of personnel involved in sexual harassment
complaints were on duty when the incidents occurred. Most
cases of indecent and sexual assault occurred off-duty. (The
Australian, 8/6/04. page 1)
Karen Ellis, a former physical fitness teacher
in her late 30's, has been charged over alleged sex offences
with a year 10, 14 year old boy. Ms Ellis has been charged
with seven counts of sexual assault with a person under the
age of 16, and seven counts of committing an indecent act
with a person under the age of 16. Ms Ellis has recently resigned
from the education department. (Herald Sun
16/6/04. page 1.)
A South Korean court has ordered a woman to
pay her husband 50 million won ($68,000) compensation for
having a baby by another man. The 26-year-old woman told her
husband in February 2002 that she was pregnant with his baby,
but his suspicion later grew when relatives complained that
"the baby didn't look like him at all".
When the husband confronted his wife with a
DNA test that showed the babywas not his, she argued that
the baby must have been switched at hospital. But when he
moved to sue the hospital, she confessed to having another
man's baby. The wife said she was sexually assaulted by the
baby's real father, but the court rejected her argument for
lack of evidence. (The New Zealand Herald, 1 June 2004. Manumit
Exchange, 1/6/04.)
The importance of fathers in the emotional development
of children is emphasised today in a study of separated parents
in Bristol. Researchers say they found a direct relationship
between children's behavioural problems and the amount of
contact they had with their natural father. The effect was
more pronounced in single-parent families, particularly where
the mother was a teenager. In such cases, children were especially
vulnerable emotionally if they had no contact with their father.
The findings are published in the Journal of Child Psychology
and Psychiatry amid protests by fathers about access to children
after a family break-up. Prof Judy Dunn, from the Institute
of Psychiatry at King's College London, studied 162 children
whose parents had separated. Of those children, 18 per cent
had no contact with their father and 16 per cent had contact
less than once a month.
The children were interviewed, initially at
the age of eight and a half, about their relationships with
their mother, fathers and stepfathers. Mothers were asked
to report on whether their children were aggressive and delinquent,
or withdrawn, anxious or depressed. There were fewer problems
relating to aggression with a child and its mother and non-resident
father if there was good contact between
the father and the child and their relationship was good.
(By Sarah Womack, Social Affairs Correspondent Daily Telegraph
(UK) 26 May 2004. Manumit Exchange, 7/604.)
Unfaithful women have a new excuse - their misbehaviour
might be down to their genes. A scientific study has shown
that a woman's tendency to be unfaithful could be linked to
particular genes inherited from her parents. The study suggests
that about a quarter of British women carry the infidelity
trait and that it sharply increases the chances that they
will sleep with someone else while
in an apparently monogamous relationship with a man.
While the genetic element is far from exclusively
responsible for infidelity - the state of a relationship and
cultural factors are key elements - it sharply raises the
chances that a woman will sleep with someone while she is
in an apparently monogamous relationship with a regular partner.
The gene findings have emerged from comparing a study of 5,000
female twins with a survey of 5,000 unrelated women. The work,
carried out by researchers at Guy's and St Thomas' hospital,
London, and part-funded by the Medical Research Council, was
led by Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at St
Thomas'. Spector has written a scientific paper on his findings
and submitted it to academic journals. He has also outlined
them in a newly published book, Your Genes Unzipped, which
describes
how people's behaviour and lives are affected by genetic factors.
"By studying twins, we can separate nature from nurture,"
Spector said. "It does seem that there is a strong link
between a woman's genetic inheritance and the chances that
she will commit infidelity." Parental inheritance might
explain the infidelities
that have both plagued and blessed families such as the Redgrave
acting dynasty. The Times (Britain), 6 June 2004. Manumit
Exchange 7/6/04.)
Women in intimate relationships are frequently
portrayed by modern society as "the victim" when
violence or a homicide occurs in intimate partnerships. These
women continue to be seen by American culture as weak individuals
who suffer at the hands of domineering, powerful, over- controlling
men. The myth that spousal murder is committed almost entirely
by husbands who kill their wives must be dispelled. In addition,
there are discrepancies within the legal system, where a female
is treated more leniently for murdering her husband, than
when a man murders his wife.
