holy shit. I’d love for someone to explain this to me.
Maybe its because most of the people who assault their partners are men????
You didn’t think that through, did you?
Phone line for women: Report the men that abused you!
Phone line for men: Report the women you abused!
You: Well duh, it’s because men commit all the abuse.
Me: …. but.. nevermind.
No. There should be (and are) lines for men who are abused. The reason there is a line for men to deal with being abusive is because most abusers are men
A phone line? A whole phone line? Just for us? Wonder what it’s like when men call those lines? Oh wait, we KNOW what happens when men call those lines:
At the conference, Dr. Hines detailed her findings on what happens when abused men call domestic violence hotlines or shelters seeking help. About a third of all domestic violence injuries are suffered by men. Hines’ study included 302 heterosexual men, ages 18 to 59, who had been in a relationship lasting at least one month within the previous year, had been physically assaulted by their female partners within the previous year, and had sought outside assistance/support. The median age of the abused men was 40, and the median age of their abusive female partners was 38. The relationships had lasted on average a little over eight years, and 73% of them had minor children. About two-thirds were married, separated, or divorced. Of the abused men who called domestic violence hotlines, 64% were told that they “only helped women.” In 32% of the cases, the abused men were referred to batterers’ programs. Another 25% were given a phone number to call that turned out to be a batterers’ program. A little over a quarter of them were given a reference to a local program that helped. Overall, only 8% of the men who called hotlines classified them as “very helpful,” whereas 69% found them to be “not at all helpful.” Sixteen percent said the people at the hot line “dismissed or made fun of them.” One abused man said:
They laughed at me and told me I must have done something to deserve it if it happened at all.
They asked how much I weighed and how much she weighed and then hung up on me…I was told by this agency that I was full of BS.
They told me women don’t commit domestic violence — it must have been my fault.So like yeah, I guess. Whatever.
Let’s go over those numbers for the tl;dr crowd.
When men called a domestic violence helpline seeking help:
- 64% were rejected because of their gender right off the bat.
- 25% were given a number that referred to THEM as the abuser.
- 16% were made fun of by the people they called for help.
Wow.
Wow, that is fucking disgusting and infuriating.