Men Don't Tell: A Movie About the Domestic Abuse of Men

1378 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: domestic violence against men research paper

The domestic abuse of men is a hidden side of domestic violence.

Billboards, radios and TVs across the country claim that every fifteen seconds a women is beaten by a man, but has anyone ever asked how often men are beaten by their spouses? Battered men often become the topics for jokes, such as the cartoon image of a wife chasing her husband with a rolling pin. In 18th century France, husband who had been pushed around by their wives would be forced by the community to wear women's clothing and to ride a donkey through the town, sitting backwards and holding its tail. Men abuse is a rarely discussed phenomenon. Even us, who like to concern ourselves modern and liberated, have a hard time believing such thing can actually happen.

In 1993, a movie called "Men Don't Tell" finally collected people's attention upon the issue of men abusing. The movie was about Laura MacAffrey, played by Judith Light, whom seems to be a perfectly pleasant person. However, she beats her husband. And because he's too frightened and humiliated to tell anyone, the abuse never stops. The National Violence Against Women survey shows that 1.5 million women and 835,000 men battered each year in United States (Chadwick, and Heaton 60). According to survey, men are the victims of domestic violence as often as women. In addition, many statistics prove that male-on-female violence has been slowly decreasing in recent years, but female-on-male violence is now increasing sharply.

Even if men abuse is a widespread issue of domestic violence, why we have hardly heard about it? The most important reason is that men are embarrassed to report their being victimized by their wives. From men's perspective, getting knocked down by another man is piece a cake compared to being beaten up by their wives. And many of them are afraid of the social reaction and laughter. Even when some of battered men are severely injured they will avoid going to hospital and telling people what they have been through. "Men are trained not to ask for help, and a man's not being able to solve his own problems is seen as a sign of weakness." Says Dr. Alvin Baraff, a psychotherapist and the founder of Men Center in Washington DC (Island 6).

There are still a few man who are willing to give up their dignity and call the police while they are abused by their wives.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis: The Day It Happened By Rosario Morales

    1301 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Such a woman faces two major obstacles: fear and finance -- fear for her safety and that of her children and a lack of money to support herself or them. The most dangerous time in the life of a battered woman is when she attempts to leave her abuser. Threatened by the loss of control, the batterer is likely to become even more violent and may even try to kill her. There are simply not enough shelters to protect all the women who need them” (1).

    Read More

  • Book Review: Violence Towards Men By Straus

    847 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...partner used house items like silverware and chairs. When psychological abuse was used against the male, bullying and threatening were the most common forms. Only 117 participants reported the abuse to the police. The victims were more likely to report to the police if an object was used against them by their intimate partner. The study also asked men why they were reluctant to report the abuse to the police. Almost half of the victims did not report the abuse to the police because they were scared that they would not be taken seriously. The case revealed that majority of men who did report domestic violence to the police were taken as a joke and sometimes they would end up being blamed (J Fam Viol, 2013). Males who were to report to the police were sometimes blamed for the abuse. Why would a man want to report their abuse if they will end up getting blamed for it?

    Read More

  • Recidivism Rates of Paroled Domestic Violence Offenders

    853 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although domestic violence is a significant societal problem, which continues to receive public and private sector attention, intervention and treatment programs have proven inconsistent in their success. Statistics by various organization show that many offenders continue to abuse their victims. Approximately 32% of battered women are victimized again, 47% of men who abuse their wives do so at least three times per year (MCFBW). There are many varying fact...

    Read More

  • Men as Victims

    922 Words  | 2 Pages

    As it is in the case of the majority of violent crimes, (Davies and Rogers, 2006) perpetrators of violent crimes, and especially sexual assault related crimes exert additional force by threatening the victim or their families. Male victims also must contend with an additional sense of shame and embarrassment in being identified with a crime that has been typically portrayed in the media as happening to women. This places men at a disadvantage in the reporting process, because their safety and the safety of others is compromised further if the crime is not reported. (Messerschmitt, 2009)

    Read More

  • Understanding And Reforming Domestic Abuse

    1494 Words  | 3 Pages

    Domestic abuse is a significant and threatening issue in the United States. Sadly, the rates of this shameful violence are increasing. This violence is not limited to the privacy of relationships and homes, it occurs everywhere and in all relationships. Football player, Ray Rice portrayed an act of domestic violence when he punched his wife and knocked her unconscious on February 15 of 2014. Women are heavily affected by this abuse and it’s the leading cause of injuries on women. According to crime reports (qtd. in “Domestic Violence”), one woman is beaten by her husband or partner every 15 seconds in the United States. Also, according to a report (qtd. in “Domestic Violence”), domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women between the ages of 15 and 44 in the United States, more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined. Domestic abuse is not simple, it has a historical context to it, it creates abusive cycles in relationships, and it links to economic statuses.

    Read More

  • Ideal Victim Of A Victim

    2475 Words  | 5 Pages

    Like child abuse, it affects every American by impacting those we love the most. Awareness for domestic violence victims has evolved since the beginning of our country. In earlier times, it was a private matter, and took place “behind closed doors”. They helped them past their sufferings and place them back into mainstream culture. (Karmen, 2015) Claims one movement that assisted with the process is the Feminist Movement. This widespread movement took place during the 1970’s, and represented the “beaten women”. It helped them stand up for themselves during their distraught times. Domestic tranquility ensures women their safety at home under their husbands’ protection. The Feminist’s Movement questioned domestic tranquility and urged women to stand up for themselves (Karmen, 2015). They discovered the “silent crisis” that lived inside so many women at the time. The crisis was that the men they married gave into the times of “behind closed doors” and “look the other way”. Those times would stand no more, due to the feminist’s movement and widespread awareness. Laws and legislation have changed since the rediscovery of the victims of domestic violence. One example is restraining orders. Restraining orders set up a level of protection for the women from the male offenders. Another example of legislation is The Violence Against Women Act. Promulgated in 1994 the act mandates that all states enforce protective orders issued in a

