Criminology and Domestic Violence in UK Essay Example

Introduction

Most men that experience domestic violence at the hands of their female relationship partners often find it difficult to attain support. However, that is not because it is hard for them to admit and share their experiences. Instead, that is because the media has consistently changed the social convention of the public, which considers women to be the victims of gender violence and men the crime perpetrators. As a result, most domestic abused men chose to keep their tribulations a secret. Additionally, that is due to factors such as love for the partner, shame or embarrassment, lack of information on where to seek help and concern for their children. Today, the misrepresentation of the plight of men as possible victims of domestic violence has led to the prevalence of the social problem in the UK society.

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Prevalence of Male Domestic Abuse in the UK

Past statistics on domestic violence have portrayed that the abuse of men who are in social relationships is a prevalent issue in the UK. In 2017, the police in Wales and England recorded a total of 149,248 cases of male domestic violence (BBC 2018; Rahim 2018; Ramsdens 2018). In the same year, a charitable organization known as the ManKind Initiative found out in their research that approximately one-third of the domestic abuse victims in the UK were men (BBC, 2018). Also, only 0.8% of the stated abused men had refuge beds that were reserved for them (BBC 2018). Additionally, the ManKind Initiative stated that although their facility had 3,600 beds reserved for the domestically abused women in their facility, only 20 beds in the same facility were earmarked to be for male abused clients (BBC 2018).

Also, a report published in 'The Guardian' by Denis Campbell (2010) stated that approximately 40% of all victims of domestic violence are men (Campbell 2010). Such statistics indicate that although the media, particularly in the UK, has over the years depicted women as the sole or primary victims of domestic abuse, men are also victims of the same problem. As such, there is a need for an equitable representation of men and women victims of domestic violence by the media. Subsequently, this will aid the UK government to develop measures and policies that enhance the awareness of the men abuse in their relationships and create appropriate remedies to help such victims of abuse.

Reasons why the Media Misrepresents the Plight of Men as Victims of Domestic Violence

There are five primary reasons as to why media stations offer erroneous information on what men go through at the hands of their abusive partners. First, the media strive to fit into the traditional stereotypical belief that depicts women as the sole victims of gender violence at the hands of men in the society. In the UK for instance, for centuries, there has been a common belief that men cannot be molested by women (Banyard 2010). That biased presumption was developed as a result of the male gender superiority in reference to their physical strength and other aspects of their masculinity.

Second, in the past, the media has also provided imprecise data on the victimization of men by women in relationships so as to evoke the sympathy of the public. That is in depicting the women as the sole victims of gender violence in the society. In the UK for instance, there are numerous cases of female battery that have been covered expansively by multiple forms of media, especially television, in the past years. Contrary, only a few male abuse cases by their female partners have received significant media coverage by the public media stations in the nation. As a result, this has furthered the misrepresentation of men in the provision of essential social measures developed to protect all forms of domestic violence.

Third, the media also in the past have depicted cases of male violence as insignificant compared to those of women (Ross 2013). In addition, such acts were undertaken by the media in order to evoke the sympathy of the public in the depiction of women as the sole victims of gender violence in the society. Arguably, the illustration of women as the victims of such violent acts attains massive attention from the public, which is a key facet of good reporting in all media stations. Subsequently, such a phenomenon often drives the media content creators to overemphasize on the cases of abused women and barely reports on any reported cases of domestic abuse towards men.

Fourth, the public policies created by the government are also not majorly concerned in protecting men that are affected by domestic violence. That is in comparison to the legislation that has been passed in the national constitutions focused on protecting women from all forms of abuse from their male counterparts. Lastly, lack of sufficient information on public intervention programs that help men to address and cope up with the aftermath of domestic violence have also contributed to the misrepresentation of the issue by the media (Cook 2009). Additionally, in most cases, most media personalities have no knowledge of essential programs that offer protection and shelter to men abused in their relationships.

