The Myth of the "Battered Husband Syndrome

By Jack C. Straton, Ph.D.

The most recurrent backlash against women's safety is the myth that men are battered as often as women. Suzanne Steinmetz [1] created this myth with her 1977 study of 57 couples, in which four wives were seriously beaten but no husbands were beaten. By a convoluted thought process [2] she concluded that her finding of zero battered husbands implied that men just don't report abuse and therefore 250,000 American husbands [3] are battered each year by their wives[4], a figure that exploded to 12million in the subsequent media feeding frenzy [5].

Men have never before been shy in making their needs known, so it is peculiar that in 17 years, this supposedly huge contingent of "battered men" has never revealed itself in the flesh.

Manhood and Violence: The Deadliest Equation

by Michael Kimmel, PhD

In the days and months following the tragedy at Columbine, the nation stared at the pictures of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold trying to understand the unfathomable - how these two young boys could arm themselves to the teeth and open fire on their classmates and teachers.

"Domestic Violence" as part of the broader issue of "Domestic Abuse"

"Domestic Violence" as part of the broader issue of "Domestic Abuse"
The horrific physical violence that so many men continue to inflict on their wives or woman partners is truly astonishing, shocking, and galvanizing: slaps, punches, choking, severe shaking, being thrown against walls or down stairs, arms twisted or broken, burns, stabbings, gunshots, and innumerable other forms of physical injury.