    Read More

  • Childhood Exposure to Domestic Violence

    1269 Words  | 3 Pages

    Each year approximately 4.8 million acts of physical or sexual aggression are perpetrated against women while 2.9 million physically aggressive acts are perpetrated against men within the United States (Edleson, Ellerton, Seagren, Kirchberg, Schmidt & Ambrose, 2007). Many of these incidents take place in the presences of children, which make these figures even more disturbing (Evans, Davies & DiLillo, 2008). Research indicates that 40.2% of United States battered women responding in national surveys state that their children have witnessed one or more abusive events (Edleson et al., 2007). Overall 66% of research samples regarding childhood exposure to domestic violence reported to having direct exposure to the abuse (Barnett, Miller-Perrin & Perrin, 2011).

    Read More

  • Domestic Violence Case Study

    1112 Words  | 3 Pages

    However, it is too often overlook that domestic violence may not only occur in terms of a man meting out violence against a woman but could also render a man as the victim too. Many times people turn their backs on male victims of domestic violence (Murray, S. & Powell, A. (2007). Due to the focus on violence against women, men lack a proper or even popular framework to fight domestic violence when it occurs that they are victims (Cruz, 1996). There is also a stereotype that only women can be victims of domestic violence. This makes it hard for men to open up and report when they experience violence from a partner (Cruz, 1996).

    Read More

  • The Effects Of Domestic Violence On Women

    785 Words  | 2 Pages

    National data gives us an indication of the severity of this issue. When 1 in 5-woman report being victims of severe physical violence (NISVS, 2010), we must ask ourselves if enough is being done to prevent this from occurring. From a historical point, there has always almost been a distinction from men on woman violence. Based on the disparity of cases reported, male inflicted violence on females is much higher and prevalent. When the perpetrators of DV, and IPV are predominately males, we can no longer dismissed this issue as a cultural, or

    Read More

  • Domestic Violence

    1024 Words  | 3 Pages

    Domestic Violence Statistics states, “Around the world, at least one in every 3 women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime” (1). The United States Department of Justice defines domestic violence as, “a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner” (para. 1). Domestic violence is a crime that numerous citizens fall victim to in every country. Anyone can be a victim of domestic violence regardless of race, gender, sexuality or religion. Being a victim of domestic violence can affect a person’s way of life permanently and the way these victims interact with other people can become a difficult task and can eventually affect their future. Domestic violence is substantially wrong because it can cause drastic permanent effects in a person’s life, can cause physical, emotional and intellectual damage, and affects a child’s state of mind of what is normal and what is not if they are in a domestic violent atmosphere. While women are usually victims of domestic violence, men are victims of this crime as well. The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney states that, “According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief, men account for approximately fifteen percent of the victims of reported intimate partner crimes” (Clark County Prosecuting Attorney, par.1). Physical, emotional, economic and physiological abuses are all forms of domestic violence that many people would consider to fall under another crime. There are many crimes that many citizens commit, but domestic violence is one of many that should not be taken lightly.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Domestic Violence

    1879 Words  | 4 Pages

    Domestic violence occurs in many different ways. Domestic violence can be sexual, physical, emotional, mental, and psychological. All domestic violence cases are different, but have the same pattern. According to The United States Department of Justice, domestic violence is “any behaviors that intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or wound someone”. In other words, people show domestic violence in different ways, they can physically or mentally try to hurt or harm their partners. Most people who was experiencing domestic violence kept it a secret, because they were ashamed. However, nowadays people are becoming more vocal about the issue and they are defending themselves by speaking

    Read More

  • Domestic Violence Research Paper Outline

    809 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thesis: In my paper, I will be examining the different types, possible causes, and effects of Intimate Partner Violence, and what treatments or programs are available to combat this growing problem in America. Regardless of differing approaches to fight it, statistics show that women all across the world suffer from the effects of domestic violence at a similar rate independent of class, race, or religion.

    Read More

  • Domestic And Family Violence: The Definition Of Domestic Violence

    1141 Words  | 3 Pages

    Just under half a million Australian women reported that they had experienced physical or sexual violence or sexual assault. Women that are personally victimized by domestic violence become emotionally unstable and they are unable to cope with certain situations. Many think that it is their fault because they think they’ve done something wrong to cause their spouse attack them. However, women aren’t the only victims when it comes to domestic violence; men are victims too. The majority of violence against men is committed by other men. Of men who reported that they had experienced physical violence, 73.7% said that the perpetrator was a male, but that doesn’t mean women don’t abuse males just as much. Women are much more sympathised than men when it comes to domestic violence. People just assume that if a male is getting physically or emotionally abused, they’re a wimp and can’t fight for themselves. Whereas if a women was the victim, people automatically blame the abuser. At least one in three victims of some type of domestic violence is

    Read More

  • Domestic Violence and the Effect it has on Family

    1602 Words  | 4 Pages

    “One woman is beaten by her husband or partner every 15 seconds in the United States” (Stewart & Croudep, 1998-2012). Domestic violence can interfere with the husband-wife relationship because one spouse is always in constant fear of the other. This violence could vary from physical abuse to ps...

    Read More

  • Domestic Violence Against Men

    2506 Words  | 6 Pages

    Even those of us who like to consider ourselves liberated and open-minded often have a difficult time even imagining that husband battering could take place. Although feminism has opened many of our eyes about the existance of domestic violence, and newspaper reports often include incidents of abuse of wives, the abuse of husbands is a rarely discussed phenomenon.

    Read More

More about Men Don't Tell: A Movie About the Domestic Abuse of Men

Open Document