Tages-Anzeiger from November 22, 2006
Domestic violence is not limited to men.
In at least ten percent of the cases reported, women are the perpetrators.
This emerges from a report by the Bernese Equal Opportunities Commission.
Previous research on the topic was almost entirely based on traditional
role models: man as perpetrator, woman as victim.
Police statistics from several cantons (BE, SG, AR, ZH), on which the report is based, prove that this is not always true.
It's not about the wallstick
So far, violence against women has mainly been joked about, as they
greet their henpecked man with a raised wallstick.
This picture is not helpful.
The commission demands
men should learn to accept their victim experience and talk about it This also requires an inventory of the advice and assistance offers.
According to the report, recent studies show that fathers and mothers
commit violence against children in roughly equal proportions.
However, the extent of violence perpetrated by fathers and mothers cannot be directly compared unless both
spend equal amounts of time and responsibility for their children.
Unequal distribution of roles
In its report, the cantonal department for equality suggests
sensitizing
professional groups confronted with domestic violence on how to deal with male victims of violence and When it comes to child protection, more attention should be paid to violence against women .
The cause of this violence is often excessive demands from children who scream, defy
or are hyperactive.
The connection between unequal distribution of roles and violence in the family must be made visible and addressed.
However, additional measures should under no circumstances
be at the expense of female victims of violence, explains the commission. These offers should not be reduced.