Happy Father's Day?
2007-08-27 17:25:00.0
AUTHOR: Judy Turner
I am celebrating Father's Day this Sunday by going to the opening of a Men's Refuge in Tauranga, apparently there are no other such facilities in New Zealand.
It is very strange that despite clear New Zealand research that highlights that men are as much victims of violence at the hands of their female partners as women are by their male counterparts, that this opening is such a novelty.
Consider this … the Ministry of Women's Affairs announced this week that the laws about 'protection orders' need overhauling and that the changes need to reflect the evidence they have gathered after interviewing 43 women who were subject to domestic violence. Now I suspect that some of their recommendations are worth considering but where is the research on violence against men and children?
Do we still think a bloke being slapped around is a bit of a joke or do we want to take family violence seriously?
The link on the left is from the ongoing Dunedin longitudinal study. Read it – you may be surprised by some of their findings.