If anyone wants to send a reply to this (they do print letters from
outside Ireland), E-mail it to:
independent.letters{at}unison.independent.ie

http://tinyurl.com/6269s
i.e.
http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=53&si=1349363&issue_id=12150

Male victims of violence in need of helpline


Sir - Mr Frank Fahey TD, Minister of State at the Department of
Justice, Equality and Law Reform, on Tuesday, February 22, launched
another Awareness Campaign, which purports to deal with domestic
violence but, in fact, deals only with violence against women. Yet
again the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform excludes male
victims and gives a helpline number for female victims only.

In his speech at the launch, Minister Fahey acknowledged that men can
also be victims but he continued referring to domestic violence as if
it consisted only of violence against women. He states that he has
taken some time to familiarise himself with some of the issues ". . .
in relation to violence against women to date" and that he has only
just begun to learn about ". . . the complexities of violence against
women". It would appear that the Minister has no interest in learning
about the issues in relation to, and the complexities of, violence
against men.

The television campaign, which the Minister was launching, refers to a
national helpline operated by Women's Aid and the Minister claimed they
". . . will be on hand to offer support to any victims, women and men,
who need their help". Women's Aid, as the name implies, has always been
a service exclusively for women and when men have contacted them in the
past, they have been advised accordingly. They subscribe to a feminist
model of domestic violence, which precludes the possibility that women
use violence as a means of controlling their male partners. Male
victims will not use such a helpline and it is naive of the Minister to
make the statement that they did.

Four years ago, his predecessor, Mary Wallace, and officials from the
Department gave a commitment to Amen that future campaigns would be
gender neutral and would be equally inclusive of male and female
victims. Sadly, they have reneged on that commitment and are persisting
with their sexist, sectarian and discriminatory approach despite all
the evidence that has emerged regarding the reality of male victims.

The Minister is, in fact, insulting male victims by his token reference
to them in his speech, thereby further isolating and marginalising
them. 

Mary T Cleary, 
Amen, Railway St, 
Navan, Co Meath



--- UseNet To RIME Gateway {at} 2/27/05 9:33:43 AM ---