November 25, 2008 marks White Ribbon Day - the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. This day aims to raise awareness about family violence, especially towards women and their children.
"Awareness raising" is often a goal of public interest campaigns but in this case, what are the target audience (presumably men) being made aware of?
If it is that domestic abuse exists, or that it is a very common occurrence, it seems that this is something most would be aware of. After all, statistics provided on the campaigns's website state that almost 40% of women experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.
Going by this figure, it can be assumed that most men would either be directly responsibile for this abuse or know someone who either perpetrated or was a victim of such abuse. They would therefore be "aware" of its existence.
Domestic Violence As Acceptable Behaviour
Since it can be established that men are aware of domestic abuse, it seems clear that the problem lies in community attitudes which deem the behaviour to be acceptable.
This is illustrated in a 2003 survey by the BBC which found that 30% of respondents thought abuse was acceptable if a partner had been unfaithful and 27% said it would be acceptable if they nagged.
Furthermore, figures released by West Australian police show that the number of domestic murders has remained unchanged over the past four years. This questions the effectiveness of government campaigns urging men to seek help for anger problems, which have been running for a similar timeframe.
Professionals working with survivors of abuse, such as Women's Aid UK, claim such efforts are misguided as most men who commit abuse, make choices about their behaviour and only display it in certain situations. This would mean they have a degree of control over their choices.
This together with the widely-held perception of family violence being a "private matter" makes for an unsettling combination.
Domestic Violence and Male Privilege
Many programs and campaigns related to domestic abuse have often focused on factors such as anger-management problems, alcohol and drug use, lack of control or stress on the part of the perpetrator. The concept of male privilege however, rarely rates a mention.
Male privilege manifests itself as a sense of entitlement in abusers, which is rooted in patriarchal traditions. It stems from a time when women were regarded as the property of their husbands and this view is still held by many today.
Perpetrators of domestic violence choose to behave violently to get what they want and maintain their position of power in the relationship. Abusing their partners is seen by many as a way of "keeping them in line". It serves as a reminder to the victim that their worth as individuals is defined in relation to the satisfaction of their male partner.
In short, men abuse women because they feel entitled to, because the legal system (run and lead by men) is skewed in their favour, because women aren't valued, because their social network will likely not intervene or even mind and of course, because they can get away with it.
Raising Awareness of Male Privilege (Rather Than Its Symptoms)
As the above facts illustrate, the traditional approaches to the issue of domestic violence have not been very successful. The challenge lies in raising awareness of male privilege, which is at the root of this issue.
It also lies in acknowledging that partner abuse is a learned behaviour. Many perpetrators of domestic violence grew up in homes where it was prevalent and hence viewed it as acceptable.
Andrew O'Keefe, chairman of White Ribbon Day says, "It's only by changing attitudes of power and privilege that we can begin to change the violent behaviours that flow from them."
"Every time I [don't] do that, I'm supporting the belief that men have rights and privileges greater than those of women. And that whenever I don't challenge those attitudes, violent men are allowed to go on believing it, and behaving the way they behave."
Dizem Ramadan - Dizem Ramadan is a freelance journalist who has had work published on a variety of topics and in numerous publications including ...
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