‘Culture of Dishonesty:’ Lawmakers Need to Call Out Domestic Violence Half-Truths, Falsehoods, and Lies

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Contact: Rebecca Stewart

Telephone: 513-479-3335

‘Culture of Dishonesty:’ Lawmakers Need to Call Out Domestic Violence Half-Truths, Falsehoods, and Lies

WASHINGTON / October 22, 2021 – Each year, 4.2 million males, compared to 3.5 million females, experience domestic violence, according to the Centers for Disease Control (1). But according to a recent report, many domestic violence groups continue to promote a false narrative of male-as-perpetrator and female-as-victim (2). These falsehoods unfairly stereotype men and undermine the effectiveness of abuse-reduction programs:

Each year, 17.3 million men and 12.7 million women are victims of coercive control tactics, according to the CDC (3). But last year Connecticut Senator Mae Flexner rallied support for a new law to define coercive control as a form of domestic violence with the one-sided and misleading claim: “The changes in this bill will be a lifeline to the more than a third of all Connecticut women who will experience some form of intimate partner violence or stalking in their lifetime.” (4)
According to the CDC, American Indian men and women experience nearly identical lifetime rates of partner abuse: 81.6% and 84.3%, respectively (5). The Violence Against Women Act includes a section on “Safety for Indian Women.” But inexplicably, nothing about “Safety for Indian Men.”
Over the past year and a half, Americans have heard dire warnings that COVID stay-at-home policies were causing a dramatic “spike” and “surge” in domestic violence. But according to five independent analyses, these claims have no scientific basis. There has been no national increase in partner abuse as a result of COVID lockdown policies (6).
On October 5, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. The senators sidestepped the problem of female-perpetrated violence. Horrifically, the following week a female NYPD officer discovered her girlfriend in bed with another woman. Officer Yvonne Wu opened fire, shooting her lover in the chest and killing the other woman, Jamie Li (7).
A domestic violence curriculum known as Athletes as Leaders and Coaching Boys Into Men is being taught to high school athletes around the country. The program features an “Oppression Chart” that makes the dubious claim that “cisgender” men are “given more power, access, and advantages,” while women are subjected to “oppression.” (8)
The Culture of Dishonesty was also evident when it was revealed that the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence had compensated former CEO Tiffany Carr $7.5 million over a three-year period, and failed to provide state officials with accurate financial reports. As a result, the Coalition agreed to repay the State of Florida more than $5 million and was shut down in disgrace (9).

Fortunately, a growing number of domestic violence groups are beginning to acknowledge the existence of female abusers and male victims. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, for example, offers a three-page fact sheet on Male Victims of Domestic Violence (10).

Researcher Murray Straus once noted, “the past 25 years has seen a systematic denial of evidence about perpetration of PV [partner violence] by women. This denial is troublesome for social scientists because it threatens the integrity of science, and for practitioners because it threatens the effectiveness of prevention and treatment efforts.” (11)

The Coalition to End Domestic Violence calls on federal and state lawmakers to assure that domestic violence programs are grounded in science, not gender ideology.

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