The growth of the Extension campaign to promote "zero" tolerance for domestic violence is taking a new twist in 2002. Trapped in Poverty, Trapped by Abuse and Trapped by Poor Health! is a viable program in most of the ten urban centers and other county Extension offices. Launched three years ago, it has impacted through direct services and related social marketing strategies, well over a half-million Alabamians. To date, the focus of the work has been to address male-perpetrated domestic violence, in other words, men who batter, maim and/or kill women. This new campaign in 2002, however, will target battered men with educational resources and information. This campaign is in direct response to scientific studies based on sound research that reveals a sharp rise in female-on-male violence.
"The Hidden Side of Domestic Violence" states the following: It was appropriate that domestic violence services and education primarily be focused on men in the '70s and '80s. But now it's time to turn to the rest of the lights on the stage and see who else is out there."
To this end, a Minnesota group of men has filed a lawsuit in a United States District Court seeking to squash the state's Battered Women's Act on the grounds that it discriminates against men.
The non-profit organization Stop Abuse for Everyone works to help battered men. The organization's goals promote "greater social acceptance of abused men, accompanied by expanded programs such as help lines, referral services and counseling."
While Trapped! does not intend to join the fray of practitioners, pundits, social scientists and scholars who have amassed a voluminous amount of scientific and anecdotal information on men being battered by women, the following information provides some assistance for an emerging population of new victims of domestic violence in the 21st century: MEN.
Female violence is any behavior that is adopted by a woman to control you, which causes physical, sexual, or psychological damage or causes you to live in fear. Physical and sexual violence are the most obvious forms of violence. Pushing, biting, hitting, punching and using a weapon are all forms of violence. Forcing you to participate in sex is violence. Threats are a form of violence.
Other forms of violence include: isolating you from family or friends; harassment on the job; hurting your children or pets; unsafe driving; blackmail; treating you like a servant; threatening murder or suicide; drugging you; lying; destroying your possessions; controlling your money; making you think you're crazy or stupid; insulting or humiliating you in public; or creating a sense of impending punishment.
There are some immediate actions men can take to offset the continued cycle of domestic violence.
For the 2002 Extension program year, educational materials such as posters, brochures, flyers, fact sheets, and a video will be developed to support men who seek domestic violence services in Alabama. The focus of any in-service training presented to country agents will address the victimization of men in conflict-habituated families.