Domestic violence

Here are some quite interesting -- and perhaps even shocking -- statistics about domestic violence arrests (from mirror.co.uk):

UK -- Researchers have found that female suspects are proportionately more likely to be arrested when police investigate allegations of domestic violence.

Despite the fact that women were the victims in 91 per cent of cases, police detained female suspects once in every three incidents, according to a study.

T put things in perspective, men, which are the offenders in 92 per cent of cases, are arrested only once in every 10 incidents.

A Bristol University researcher (Prof Marianne Hester), said the difference was because women were more likely to arm themselves during rows.

She said that women were using a weapon nearly always in self-defense which is treated as a more serious offence.

Brian Moore, Association of Chief Police Officers' lead on domestic violence, said: "It is often only after arrest that an investigation establishes a history of violence."

692 people held for domestic abuse between 2001 and 2007 were studied by a team lead by Prof Hester.

Overkill?

I can understand his pain...
I mean, if someone eats my yummy chocolate cake, I would be rather grumpy too.
But then again, maybe - just maybe - violence is going a bit to far?

Story:
"Father's Cake Rage," the headline screamed. Apparently, 37-year-old Obnoxious Bozo (not his real name) flew into a rage because --get this -- someone ate his chocolate cake!!

So what does Mr.O. Bozo do? Ordinary people like you and I would probably rant, sulk, moan and then pop in a piece of cheese or chew a leaf off the potted plant to get rid of the craving for a sweet.

Not our macho man though. He went into a rage and then hit his partner with a hammer and threatened his children with a snooker cue….because someone had eaten his slice of chocolate cake.

He does not stop there, oh no. Bursting with understandable anger, Mr. Macho Man then repeatedly stabbed a carving knife into the bedroom door of one of his children.

He threatened to kill his wife and children and then kill himself. All because a slice of chocolate cake had gone missing! I tell you what, that wife and children of his would never dare to even look at a chocolate cake for the rest of their lives.

Source

Missing pieces

Here's a great article on the suspicions surrounding the Terri Schindler Schiavo case.

Story:
A bulletin issued by the New York State Office for Prevention of Domestic Violence states that strangulation has only recently been identified as one of the most lethal forms of domestic violence.

When perpetrators use strangulation to silence their victims, this is a form of power and control that has a devastating psychological effect on victims and a potentially fatal outcome.

Historically, "choking" was rarely prosecuted as a serious offense because victims minimize the level of violence and police and medical personnel fail to recognize it.

Source

Men: Victims of abuse too

USA -- In two recent high-profile stories, men were the victims of domestic violence. Abuse counselors say many people, even in shelters, automatically think of men as the batterers, but hey can be the victims and can find help.

Jon was a victim of emotional abuse in his marriage.

Jon: "I was in a trap."

He accepts his share of responsibility, but says his wife abused him, talked down to him and called him names. She kicked him out of the house and got a protective order against him.

Each year nationally, 275-thousand men are assaulted by their wives or girlfriends. In Utah, the Office on Violence Against Women and Families and the Utah Domestic Violence Council report the number of men seeking help is growing. But men, like Jon, don't often ask for help.

Source

Acquittal upheld

Canada: The Supreme Court upheld the acquittal of a Quebec woman who shot and killed her abusive, alcoholic husband in 1999 after a 31-year marriage.

Her lawyers argued she acted while in a trance-like state brought on by years of abuse and the trial judge also suggested to the jury she might have been acting in self-defence.

She was acquitted, but the Crown argued the two defences—self-defence and "automatism"—are contradictory. The Quebec Court of Appeal agreed and ordered a new trial.

The Supreme Court overturned the appeal court, leaving the acquittal to stand.

Source

Domestic violence in Alaska

A study just released reveals that, in 2003, 9 females were killed by males in Alaska, ranking the state at number 1 for the highest homicide rate among females murdered by males.

And here's a frightening statistic, over 86 percent of female victims were murdered by someone they knew.

AWAIC works with domestically abused women on a daily basis. They say it will take the whole community to make changes and stop this high rate of female abuse.

Source

Domestic abuse in Syria

A new study released earlier this month that says as many as 1 in 4 Syrian women may be victims of physical violence is beginning to reveal just how widespread a problem domestic abuse is throughout the country.

The study, funded by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and conducted by the state-run General Union of Women, is the first of its kind to try to quantify and explain the types of violence Syrian women face.

"Violence is in every home in the Arab world," says a woman who works at the shelter and asked for anonymity because of the sensitivity of their work.

Source

Taking control

Sarah took 10 days off work. She didn't want her employees or customers to see her in that shape: bruised, broken and bitten.

She is slowly adjusting to her new life, one without a controlling man who was with her most minutes of each day for five years.

She's taking control of her life and refusing to be a victim again. She's learning how to defend herself.

Mitchell's Martial Arts in Salisbury is holding a three-hour class today for women like Sarah.

"They all come here for some reason," said owner Melody Mitchell. "Either something happened to them or someone they know."

Women, she said, don't chose martial arts for exercise. They come for totally different reasons.

Source

Domestic violence, Bangladesh

Figures like these really makes a painful read:

At least 3,043 women died in different incidents of domestic violence last year and of them, 1041 victims committed suicide, according to a report released by the Mass-line Media Centre (MMC) recently.

Repression and sexual harassment led most women to take their own lives while rape and abduction were identified as most common violations of child rights in 2005.

The women fell victim to repression and violence mainly because of dowry, conflicts in conjugal life and poverty, said the report.

During the one year period from January to December, a total of 54,954 women fell victim to different forms of rights violations.

The report said 875 women were raped during the period and 165 were killed after rape. And 275 rape incidents, the highest at divisional level, took place in Rajshahi.

Some 1235 women fell victim to repression over dowry. Of them, 505 victims were killed and 428 others injured. Rajshahi division witnessed the most such incidents.

The forms of repression include beating, stabbing, acid attack, burning and forced starvation, the report said.

Source