As such, very little media coverage is done on men who are abused by their partners, particularly using the data collected from social programs dedicated to helping persons, especially men, affected by domestic violence. In the UK for example, programs such as the Men's Advice Line and ManKind Initiative offer essential support to men who are faced with domestic violence issues from their female relationship partners (Davies & Basuita 2017). However, the stories of what such organizations do and the use of their testimonies to enlighten the public about the prevalence of male abuse in relationships is barely covered by media stations in the UK.

Government Policies on Gender Violence towards Men

In the UK, during the last 30 years, policies, theories, and ideologies that relate to cases of domestic violence have changed radically (Wallpe 2010). Subsequently, community concerns, as well as national policies enacted in the nation aimed at protecting all people from domestic violence cases, shifted substantively towards offering support to abused wives in the UK. At the time, the stated shift was justified because of the intense severity of the women battery at hands of their husbands. Moreover, there was also an inadequacy in the number of policies that had been structured by the UK government in the past to address the issue of female domestic abuse effectively.

Nevertheless, this phenomenon led to the partial neglect of all the other forms of domestic violence in the nation. Specifically, the occurrence made the cases of wife-to-husband abuse to be ignored as well as neglected and even judged by the law enforcement departments as being the fault of the victims (Sarantakos 1999). Such heightened dismissal of the prevalence of cases of men abuse in the UK society misguided the public, the media inclusive, to believe that all instances of domestic violence can only be perpetrated by men. Also, regardless of who is the victim of the domestic violence cases, the media, in most cases, has always depicted the women as the victims.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the misrepresentation of the plight of men as possible victims of domestic violence today has led to the prevalence of the social problem in the UK society. Most domestically abused men prefer to keep their tribulations a secret instead of seeking social intervention to address the problem. Additionally, such choices by men are influenced by factors such as love for the partner, shame or embarrassment, lack of information on where to seek help and concern for their children. Additionally, there are five reasons why the media misrepresents the plight of men as victims of domestic violence. First, the media strive to fit into the traditional stereotypical belief that depicts women as the sole victims of gender violence at the hands of men in the society. Second, in the past, the media has also provided imprecise data on the victimization of men by women in relationships so as to evoke the sympathy of the public. Third, the media also in the past have depicted cases of male violence as insignificant compared to those of women. Fourth, the public policies created by the government are also not majorly concerned in protecting men that are affected by domestic violence. Lastly, lack of sufficient information on public intervention programs that help men to address and cope up with the aftermath of domestic violence have also contributed to the misrepresentation of the issue by the media.

References

Banyard, K., 2010. The Equality Illusion: The Truth about Women and Men Today. London: Faber & Faber.

BBC, 2018. Male domestic abuse: Not enough support for victims, says charity. Retrieved from BBC News: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-45490173

Campbell, D.. 2010. More than 40% of domestic violence victims are male, report reveals. Retrieved from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/sep/05/men-victims-domestic-violence

Cook, P. W. 2009. Abused Men: The Hidden Side of Domestic Violence. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.

Davies, P., & Basuita, P., 2017. Family Law. London: Macmillan International Higher Education.

Rahim, Z., 2018. Male Domestic Violence Victim Lack Support, Says Charity. Retrieved from Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/male-domestic-violence-victims-refuges-mankind-initiative-a8540346.html

Ramsdens, 2018. Domestic Abuse Reports in Men Rising. Retrieved from Ramsdens Solicitors: https://www.ramsdens.co.uk/blog/domestic-abuse-reports-men-rising

Ross, K., 2013 Gendered Media: Women, Men, and Identity Politics. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.

Sarantakos, S., 1999. Husband Abuse: Fact or Fiction? Australian Journal of Social Issues, 34 (3), 231-252.

Wallpe, C. S., 2010. Engaging a Systems Approach to Evaluate Domestic Violence Intervention with Abusive Men: Reassessing the Role of Community. Dissertations and Theses (Paper 439), 1-115.