PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Mike Buchanan

Telephone: +44 7967 026163

Email: davia@endtodv.org

#16 Days: Feminist Campaign Seeks to Erase Male Victims of Violence

December 18, 2023 – Barbara Michelle, 44, was sentenced last week to 10 years in prison for killing her boyfriend, Justin Lee Williams (1). During an argument, the woman pulled out a gun from her purse and threatened to “blow his head off.” She then shot Williams in the chest. The man died in the hospital two days later (2).

Indeed, hundreds of research studies around the world show domestic violence is an equal opportunity problem that affects both men and women (3). But disregarding news accounts, common sense, and the hard science, UN Women just concluded its annual “#16 Days of Activism” campaign. The #16 Days drive doesn’t merely downplay the existence of female-perpetrated violence – it white-washes the problem altogether.

The theme of this year’s #16 Days campaign was “UNITE! Invest to prevent violence against women and girls.” (4) These are two examples of the #16 Days’ biased Twitter posts (5):

  • November 27: “Every act of violence against women and girls, including sexual violence, is unequivocally condemned and must be fully investigated with the utmost priority.”
  • November 28: “Without dedicated investment, countries will not achieve the target to eliminate violence against women and girls globally by 2030.”

Globally, twice as many males as females are killed by injuries and violence, according to the World Health Organization (6). But again ignoring the science, UN Women made the bogus claim that violence against women and girls “remains the most widespread and pervasive human rights violation worldwide.” (7)

UN Women’s erasure of male victims is part of a larger campaign to stereotype men as abusers and marginalize their existence. Feminist leader Doris Lessing reveals:

“I was in a class of nine- and 10-year-olds, girls and boys, and this young woman was telling these kids that the reason for wars was the innately violent nature of men. You could see the little girls, fat with complacency and conceit while the little boys sat there crumpled, apologising for their existence, thinking this was going to be the pattern of their lives.”

Lessing concludes, “It is time we began to ask who are these women who continually rubbish men.” (8)

Claiming that violence against women is the most “pervasive human rights violation worldwide” — while ignoring the far greater problem of violence against men — reveals a narcissistic moral void on the part of UN Women. DAVIA urges lawmakers to respond to Doris Lessing’s challenge and ask the United Nations, “who are these women who continually rubbish men”?

Express your concerns to UN Women: Telephone: +1 646-781-4400, Extension: 3. Or email: janine.kandel@unwomen.org

The Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance – DAVIA — consists of 114 member organizations from 33 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. DAVIA seeks to ensure that domestic violence and abuse polices are science-based, family-affirming, and gender-inclusive. https://endtodv.org/davia/

Links:

  1. https://www.mcda.us/index.php/news/update-barbara-michelle-sentenced-to-10-years-in-prison-for-domestic-violence-homicide
  2. https://themessenger.com/news/portland-bartender-barbara-michelle-who-shot-her-boyfriend-in-chest-after-arguing-over-the-meaning-of-thanksgiving-convicted-of-manslaughter
  3. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261543769_References_Examining_Assaults_by_Women_on_Their_Spouses_or_Male_Partners_An_Updated_Annotated_Bibliography
  4. https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/unite
  5. https://twitter.com/UN_Women
  6. https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/149798/9789241508018_eng.pdf?sequence=1
  7. https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/unite
  8. https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/aug/14/edinburghfestival2001.edinburghbookfestival2001