"Ray Rice Isn't Alone: 1 in 5 Men Admits Hitting Wives, Girlfriends"

[KitSileya]

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/nfl-controversy/ray-rice-isnt-alone-1-5-men-admits-hitting-wives-n203841

Close to one in five men admits he has hit, slapped, kicked or otherwise attacked a wife or girlfriend, researchers say. It’s a rare look at domestic violence not from the point of view of the victim, but from the aggressor’s side. The data is a decade old but it comes from face-to-face interviews with men and might suggest the true number of men who have physically abused intimate partners is even higher, the University of Michigan researchers say. And it’s of great interest after the release of video in which football player Ray Rice punches his wife, who was his fiancée at the time, in an elevator.

The question they were asked was "Over the course of your relationship, how often have you ever done any of these things (pushed, grabbed, or shoved; threw something; slapped or hit; kicked, bit, or hit with a fist; beat up; choked; burned or scalded; threatened with a knife or gun) to your current spouse/partner?” 19% admitted to doing it at least once. In a non-anonymous survey. The team behind the survey admits that the numbers would likely be higher if the responses were anonymous. And the question doesn't ask about verbal or sexual abuse, of course, which would most likely get the numbers even higher.

Let's face it, we have a huge problem in our culture that centers on men's behavior. Men are raised in a culture that condones and excuses a lot of their criminal behavior, especially if they are white. They are not properly taught that women are autonomous human beings that deserves respect, and have the right to decide for themselves without reference to any man.


And before anyone comes and posts about "not all men" or "you should have said 'some' men", the right thing to say is "too many men"

[bullwinkle428]

1. Grotesque. If 19% actually admit to it, the real number is almost certainly higher.

[KitSileya]

2. That is what the lead researcher said.

The numbers are grotesque, and I refuse to think that men cannot change that. Look at what women have achieved in the last 100-150 years. It is amazing, even if we still have a way to go. I refuse to believe that men are less capable than women at changing society, and the expectations towards their gender. Men can do it. Men are not so selfish as a whole that they would refuse to give up their privilege in order to make a better, more equal world.

[shenmue]

3. Yeah

It's frightening.

[KitSileya]

4. It is definitely not something we should hide.

It is a huge problem in our society too. So many want to point to other parts of the world and say "well, look at them, they treat women horribly, even more horribly than us!" But that "more horribly than us" is the clincher, because they indirectly admit that men treat women horribly in our society.