Associated Press Worldstream – German November 22, 2006 Wednesday 11:16 AM GMT
According to a report from the canton of Bern, one in ten cases of domestic violence by women
In at least one in ten cases of domestic violence, the man is the victim. This is shown by a report from the Commission for Gender Equality Issues of the Canton of Bern. The experts want to raise public awareness of this taboo topic.
“We don’t want to close our eyes to the unpleasant,” Commission President Dori Schaer told the media on Wednesday. The Commission therefore decided to take up this taboo subject, even though it was aware that it could easily be misunderstood. But she definitely doesn't want to relativize the violence committed by men, which is more serious than the other way around.
The report is intended in particular to break down existing victim and perpetrator stereotypes. According to those responsible, various cantonal police statistics show that for every nine men there is one woman who becomes violent in their relationship. Violence by women is not concentrated on a specific group of the population, but rather occurs across all classes. The report also states that mothers and fathers commit violence against children in roughly equal proportions. Sexual violence is a particular taboo here. According to various estimates, the proportion of female perpetrators is nine to ten percent.
With its report “When women become violent: facts versus myths”. Domestic violence is not limited to men" in particular to raise public awareness. In addition, data gaps would have to be closed and improvements in the advisory services offered would have to be examined. The responsible specialists should also receive appropriate further training.
Andreas Jost from the Bern specialist and advice center “Stop Men’s Violence” was relieved that “such a report is finally available.” When talking to his clients, he always notices that from a man's perspective, violent women should not be taken seriously. There are men who laugh when they say that their partner wanted to murder them with a knife while they were sleeping.
Accordingly, men who have been victims of female violence rarely come forward. According to the experts, society needs to rethink this. Claudia Fopp, head of the Bern intervention project against domestic violence, fears a vicious circle otherwise: "Denying that you are a victim also encourages perpetration."
Domestic violence is also the topic of a cantonal conference next Friday in the Natural History Museum of Bern. Activities on the topic are also planned in various cantons on Saturday as part of the International Day against Violence against Women.
ap