Our thanks to Mike for this. The focus on female-on-male domestic violence as a ‘very middle class problem’ is unfortunate. An extract:
Disturbingly, it seems domestic violence against men has become a very middle-class problem. As women work, earn – and in many cases drink – as much as their menfolk, the dominant force in many relationships is no longer male and some women are lashing out.
Mark Brooks of the Mankind Initiative provides some balance:
‘Domestic abuse is no respecter of class or status. It crosses all social boundaries: we get calls from solicitors, bankers and GPs, as well as builders, dustmen and bus drivers.’
Partner violence against female victims is more common in the lower socioeconomic groups (see http://mhrm.uk/wiki/incidence-by-demographic/). The same is true for male victims, but this demographic dependence is less marked for male victims. The most marked demographic dependencies are (a) age – far more common amongst younger couples, and, (b) marital status. Only 5% of partner violence recorded in the CSEW surveys is between married people.
And don’t forget the xenoestrogenic factor from drinking water laced with these compounds in plastic water bottles…drives a natural hormone imbalance too!!!!