The Other Side of Domestic Violence

female violence is typically different from male violence

Introduction

Female violence is a widespread phenomenon, but not always properly understood, both in its objective and statistical aspects and in the individual and collective unconscious of an evolving society.

Violence has no sense, and has no sex. Bboth victims and perpetrators are slaves to a perverse and degrading mechanism that benefits no one, but only the destruction of everything.

During the 19th century, physical violence, predominantly male, was clearly identified, addressed, and limited through laws and a new culture.
Now, the new century presents us with the challenge of defeating an increasingly psychological and subtle violence, planned and intelligent violence, a highly dangerous and destructive violence, often hidden, cynical, collective, and oppressive, a violence, this time, led predominantly by women.

The Undetected Female Violence

Research conducted by Professor Rosanna Alfieri, Director of the Specialist Center for Clinical Pedagogy - and - Dr. Gloria Mazzeo, Coordinator of the Association of Criminology Studies (Italy).

One of the most common myths of Society today is that home violence is something men use against women. On the contrary, it is women who instigate most of the violence perpetrated at home and attack men more frequently and seriously. Some Statistics (year, 2008):

women perpetrate most acts of child and elderly abuse

they hitcommit most infanticides

most of the adults they kill are male

they commit 50% of spouse murders

those who have had their first experience as victims of female violence account for 82%

Researchers examine the role of territorial power as the key factor in female violence against males. Women see the home as their own territory. All over the world, women are more violent than men within the walls of home. These data revolutionize the concept of male-female violence which even the media have helped create. Information is often misused nowadays.

One woman every is victim of home violence 15 seconds, which is a well-known fact, in line with the Journal of Marriage and Family Statistics (1.8 million women every year experience aggression by their husbands or boyfriends). Yet, the media ignore the other data from the same study: 2 million men have been attacked by their wives or girlfriends, which means that one man is a victim of home violence once every 14 seconds.

The Italy Case: According to the Milan 2001 report on couple violence, 38% of husbands have confessed they often feel humiliated by their own spouse, 30% have experienced violence, 48% of female violence within the couple has a psychological nature.

" They often do not admit the violence even to themselves, trying to avoid the painful and sorrowful condition that would obviously result from it. " -- Rossana Alfieri, CENTER OF CLINICAL PEDAGOGY

" The denial of violence against men.. is a form of violence. " -- Alberto Infantte, Psychologist at A.T. BECK INSTITUTE MILANO

(sources: Rossana Alfieri LAB Magazine 2008 / Whitaker DJ 2007)

Family Violence Against Men, Conference in Rome

Social changes have created new weak categories and new forms of violence. As opposed to the blind and direct violence by men, there is a subtle and vindictive form of violence on the part of women which leads to destroying men not only as husbands or partners, but also as parents in their social function and psychological dimension.

The alarming number of suicides committed by separated fathers in Italy (250 per year, EURES report 2009) provides formidable evidence for it. According to the data supplied by the Italian Co-parenting Federation, men commit suicide more frequently than women, owing to the devastation generated by separation and child contention.
Income decrease and child separation, seriously undermine the psychological stability of fathers, thus inducing self-destructive behavior, addiction and all sorts of desperate actions.

Different standards in assessing violence: female victims of male violence are protected and safeguarded, whereas male victims of female violence are not; in the latter case the general tendency is that of seeking the plausible reasons for the actions.
Female violence is generally justified by ascribing pathologic reasons (depression, trauma, self-defense, provocation, menopause). A woman who is violent towards her partner is not necessarily considered as violent towards her children, whereas a man in an analogous situation is automatically labeled a bad parent.
Actually, the perpetration of violence and abuse is a social problem which should be faced according to human criteria, and the person concerned be treated regardless of their sex.

(sources: Chiara Camerani, Director of CEPIC European Centre for Investigative Psychology and Criminology 2007)