111211

October slipped by as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Are you aware that, according to DOJ and CDC, wives/girlfriends represent 1/3 of all batters?

Are you aware that in 15% of DV homicides, the woman killed the man.(Current is 25%)

Are you aware that, according to both men's and women's accounts, 50% of the violence in their relationships was reciprocal. When the violence was one-sided, both women and men said that women were the perpetrators 70% of the time. Furthermore, 67% of women in battered women's shelters reported severe violence toward their partner in the past year. And, the most likely to result in future injury to women is when she initiates violence against him and he responds. Source: American Journal of Public Health

Are you aware that of the 55 cases in Curry County, less than 4% involved a female batterer, well below the 33% national figure. I believe this stems from the make-up of our county's male population who grew up in a culture that says, if she hits you, you deserved it - so deal with it. These men aren't even aware that they are in an abusive relationship.

Men: has she ever used physical violence - scream at, slap, punch, hit, kick, grab, shove, shake, choke, bite or otherwise abuse you, the children or any past partners? Does her conversation ever escalate into threats of separation or divorce? (See 25 other sceenarios at http://bit.ly/w3M1r8)

Learn how to protect yourself and your children? (http://bit.ly/75i3DO) Realize that there are hundreds of thousands of other men who are being abused by their wives or girl friends. You simply don't deserve to be treated like that. And neither do your children!

This letter was originally written as a Public Form (see the entire piece at http://bit.ly/tEZEe4)

Gordon Clay
TheCitizensWhoCare.org