Facts on DV wrong

Letter to the Newcastle Herald.

Thanks to Jon Chin (Herald Opinion & Analysis 25/11) for his dedication to ending violence against women, but figures quoted in his article are very wrong. Jon states that “violence against women has to be the greatest human rights scandal of our time."

But violence against men, on every available indicator, is much more extensive, widespread, and has much greater health impacts, than does violence against women (see /misinformation/#3 for references).

He also said that "more than 1 million women had been a victim of violence in the previous 12 months". The facts are that 443,800 women had been a victim of violence in the previous 12 months, as had 808,300 men.

While I support Jon and other men’s stance against violence towards women, the White Ribbon Foundation is silent on the one in three male victims of domestic violence in Australia and refuses to acknowledge the high level of violence experienced by men and boys, often at the hands of the women in their lives. We need to support male victims as well.

Greg Millan, Waratah