"Female violence is downplayed"

"Well, yes, the weapons of women." This dismissive comment was the response a reader of Tagesanzeiger.ch received from the police after filing a report of sexual assault against his ex-wife. Other readers have also shared their experiences, some even going so far as to be evicted from their shared home. Clearly, the traditional gender role model that categorically portrays men as the perpetrators in relationship conflicts is still deeply ingrained in many minds.

Michael De Luigi, a board member of the association Mannschafft.ch, is familiar with many cases of men whose situations have been downplayed by the authorities. "It can go so far that a police officer refuses to take a report." It gets even worse when the woman portrays herself as a victim. "Besides being evicted from the residence, a restraining order prohibiting contact with their children can be particularly devastating for the man."

The police are remaining neutral

The cantonal police, however, reject the accusation that they intervene unilaterally in favor of women in cases of domestic violence. "If the police become aware of domestic violence, they intervene regardless of whether the suspects are male or female," says Marcel Strebel, head of the information department of the Zurich cantonal police. In 2007, men were the victims in approximately a quarter of the 1,608 registered cases of domestic violence.

Luigi attributes the one-sided gender distribution in violence statistics not only to male self-image but also to "the police's suppression of the problem of domestic violence against men." The organization Mannschafft.ch therefore criticizes Zurich's violence protection law. They argue that it focuses too heavily on protecting women and neglects children, adolescents, and men as victims of violence. Instead of the punishment stipulated in the law, Mannschafft.ch considers addressing the breakdown in communication within the partnership to be a more sustainable solution.

Many commentators on Tagesanzeiger.ch also doubt the police's claim that women are rarely perpetrators. One of them ventures the theory that "a significant portion of men's physical outbursts [...] were preceded by prolonged psychological abuse from the woman." According to Strebel, however, the motives leading to a crime are too diverse to draw any conclusions about a trend. "Of course, the motives that led to a crime are explored during the investigation and criminal proceedings. Ultimately, all files would have to be reviewed to obtain a complete picture."

VeV comment

The Tagesanzeiger deserves high praise. Not only for writing this article, but also for responding so promptly to the comments on the previous article.