Gender Bias In Domestic Violence

In the media, when portraying domestic violence, men are often portrayed as the the aggressors toward women. In fact, women also commit acts of domestic violence themselves, but women receive less jail time. Studies show that there are greater sentences for domestic violence committed by a man and lesser sentences for domestic violence committed by a woman. It is important to understand that men are just as equal as women. Indeed, society is biased when it comes to females being the only victims of domestic violence while men are considered the only aggressors. Such gender-based bias within domestic violence is seen in: ignorance of women’s involvement in domestic violence, heavier sentencing upon males, and the generally harsher assumptions …show more content…
In simplicity, society assumes the male to be the only aggressors in these scenarios. In 2001, the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health collected data about the health of a nationally representative sample of 14,322 individuals between the ages of 18 and 28. From this information researchers found that of the 18,761 relationships, more women than men (52 percent versus 47 percent) had taken part in ones involving reciprocal domestic violence. This statistic alone, explains the fact that there is more than just one victim of domestic violence within a relationship. Jan Brown, executive director and founder of the Domestic Abuse Helpline for Men, stated that “domestic violence is not about size, gender, or strength. It’s about abuse, control, and power, and getting out of dangerous situations and getting help, whether you are a woman being abused, or a …show more content…
A Department of Justice reports that there are 834,000 male victims of domestic violence each year in the U.S. As for females, in the same report, it has been found that there are 1.5 million reports of being victims of domestic violence. What has been failed to realize is that instead of the Department of Justice adding both of those statistics to make a total of 2 million+ reports of domestic violence, they have omitted or taken away the 834,000 males and made a report that there are in total, only 1.5 million+ reports, in which are all women. As a result, this is the only statistic that has been payed [ any ] attention whatsoever. Across the U.S, the other is ignored. This brings us to the point that there are harsher assumptions made regarding men and domestic violence making it seem like males are the only aggressors. The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges quotes that “Domestic violence puts millions of women and their families at risk each year and is one of the single greatest social ills impacting the nation..” This quote, however does not speak in support of the men who also may be at risk. Tons of organizations, the American Bar Association and the American Nurses Association for example, often advocate the thought that males are the minority of victims of domestic violence and women are the inordinate majority. This still