Are Men Society's Scapegoats? (USA)

Gabriel Aubry is being a bad dad. Well, we don't know that for a fact; all we know is that actress Halle Berry, with whom the model had a daughter, now 3, is claiming that he's been neglectful. She may be right, she may be wrong, but in the eyes of much of the world, Aubry's already guilty.

People can -- and do -- say anything they want in a nasty custody or divorce battle. And as a society, we often tend to assume the worst about men. But what if we're wrong?

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Government deception won't reduce family violence

Last week the Federal House of Representatives debated the Family Law Legislation Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Bill 2011. During the debate, the Minister for the Status of Women, Kate Ellis, made a series of false statements to the Parliament and the Australian public. Regretfully, this disregard for the truth follows a pattern of behaviour by state Offices for Women across the country. In August 2009 after a report by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, the NSW Office for Women's Policy issued errata correcting three of fourteen incorrect and misleading statistics contained in its Discussion Paper on NSW Domestic and Family Violence Strategy. In August 2010, the South Australian Ombudsman issued a report finding that the SA Office for Women had published false and/or misleading information on the Don't Cross the Line website, had failed to correct this information, and had failed to act with reasonable diligence and speed once errors were brought to its attention.

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Minister misleads Federal Parliament about Family Violence

A leading men's health organisation today claimed that the Federal Minister for the Status of Women, the Hon. Kate Ellis MP misled Parliament during debate of the Family Law Legislation Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Bill 2011 last Thursday by making false and misleading claims about family violence. Men's Health Australia are concerned about the Minister's claim, "while it is true that men are more likely to be victims of violence, this violence occurs predominantly at the hands of a stranger and in public places, such as the street or the pub, not at the hands of a family member, not at the hands of a partner, not at the hands of those they trust the most and not in their own home." Spokesperson Greg Andresen said, "Australian men are indeed more likely than women to experience violence at the hands of strangers and in public places, such as the street or the pub. However, this does not mean that men are less likely than women to experience violence at the hands of persons known to them, or in the home."

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The Feminist Trojan Horse in Family Law

Federal Member for Dawson, George Christensen, attacks the Gillard Labor government's changes to the Family Law Act which will water down provisions giving non-custodial parents (mostly fathers) equal access to their children.

Transcript from Hansard - House of Representatives, Monday 30 May 2011
http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/reps/dailys/dr300511.pdf

George Christensen, MP for Dawson, Queensland (Mackay area)

Mr CHRISTENSEN (Dawson) (12:18): In addressing the Family Law Legislation Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Bill 2011, I have come to understand how the citizens of Troy must have felt when they were greeted with the gift of a giant wooden horse, because this bill is not what it appears. It is a Trojan horse. Just like the giant wooden horse, full of Greek warriors, in Greek legend and like an insidious computer virus, full of malicious code, this Trojan bill is loaded with consequences that will undermine some of the most basic human rights for both parents and children, and particularly fathers.

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Mean spirited ideology or a presumption that every child wants the love of both parents in equal measure

Family violence has, in recent years, been subjected to a very short sighted restricted analysis that is based on stereotypes of victims and abusers. Typically, the "victim" is depicted as a timid, oppressed female and the abuser is portrayed as a brutish, aggressive male that often assaults or even murders children. But such gender stereotypes are dangerous, and leave groups of people suffering and vulnerable because they do not fit the pigeon hole prescriptions that dominate family violence discourse and support organisations in our country. As it should be the homicide of children is considered to be a detestable crime in our community where they are seen as being very vulnerable and especially susceptible to abduction, physical and sexual assault and murder.

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