The criminal-justice system has failed to see equality in
the crimes in the sexes, allowing for biased views that women
are less malevolent than men and more prone to victimization.
The stigma is intractable that women are more likely than
men to feel remorse for what they've done. While this may
be true for some women; for others, the truth is much further
away than many suspect. Ever
since the first domestic violence shelter was created in 1984,
the issues of spousal homicide, statistics and numbers of
homicides in the home related to abuse have become a part
of historical record. The U.S. Justice Department's 1994 Bureau
of Justice Special Report indicated that in the category of
murders of spouses, women represented 41 percent of killers.1
Women accounted for only 10 percent of defendants
charged with all murders; however, women accounted for more
than 40 percent of the defendants for all spousal homicides.
Many reports of U.S. criminal sentencing demonstrate that
wives who kill their husbands are acquitted in 12.9 percent
of cases, while husbands who kill their wives are acquitted
in only 1.4 percent of cases.
Additionally, a 1988 U.S. Justice Department study found men
frequently receive an average sentence of 17 years for killing
their spouses, vs. a six-year sentence for the woman who kills
her husband. Probation for female spousal killers is granted
to approximately 16 percent, while only 1.6 percent for males
may be granted probation.4
Considerations were given to women who had
been provoked, verbally assaulted and/or threatened prior
to them committing homicide. The investigator must keep in
mind it is often too easy to stereotype this type of homicide
as a result of abuse, jealousy or other factors. The investigator
must be aware that in domestic homicide, the perpetrator is
often the female partner. Knowing this, the defense will be
that the woman was being abused or neglected. The investigator
must understand the history, the statistics and the cases
relating to domestic homicide of the male spouse to discover
how the intimate died, and the motive behind the death. In
1976, females murdered more than 1,357 male intimates. In
1993, men were the victims of about 162,870 violent crimes
by an intimate partner. In 2000, an intimate partner killed
approximately 1,247 women and
440 men.
Percentages compiled recently have shown an
intimate killed about 4 percent of male murder victims, compared
to the average of 33 percent of female murder victims. According
to Uniform Crime Reports, of the 22,636 homicides committed
in the U.S. in 1992, 1,288 (6 percent) were committed by a
spouse or ex-spouse, and 762 (3 percent) were committed by
a boyfriend or girlfriend.2 There is no doubt that some of
the homicides in which the offender is not identified, involved
spouses or boyfriends or girlfriends. Actual percentage of
homicides committed by intimates is between 9 percent to 15
percent. Wives or girlfriends kill 3 percent and 5 percent
of male homicide victims, respectively. Marital violence is
highly underreported, as many people underestimate the amount
and
seriousness of family violence per surveys done by Strauss
in the 1990s. It has been noted that female-to-male violence
has the potential of increasing male-to-female violence, in
that men will frequently respond by escalating their use of
violence.
(Forensic Nurse Magazine. Domestic Homicide
of Male Spouses by Females: A Review for Death Investigators,
By Lt. Cynthia T. Ferguson, CNM, MSN; Mamumit Exchange, 18/6/04.)
FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas. - Wal-Mart Stores, facing lawsuits
for alleged gender bias and unfair treatment of workers, pledged
yesterday to work harder to promote women to management and
announced a new pay system for hourly employees. CEO Lee Scott
told employees and shareholders at the company's annual meeting
that executive bonuses, including his own, would be cut up
to 7.5 percent this year and 15 percent next year if the company
does not meet its
goals for promoting women. The aim is to promote women and
minorities in proportion to the number that apply for management
positions. "If 50 percent of the people applying for
the job of store manager are women, we will work to make sure
that 50 percent of the people receiving those jobs are women,"
Scott said. Scott did not give details. Critics were skeptical
of Wal-Mart's planned
changes in work conditions and pay scales. (Wendy McElroy,
10/6/04).
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