Lawmakers Should be Wary of Domestic Violence Activists Who Ignore Female Abusers, Promote False Stereotypes

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Contact: Rebecca Stewart

Telephone: 513-479-3335

Lawmakers Should be Wary of Domestic Violence Activists Who Ignore Female Abusers, Promote False Stereotypes

WASHINGTON / July 26, 2021 – Recently Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins was assaulted by his wife, Kalabrya Gondrezick-Haskins. She punched him in the mouth, splitting his upper lip, knocking out a tooth, and causing other facial injuries. Kalabrya was arrested and charged with battery. The incident arose after Dwayne went to a nightclub without his wife’s permission (1).

Women are more likely to be the aggressors of both physical domestic violence and use of psychological control tactics, according to government surveys:

— Each year there are 4.2 million male victims of physical domestic violence, compared to 3.5 million female victims (3), according to the Centers for Disease Control (2).

— Each year, 17.3 million men and 12.7 million women are victims of coercive control behaviors. Stated as percentages, annually 15.2% of men and 10.7% of women experience coercive control by their partners (3).

Coercive control is also known as “Queen Bee Syndrome” (4), and is seen as a growing problem for families, schools, and in the workplace. In a recent Washington Post editorial, Cathy Alter recounted, “Thanks to the Queen Bee, I was pushed out of a friend group, disinvited from activities, tarnished by falsehoods, and deserted by allies.” (5)

Queen Bee Syndrome may include making misrepresentations about other groups. In Connecticut, for example, the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence recently lobbied for a new law to broaden the definition of domestic violence to include coercive control (6).

Everything about the bill reinforced the stereotype that only men engage in physical or psychological abuse. Testimony by actress Evan Rachel Wood hammered home the male-as-perpetrator theme (7). The bill’s name commemorated a female victim: “Jennifer’s Law.” And ignoring key findings of the CDC research, Senator Mae Flexner claimed, “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.” (8)

The website of the Connecticut Coalition likewise features a “Power and Control” wheel that presents a one-sided view of domestic violence. The wheel highlights the use of “Male Privilege” and consistently uses female pronouns to describe victims: “Threatening to leave her,” “Making her afraid,” “Putting her down,” and so forth (9).

The Coalition to End Domestic Violence urges lawmakers to demand that activists back up their claims with verifiable research, and calls on state domestic violence coalitions to provide truthful depictions of domestic violence.

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