Polarising the current debate on domestic violence along gender lines does no service to any of the victims, writes Seán Love
Amnesty International's worldwide campaign is to Stop Violence Against Women in armed conflict, post-conflict, and in the family. Why would John Waters last week misrepresent us on such an important issue?
Our recent report, Justice and Accountability: Stop Violence Against Women, focuses specifically on violence against women in Ireland, particularly sexual violence, trafficking for sexual exploitation, and violence in the home.
The report clearly acknowledges that men are victims of gender-based violence in the home and accepts it is a human-rights issue; as are rights of fathers to access their children; as are issues of young male alienation and suicide. However, it makes clear that these are quite separate issues from violence against women - and hence does not discuss them in depth.
It is inaccurate, and unfair to vulnerable people who have been victims in situations as mentioned above, to imply that Amnesty would ignore human rights concerns. We cannot cover everything all of the time; we must be strategic. In our research on children's mental healthcare in Ireland, we highlighted suicide, which particularly impacts on young men and boys.
Human-rights education plays an important role in addressing young male alienation, and we invest substantial resources in this for students at primary and second level, working closely with the departments of education, North and South. We have also given advice to organisations representing single and separated fathers.
To suggest that Amnesty believes domestic violence is "irrelevant" to the phenomenon of suicide in young men is simply wrong. For example, witnessing domestic violence constitutes child abuse, as per the State's child-protection guidelines, and could be a factor in some cases of suicide by young people.
The overwhelming scale of violence against women is a major challenge for Irish society. Rape crisis centres in Ireland received over 45,000 calls in 2004, 89 per cent of these from women. The Sexual Abuse and Violence in Ireland report in 2002 found that 42 per cent of women here have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime - in most cases from a current or former intimate male partner. A Rotunda maternity hospital study found that 12.5 per cent of women experienced partner abuse during pregnancy. The Department of Justice, Equality & Law Reform accepts that one in five women will suffer systematic severe violence in her home at some point in her life; the National Crime Council (NCC) says one in seven - and they warn that the numbers of younger victims are increasing.
The council's report published last Wednesday should end the erroneous claim that severe violence in the home happens on a 50/50 basis to men and women. The report confirms that significant numbers of men experience severe violence in the home, and Government must address this - but the figures are substantially higher for female victims.
The statistical evidence of violence against women is staggering, from the Department of Justice, the NCC, rape crisis centres, refuges, the Garda, the courts and hospitals.
What is Ireland doing to address the problem? That so many victims do not even report to the Garda is a major problem, one the Garda and the department are trying to address. The underfunding of refuges and rape crisis centres - which have had to turn women and children away - is another scandal. In the longer term, the absence of any State-driven comprehensive educational programme in our schools is another glaring failure.
Ireland reports to a UN committee this week on its strategy to deal with violence against women, and the committee's conclusions are likely to be critical of the Government.
John Waters claims he has been criticised by Amnesty for being too angry; that the purpose of our current campaign is to make men feel guilty for the crimes of others. Again, it would be difficult to get it more wrong. Anger is essential, but it should be directed at the right targets. Vilifying human-rights organisations or groups who work with female victims is misdirected. The targets for the anger should be the perpetrators; and the Government - because government has the responsibility under international law to protect citizens from violence.
Polarising the debate does no service to any of the victims. Branding organisations working to protect women from violence as "anti-men" is an extraordinary charge to make. Accusing Amnesty International of being anti-men is even more bizarre. A quick perusal on amnesty.org of the range of human rights issues we work on will illustrate as much. You don't have to agree that the absence of true equality is what underpins much of the violence against women to recognise that, regardless, the problem is enormous and urgently needs to be addressed.
Nevertheless, those who deny there is inequality should consider how Irish males would feel in a society where 90 per cent of the Government, police, judges, media owners, senior civil servants, CEOs of business, religious and university leaders, trade union and NGO directors were female. At the very least, it would give us (men) a different perspective on our place in society.
Then consider that Ireland has good equality legislation, that change is gradually happening. In many countries, the absence of effective laws means it is accepted that women and girls be treated as objects, something to do with as we please, as if this were a "right". A significant minority of men in Ireland appear to think they also have such "rights".
If the levels of violence are to be addressed, society needs to tell the perpetrators that we as a society will not tolerate it; that because something happens within the home, it is not exempt from the criminal process; that no one has the right to violate a current or former intimate partner. For this to happen, it is essential that men and women add their anger and voices to this campaign.
The report is available on www.amnesty.ie
Seán Love is executive director of Amnesty International (Ireland)