ETA: IPV = Intimate Partner Violence aka domestic violence
Hi!
So, ever since I asked this sub for resources, back when I still identified myself as radfem, let us just say I have had pretty much a complete ideological course correction (and, for the sake of transparency, now hold some resentment to the radfem movement as I feel my personal traumas/resentments/anger were preyed upon to indoctrinate me into a dogma so I'm at an angry stage and not a totally rational stage but I'm working on it, deep breathing is happening.)
Anyway, as I became more and more aware, as a victim myself of IPV, of the numbers of male victims essentially ignored or dismissed and, as a mother of a boy, more and more concerned about my son's rights and protections as I realised how few he had, particularly in this area, I started contemplating advocating for men's rights as IPV victims in my community.
I felt my first step was to gain some education, hopefully specifically in the area of men-as-victims, and I found a short course at my local university called Family Violence Issues. Let's just say, Family Violence Issues is suspect at best. I have sent the instructors and administration an e-mail with the following (TL;DR: Are you going to cover men's issues cause it doesn't really look like it):
"I was interested in the Family Violence Issues course at [uni], however I find myself very discouraged by the outlines of many of the courses.
I was wondering if you could tell me why the family violence issues program at [uni] includes a course about "Violence Against Women," which is sure to "understand the issues within the study of violence against women (e.g. the forms and extent of violence, realities of the resources available to survivors, changes in the social and legal responses to domestic violence)" including "at the intersections of various social positions (e.g. race, class, immigration status)" but has no course about IPV against men?
Does the overall course ever look at men's issues in IPV? I see that, aside from the course entirely devoted to women as victims, you are going to look specifically at "misogyny" in interpersonal cyberviolence which is about "gender-based cyber violence." Will it look at men's issues, or is this code that it is another women-as-victims specific course? I see that in Introduction to Family Violence you are intent on looking at "gender relations," but I worry, in the context of the rest of the courses, what that means.
In the entirely of this course on family violence, can you tell me if we will be taught any of the following:
• Men in Canada suffer IPV victimization at rates comparable to women
• 1 in 5 cases of IPV reported to police in Canada are male victims
• Men in Canada self-reporting for the family violence report as being victims of IPV do so at HIGHER numbers than women (4.2% vs 3.5%)
• 70% of those said they did not report to police
• Men are less likely to report being victims of IPV because those victims are often accused of being the perpetrator or forced into admitting being the perpetrator & attend anger management or ridiculed/dismissed, compounding their feelings of disempowerment and alienation
• Indigenous men are more likely to experience IPV
• There are NO dedicated shelters in Canada for male IPV victims
• The discrepancies in resources/funds being given to female victims vs male victims (millions dedicated to female victims, one shelter in Toronto for men struggling to reach 400k in order to open)
• The plight of Earl Silverman (who only ever received 1,000 in government assistance trying to keep open a men's domestic violence shelter in his own home in Calgary and ended up financially ruined, ridiculed, hopeless to help his fellow men and suffering trauma from his own history of IPV and ultimately commit suicide in the hopes of bringing more awareness to male victims)
As a woman with a son who wants to be sure our boys are comparably protected and cared for, I would like to know if anyone in this course will be covering these issues in any depth?"
So, I have no reply yet but I suspect my reply will essentially be "no," and I am now seeking your advice in what to do from there to move for that change. Do I reach out to higher ups? Is me as one person enough? Will I need to find people in my community who also want this change? Will those people need to be part of this academic institution (students? Professors?) How do I find them? Does anyone know of any courses in Canada that DO cover IPV with a thorough male perspective that I could point to as an example of how to do it? Could I have any more questions? Does it count as a question if it's rhetorical? Have I thanked you in advance for your help yet?
Thank you!
[–]a-man-from-earthleft-wing male advocate 21 points22 points23 points (1 child) | Copy Link
[–]mypinksunglasses[S] 10 points11 points12 points (0 children) | Copy Link
[–]Fearless-File-3625 19 points20 points21 points (3 children) | Copy Link
[–]UnHope20 3 points4 points5 points (2 children) | Copy Link
[–]Fearless-File-3625 4 points5 points6 points (1 child) | Copy Link
[–]UnHope20 0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy Link
[–]redgarnetamaranth 5 points6 points7 points (1 child) | Copy Link
[–]mypinksunglasses[S] 2 points3 points4 points (0 children) | Copy Link
[+]MazerTag1 points [recovered] (5 children) | Copy Link
First step might be to make sure people know what you're talking about. I doubt I'm the only one who had to Ask Jeeves what IPV was, since it's not a common acronym.
[+]mypinksunglasses1 points [recovered] (4 children) | Copy Link
It is an extremely common acronym and most domestic violence resources today will refer to it as intimate partner violence or IPV. At least in Canada.
[+]MazerTag1 points [recovered] (3 children) | Copy Link
Never heard of it in the States. We call it domestic violence.
[+]mypinksunglasses1 points [recovered] (2 children) | Copy Link
Ok well I guess that's worth downvoting me for
[+]MazerTag1 points [recovered] (1 child) | Copy Link
Maybe try not to sound so condescending to people, and they won't feel the need.
You know -- if internet points matter to you.
[–]iainmf 2 points3 points4 points (1 child) | Copy Link
[–]mypinksunglasses[S] 0 points1 point2 points (0 children) | Copy Link
[–]griii2left-wing male advocate 1 point2 points3 points (1 child) | Copy Link
[–]mypinksunglasses[S] 1 point2 points3 points (0 children) | Copy Link