I decided to focus my research on "Domestic Violence Against Men" among heterosexual relationships with the intention of promoting awareness of this social problem through a Spanish radio station at a national level for my community project. Through personal experience, research, and the testimony of male victims and female batterers I have learned that domestic violence is not a gender problem but rather a human problem that needs to be recognized in order to create effective intervention and treatment programs for both genders.
Prior to accomplishing my purpose I compiled my research findings on the topic, and the information obtained through personal interviews from male victims of domestic violence and female batterers. I also interviewed facilitators and supervisors of domestic violence court mandated treatment groups for male and female perpetrators.
Then, I met with the radio's director and other executives to present my findings, set a date for the program, and formulate a plan to follow. The date was set for April 30, 2000 from 6:00 p .m., to 7:00 p.m., and we agreed to meet an hour earlier to practice and prepare for the program.
Furthermore, I decided to invite a Spanish-speaking graduate student who is currently pursuing her master's degree in Social Work at Sacramento State University, to be part of the program. She had done research on the subject and was also interested in promoting awareness of the social problem of domestic violence against men among the Latino Population.
I also contacted a woman who had been a batterer in her prior marriage and she agreed to share her experiences and feelings about domestic violence against men during the program. Even though I tried very hard on getting a male victim to be present during our discussion, none of the Spanish-speaking individuals I had interviewed were willing to come with me to the radio station and share their experiences and feelings. However, I managed to get a male who had witness abuse towards men by his own sister.
Finally but not least, I invited a representative from a Sacramento domestic violence shelter for women and children so that she could give her professional opinion and experience on cases of domestic violence perpetrated against men.
Statement of Need
To ignore and not study battered men, to deny the fact that women too are violent, makes it extremely difficult for both men and women to receive the help they need to manage stress, and to learn to interact nonviolently. Unless the true nature of domestic violence against men is recognized, no program to fight the violence against men will be very effective. We need to believe what women themselves report in surveys; they start a quarter of the violence, men start a quarter of the incidents, and the remaining half involve mutual violence (Cook 1994). Unless this fact is recognized, women seeking help for their anger problem and men who are being abused will continue to be discriminated against and told that their problem is not real.
Description of the Intervention
For the intervention of my community project I conducted a Spanish radio program at a national level on April 30, 2000, from Sacramento, California. Through this program we examined the importance of inaccurate reporting, lack of recognition, equality in genders, trends, biases, and attitudes towards "Domestic Violence Against Men." I presented to the public the information I had gathered through my research, interviews and personal experiences. Estela Macias, a graduate student at Sacramento State University also presented the public with statistics and expressed her opinion on the subject. Third, the women who had agreed to share her experiences also answered questions from the radio host, the public and my self. The radio listeners had the opportunity to participate by calling us or by sending us e-mails and express their views, feelings and questions about the subject of domestic violence against men.
Unfortunately the representative from she Sacramento domestic violence shelter and the male who had witness domestic violence perpetrated against men did not have the chance to participate due to the lack of time.
However, I was able to accomplish my main purpose, which is to promote awareness of such controversial issue and influence others, including social worker students, to explore and better understand the reasons why this problem has remained hidden.
Evaluation of the Intervention
In evaluating the intervention I considered the public's response and participation during the program, the opinions and feelings of those who had agreed to participate on it, and my personal feelings. The great majority of participants were males and they expressed their opinions and experiences in a respectful manner. I did not have to deal with many angry callers as I had speculated, but I think that the time available on the air was a factor that prevented this from happening.
On the other hand, the individuals directly involved in the program were very relaxed and did a great job in supporting me and informing the public about the subject. Despite of my nervousness I managed to present my findings and to respond to questions from participants and from the radio host in a very professional manner. My experience working on a radio station was certainly a positive factor that helped me in keeping my self together during the entire presentation.
The only negative aspect of the program was that there was not enough time available for two of my guests to participate and for me to present all of the information I had prepared. However, the radio host was very pleased with my performance in presenting and conducting the program and he was very interested in doing another program on the subject. He asked me if I was willing to present it in the following weeks and invited my guest to participate on it if I agreed. We all agreed on doing it again and the date was set for June 11, 2000 at 6:00 p.m.
Reflections on the Project
When I first decided to focus my community project on promoting awareness of domestic violence against men, I had a feeling that it was going be a difficult task to do. The challenge of it all, motivated me to do the best I could to accomplish my purpose and it helped me prepare for the actual intervention. I do not regret for once choosing such controversial topic for my community project rather I am satisfied with my work so far. For that reason I will recommend future social work majors to follow my footprints and continue this project in promoting awareness of domestic violence against men. I would really like to see others take this project a step further by creating awareness through English radio stations and/or television at a national level.
References
Anderson, L. K. (1997). Gender, status, and domestic violence: An integration of feminist and family violence approaches. Journal of Marriage & The Family, August 1997 v59 Issues 3, p655, 15p.3 charts
Cantos, L. & Neidig, H. P & O’Leary, K. D. (1994) Injuries of women and men in a treatment program for domestic violence. Journal of Family Violence, June 1994 v9 n2 p113 (112)
Dunn, K. (1994). Truth Abuse. New Republic, August 1, 1994 v211 Issue5, p16. 2p.
Flynn, P. C. (1990). Family Relations. April 1990 v39 Issue 2, p194, 10p
Harris, J.R. & Cook, A. A. (1994). It matters who the batterer and victims are.
A Journal of Reasearch, April 1994 v.30 n-78 p553(13)
Hlen, D. & Hlen, M. N. (1998). Women, violence with inmates, and substance abuse. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, August 1998 v24 n3 p419(20)
Violence between intimates: Domestic Violence. U.S. Department of Justice, November 1994, NCJ 149259 http://www.silcom.com/~paladin/madv/stats.html.
Sorenson, B. S. (1996). Violence and injury in marital arguments: risk patterns and gender differences. The American Journal of Public Health, January 19996 v86 nl p35(6).
Sten, E. Battered men: Inferiority in males. Journal of Gender Studies, March 1998 v7 Issue 1, p73, 12p.
Voelker, R. (1997). Battered men. JAMA Journal of the American Medical Association, August 27, 1997, v278 Issue8, p620. 1/6p.
INTERVIEWS
Facilitator of Domestic Violence Mandated Meeting (for female perpetrators). (1999)[Interview with Mrs. F., at Yuba City, California] November 22, 1999.
Supervisor of Domestic Violence Mandated Meeting (for male perpetrators). (1999)[Interview with Mr. F., at Roseville, California] December 3, 1999.
Mr. J (1999)[Interview with Mr. J., at Yuba City, California] October 17, 1999.
EVENTS
Domestic Violence Awareness March. October 17, 1999, at Yuba City California.
Domestic Violence Mandated Meeting. November 22, 1999, at Auburn, California.
VIDEOS
Winfrie, O. (1998) Domestic Violence Against Men: Shameful Secret? (Video) Los Angeles, California.
^top