I am speechless (almost)

Found via Reddit - Thanks guys!

It is not a secret that the judical system is stacked against men, compared to women. That however, published by the US Department of Justice seems to be a new low.

Practical Implications of Current Domestic Violence Research: For Law Enforcement, Prosecutors and Judges

Published June 2009

Although some sociological research [202] based on self-reporting finds equal rates of male and female partner conflict (including mostly minor physical assaults), behavior that is likely to violate most state and federal criminal and civil (protective order) statutes is typically perpetrated by males. [153]

Part by part.

Although some sociological research [202] based on self-reporting finds equal rates of male and female partner conflict (including mostly minor physical assaults)

If we follow that link to "some sociological research" we find their source to be:

Straus, M., R. Gelles, and S. Steinmetz. Behind Closed Doors: Violence in the American Family. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1980

Yes that is correct, 3 DECADES ago there was only some sociological research, now we have

271 scholarly investigations: 211 empirical studies and 60 reviews and/or analyses, which demonstrate that women are as physically aggressive, or more aggressive, than men in their relationships with their spouses or male partners.  The aggregate sample size in the reviewed studies exceeds 365,000.  

Again they talk about CURRENT domestic violence research in the headline and link to a book that is 30 years old even IGNORING the National Violence Against Women Survey, financed by them, which found 40% of DV victims were men. Ignoring research that finds that among injured DV victims about 33-40% are men. The DoJ seems to be so up-to-date, that I am surprised to find no articles about witchcraft there.

behavior that is likely to violate most state and federal criminal and civil (protective order) statutes is typically perpetrated by males.

Not correct, that behaviour by women is typically reported not perpetrated less. The report then cites several crime studies that come to a similar conclusion. The problem remains the same, men don´t tell. And again there are several studies that come to this conclusion. Some examples,

37% of female victims of DV called the police only 15% of men did (Family violence in Canada - 2003)


17% of male victims of DV seeked helped with "formal social agencies" compared to 48% of female victims (Canadian General Social Survey - 1999)


Female victims are 9-time as likely to call the police and 5-time as likely to talk to a relative or friend than male victims (National family Violence Survey - 1985)


8% of male victims called the police compared to 22% of female victims (British Crime Survey - 1996)

47% Of female victims and 16% of male victims called the police. Only 39% of male victims defined their expierience as domestic violence but 77% of women did. (Scottish Crime Survey - 2000)

Often victimised men are not taken serious by the police (Farrell - 1993 | Wilkinson - Children and divorce - 1981) and often that leads to men not reporting their victimisation (Steinmetz - The battered husband syndrome - 1980 | Machietto - Aspects of male victimisation and female aggression - 1992)
 
Women are more likely to report minor cases to officials: Only 25% of all cases reported by women were severe cases compared to 86% of cases reported by men. Men were injured in most of this cases and most of this cases also involved weapons (most often knives) (McLeod - Women against men: An examination of domestic violence based on an analysis of official data and national victimization data - 1984)

more on that topic here. Of course you don´t know that if you ignore 30 years of ongoing research. It gets much worse.

Implications for Law Enforcement

If the ratio of male to female suspects and victims differs substantially from those found above, departments should be alert to potential gender bias in their response to domestic violence. Ongoing training and supervision can address overrepresentation of female versus male arrests. (Research basis: Multiple studies of abusers and their victims brought to the attention of the criminal justice system [including civil protective orders] confirm the gender ratio as opposed to studies focusing on non-intimate and family conflict.)

Implications for Prosecutors

Prosecutors should be alert to gender bias in the response of local law enforcement agencies and re-screen cases if the percentage of female suspects accused of abusing male victims exceeds that commonly found across the nation. (Research basis: Multiple studies of abusers and their victims brought to the attention of the criminal justice system [including civil protective orders] confirm the gender ratio as opposed to studies focusing on non-intimate and family conflict.)

Implications for Judges

If, upon reviewing domestic violence dockets, judges find much higher rates of female-on-male abuse cases than those typically found across the country as a whole, they should be alert to potential gender bias on the part of police and/or prosecutors and ensure that they are presented with sufficient evidence to confirm the correct designation of victims and their abusers. (Research basis: Multiple studies of abusers and their victims brought to the attention of the criminal justice system [including civil protective orders] confirm the gender ratio as opposed to studies focusing on non-intimate and family conflict.)

From a logical standpoint, it shouldn´t matter if Jane Doe or John Doe beats his/her partner. The one who commits the violent should be punished. Well apparently one has to factchect to make sure a set quota of female perpetrators is met, probably discriminating against male victims and creating a self-fullfilling prophecy. They should know better. Why? Because they know.

Crime statistics are all fine and dandy, but when it comes to DV or rape, this kind of study finds less victims, simply because victims often don´t see themselves as victims of a crime (the usual excuses, "it was my fault", "my partner just has a bad temper, but really loves me", "I probably deserved this" etc.) as stated above, this effect is even worse when it comes to men. But here is the double standard, when it is women, we forget about the crime statistic and look at our own sociological research (which also finds far more male victims), but when it is men, suddenly we are teleported back in the 80s, forget about all the social research (even our own) and only take a look at the crime statistics, doing everything we can to keep our quota. In short, discrimination at its worst.

I wrote an Email, you might want to write one, too.