Examples Stopping Domestic Violence:
What MEN Can Do
All men can play a large role in preventing domestic violence. Here are a few ways:
Be aware of language. Words are very powerful, especially when spoken by people with power over others. People often use words that put women down. Such language sends a message that women are less than fully human. When we see women as inferior, it is easier to treat them with disrespect, disregard their rights, and ignore their well-being.
Speak Up. You may never see a battering incident, but you will see and hear attitudes and behaviors that degrade women and promote violence. When your best friend tells a joke about rape or battering, tell him you don't think it's funny. When you read an article that blames a domestic violence survivor for being abused, write a letter to the editor. When laws are proposed that limit women's rights, let politicians know that you won't support them. Do anything except remain silent.
Support Survivors of Domestic Violence. Domestic Violence will not be taken seriously until everyone knows how common it is. In the US alone, between three and four million women are assaulted by an intimate every year. (Violence and the Family, 1996) By learning to support survivors, men can help both women and other men feel safer to speak out about domestic violence and let the world know what a serious problem it is.
Contribute your time and money. Join or donate to an organization working to prevent violence against women. Domestic violence agencies depend on donations for survival and always need volunteers. Call My Sister's Place at (202) 529-5261.
Talk with women... about how the risk of relationship abuse affects their daily lives; about how they want to be supported if it has happened to them; about what they think men can do to stop domestic violence. If you're willing to listen, you can learn a lot from women about the impact of domestic violence and how to stop it.
Talk with men... about how it feels to be seen as a potential abuser; about the fact that between five and ten percent of men are victims of domestic violence; about whether they know someone who has been abused. Learn about how domestic violence touches men's lives and what men can do to stop it.
Organize. Form your own organization of men focused on stopping domestic violence. Men's anti-violence groups are becoming more and more common around the country, especially on college campuses. Many high schools and youth groups also have anti-violence programs.
Work against other oppressions. Violence against women feeds off many other forms of prejudice - including racism, homophobia, and religious discrimination. By speaking out against any beliefs or behaviors, including domestic violence, that promote one group of people as superior to another, you support everyone's equality.
Don't ever be abusive! No matter what. Not to your partner, your children, or the family pet. Although statistics show that most men never batter, batterers are overwhelmingly male. Make a promise to yourself to be a different kind of man - one who values equality and whose strength is not used for hurting.
This information is provided by the organization Men Can Stop Rape |
