Thread by @venusauvage

🧵 The #DeppVHeard case can become the turning point for male domestic abuse victims to stop the cycle of abuse and get help

This fair verdict can break stigma, shame and stereotypes surrounding DV for male victims. Feminism is not meant to live off the suffering of battered men

🪡 In the past months there were many mainstream media articles, trying to convince you that amplifying the voices of male DV victims is a threat to feminist movements. Reaffirming that only a woman can be a a victim and listening to male survivors like johnny would hurt #MeToo

📊 According to statistics intimate partner violence towards men is not a rare event

USA: More than 830,000 men fall victim to domestic violence yearly

UK: 786,000 of men were victims of DV in 2018/2019

Canada: Identified “Gender Symmetry” in their IPV statistics

🫂 When it comes to seeking help and reporting abuse, a high percentage of men are reluctant due to stigma which justifies why statistics are not symmetrical in most countries

“49% of men compared with 19% of women told no one they were victims of domestic abuse” - NCDV

👩🏼‍🤝‍👨🏻 According to the FCC, men are less likely to come forward about their abuse than women and alot of that has to do with gender norms that have been placed upon men

1. Men fear they will not be believed

2. Men feel emasculated or weak for not being able to stop the abuse

🚩Lets deconstruct the arguement that women cannot be abusive towards men

According to the CDC, 97% of men who experience rape or physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner had only female perpetrators

🥃 Mayo Clinic also identified that Domestic violence can leave you depressed and anxious and increase your risk of having a drug or alcohol problem

📑 NCBI conducted a study to investigate the association between alcohol/drug abuse and sustaining IPV

“in an effort to cope with and reduce these emotions (in reference to emotions resulting from being a victim of IPV) the person might use alcohol and other drugs”

🪡 Subtypes of IPV that are usually perpetrated against men

ManKind organization listed examples from each type to help men identify if they are indeed a victim so lets go through them

✅ I will put a check mark at each example that Johnny Depp identified with for reference

(1) Physical Abuse
(2) Isolation
(3) Verbal Abuse

(4) Threatening Behavior
(5) Emotional and Psychological Abuse
(6) Power and Control
(7) Economic and Financial Abuse

(8) Sexual Abuse
(9) False Allegations
(10) Being Stalked

(11) Digital and Social Media Abuse
(12) Coercive Control

📝 False Allegations as a subtype of IPV

“Our Research shows that 73% of men who experienced female perpetrated violence reported that their partner threatened to make false accusations versus less than 3% of males in the general population”

🗣 Male victims of DV are reluctant to report the abuse for fear of being accused themselves

“Within my Research the Predominant Experience is of men being arrested under false charges and their disclosures of being the victim are not taken seriously” - Dr Jessica McCarrick

Tami Weissenberg a victim of DV narrates to DW how threats of false allegations were used against him to force him to stay

One day, she started beating herself then when she finished she took out a tape recorder and told him “thats a little dictating device its my joker”

📰 The media’s role in undermining male victims of female perpetrated abuse

According to a study conducted by Sociologist Elizabeth Bates in the Univeristy of Cumbria, there’s a tendency in the media to explain women’s aggression or describe it emotionally

When talking to Deutche Welle, Elizabeth Bates further explains “the way violence against men is sometimes portrayed on TV or in comedy programs is in the context of humor so we might laugh at women’s violence towards men and that does have an impact”

👥 Many DV victims identified with Johnny Depp, but his case was a breakthrough for male victims especially.

Before NBC handed over the #DeppVHeard file over to a misandrist journalist few months ago, Kalhan Rosenblatt spoke to male victims about what this case means to them

Lastly, I just want to end this thread by telling all male victims of domestic abuse that you are not alone, we hear you, now more than ever.

In addition to asking got help, The Domestic Abuse Helpline for Men offers additional advise on how to stop the cycle of abuse.

🔗Sources
CDC: cdc.gov/violencepreven…
NCDV: ncdv.org.uk/domestic-viole…
Statistics Canada: canada.ca/en/public-heal…
WebMD: webmd.com/balance/featur…
ManKind: mankind.org.uk/help-for-victi…
FCC: familycrisiscenters.org/domestic-viole…
MayoClinic: mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifest…
HealthDirect: healthdirect.gov.au/amp/article/do…

Male Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence in Canada: victimsfirst.gc.ca/res/cor/IPV-IP…
NCBI: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…
HelpGuide: helpguide.org/articles/abuse…
Psychology Today: psychologytoday.com/us/blog/invisi…
Teesside University: tees.ac.uk/sections/news/…

GMU: gmu.edu/news/2022-04/e…
University of Cumbria: insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/4610…
Deutcwhe Welle: amp.dw.com/en/men-as-vict…
ABC: amp.abc.net.au/article/124957…
Kalhan Rosenblatt piece in NBC: nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna2…