Just published. I’ve had the following exchange with Natasha, who runs the site, my thanks to her for having the integrity to publish it:

Natasha, many thanks for this. You write:

“We are concerned that it only mentions protection for ‘women and girls’, when we know boys can also be affected, as can men.”

Men and boys “can” be affected? Well, that’s hardly even debatable, but it’s a gross understatement, and symptomatic of the empathy gap so well explored in William Collins’s “The Empathy Gap: Male Disadvantages and the Mechanisms of Their Neglect” (the ebook is a steal at under £5.00).

We know from the Partner Abuse State of Knowledge Project (2013) https://domesticviolenceresearch.org/pdf/FindingsAt-a-Glance.Nov.23.pdf that of the straight couples experiencing domestic violence, in 58% of them the violence is bi-directional. In the remainder 42% the violence is uni-directional, with women twice as likely as men to be the perpetrators, men twice as likely as women to be the victims.

So, men and boys “can” be affected? The simple truth is they’re affected on a scale similar to that of women. The empathy gap (reinforced by the feminist domestic violence industry) stops people from admitting it, or caring about it.

Mike Buchanan

Party leader

JUSTICE FOR MEN & BOYS

Natasha replied:

You’re reading things into my sentence which just aren’t there, Mike.

I replied:

Thanks Natasha. For decades people have been saying men and boys “can” be victims of domestic violence. That implies it’s not common, certainly not on the scale that women and girls are. That’s untrue, which is what I was pointing out.

Natasha replied:

In this case, it’s me saying they can experience this abuse, not that it’s not common.

I replied:

Natasha, it’s a statement of the blindingly obvious that they CAN, but it implies it’s uncommon (even rare). Why not instead point to the evidence that DV isn’t a gendered issue, as Erin Pizzey has been pointing out for 50+ years? PASK13 would be a good thing to point to in this regard.

A few hours ago a press release was issued, “Rishi Sunak’s Gender Caste System: Erasing Half of All Victims of Domestic Abuse”:

https://endtodv.org/rishi-sunaks-gender-caste-system-erasing-half-of-all-victims-of-domestic-abuse/

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Outrageous. The Tates and others associated with them can be held for up to 180 days without being charged.

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Our thanks to Larry for this.

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Our thanks to Manuel for this. The start of the piece:

GENEVA (21 February 2023) – UN experts today welcomed the adoption of new comprehensive anti-discrimination and feminist legislation in Spain, which guarantees and facilitates access to sexual and reproductive rights in the country.

The experts said the new overarching measures ensure safe and accessible abortions provided by national health agencies; eliminate so-called “reflection processes” arbitrarily imposed on women; ensure access of all women (including lesbian, bisexual and unmarried women) to assisted reproduction techniques; and introduce menstrual leave as the first European country to do so.

The legislation also makes comprehensive sexual education a part of all mandatory years of schooling, and further protects the bodily autonomy of young women in particular.

“The history of feminism is a story of persistence in the face of social injustice,” the experts said. Described as a fundamental feminist achievement, the legislation was adopted as part of an ambitious agenda for social progress.

The ‘experts’ (check out the gender balance):

Ms. Dorothy Estrada-Tanck (Chair), Ms. Ivana Radačić (Vice-Chair), Ms. Elizabeth Broderick, Ms. Meskerem Geset Techane and Ms. Melissa Upreti, Working Group on discrimination against women and girls; Ms. Tlaleng Mofokeng, Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; Ms. Farida Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the right to education; Ms. Alexandra Xanthaki, Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights; Mr. Victor Madrigal-Borloz, Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The experts are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

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Our thanks to Ed Bartlett, the Washington DC-based head of the Coalition to End Domestic Violence, for this press release. Journalists are invited to call me for more information.

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We’re linking daily to selected audio / video files from the comedy channel of our associated website, Laughing at Feminists. Today’s file is here (video, 39:32).

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We’re linking daily to selected audio / video files from our YouTube channel. Today’s file is here (video, 3:54, starts at 18:27).

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Blair Daly, the young American behind Equality for Boys and Men, has invested a huge amount of time and effort into lobbying for the creation of a Washington State Commission on Boys and Men. Sadly it has just been rejected for this legislative year, as he explains in this piece, but he’s clear that his fight will go on. We wish him well. Extracts:

This is the second year we poured ourselves into advocating for airtime in the legislature for the struggles of our sons, dads, brothers, uncles, and grandfathers. For the second year, the powers that be said No. The chair of the State Government & Tribal Relations Committee declined to give a public hearing to House Bill 1270, which calls for the creation of a commission focused on the well-being of boys and men. And as far as we know, he has declined to offer an explanation why.

We are disappointed.

We’re also a bit surprised, given that the bill had three Democratic co-sponsors and that among them was Representative Chris Stearns (D-Covington), who is the vice chair of the committee directly below Chair Bill Ramos (D-Issaquah)…

Two female lawmakers, one Republican and one Democrat, are the lead sponsors of a bill that would bring needed attention to the areas where boys and men are struggling. The creation of a Commission on Boys and Men would bring about a measure of equity/parity for males, given that a Washington Women’s Commission has been operating for years. The prime sponsor of the bill that would establish a Commission on Boys and Men, Mary Dye, has been an active advisor to the Women’s Commission since its founding. The bill has diverse sponsorship from three Democrats and four Republicans; three men and four women.

And yet…

The male legislator who holds the position of power over the Commission on Boys and Men bill has so far refused to give it a public hearing.

Why?

Let’s invite more and more people to join us in asking that question: Why?

Representative Joe Fitzgibbon’s response, which alluded to “the segment of our society that’s been historically most advantaged,” just does not cut it when considering present-day realities.

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Our thanks to Nigel for this from the Telegraph, appearing on MSN. If you have a subscription to the Telegraph you can catch the piece with comments here. I posted a few comments, here.

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Our thanks to Ed for this.

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