Anybody surprised?

Crosspost "New Zealand's family violence policy ignores male victims" from /r/newzealand:

I while ago I made a submission to the Government's consultation about family violence. The lockdown has given me the impetus to post it online. Here's a summary, if you are interested.

I did quite a bit of research and found that the government has ignored male victims of violence for decades. Even though the Crime and Victims survey shows 166,000 men have experienced intimate partner violence in their lifetime and 230,000 men have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime.

For example:

• The previous approach to family violence was based on the 2003 Violence Against Women study which excluded men by design.
• There's no research about male victims experiences of the family violence system in New Zealand. The little information we do have suggests men feel unsupported and discriminated against. International research shows men are treated badly in family violence systems (eg victims getting arrested when they call the police)
• The It's Not Okay campaign was based on research with male perpetrators in anti-violence programs. They decided to not to mention male victims in the campaign because they were worried some male perpetrators might use the existence of violent females to justify their violence, and undermine female safety. Of course, they did not consider that this approach makes things worse for male victims because their victimisation is never acknowledged.
• The Ministry for Justice does not consult with anyone regarding male victims. They rely on the Ministry for women for advice about family violence.
• The Police use the Duluth model, which was developed by workers in a battered women's shelter listening to women. One of the founders of the program later admitted that they only heard what they wanted to hear from the women. So the program was based on their preconceived ideas about female victims. A model based only only women's experiences is not appropriate for a general approach for the Police.
• The Government uses the white ribbon as a symbol of commitment to end family violence, but the White Ribbon trust's purpose is limited to ending violence against women by changing men' attitudes. Males victims know they are excluded from the campaign, so MPs and officials wearing white ribbons is a slap in their face.
• The Ministry of Health recommends routine enquires about family violence for females over 16. For men, doctors are recommend to only ask if their are signs. Never mind that men are more likely hide the signs, or even recognise abuse as abuse.

Also, for the recent consultation they did fuck all to make sure male victims were included.

If you are a male victim of family violence, I want you to know I recognise the shitty position you are in and I am doing the little I can to improve things.

The deadline for the consultation is over, but don't let that stop you from contacting the government about this. https://www.violencefree.govt.nz/have-your-say/