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Showing Original Post only (View all)Southern Poverty Law Center on MRA lies about women [View all]
Misogynists in the mens and fathers rights movements have developed a set of claims about women to support their depictions of them as violent liars and manipulators of men. Some suggest that women attack men, even sexually, just as much as men attack women. Others claim that vast numbers of reported rapes of women, as much as half or even more, are fabrications designed to destroy men they dont like or to gain the upper hand in contested custody cases. What follows is a brief look at some of these claims and what the best science really shows. . . .
THE CLAIM In another effort to show that men are discriminated against, many mens rights activists assert that women attack men just as much as men attack women, if not more. The website MensActivism.org is one of many that criticizes what it characterizes as the myth that women are less violent than men.
THE REALITY Mens rights groups often cite the work of Deborah Capaldi, a researcher with the Oregon Learning Center, to back their claim. Capaldi did find that women sometimes initiate partner violence, although women involved in mutually aggressive partner relationships were more likely to suffer severe injuries than the men. But Capaldi studied only a very particular subset of the population at-risk youth rather than women in general, invalidating any claim that her findings applied generally. In fact, the 2000 Department of Justice study found that violence against both women and men is predominantly male violence. Nine in 10 women (91.9%) who were physically assaulted since the age of 18 were attacked by a male, while about one in seven male assault victims (14.2%) were victimized by females. Similarly, all female rape victims in the study were attacked by a male, while about a third of male victims (35.8%) were raped by a female.
THE CLAIM Close to half or even more of the sexual assaults reported by women never occurred. Versions of this claim are a mainstay of sites like Register-Her.com, which specializes in vilifying women who allegedly lie about being raped. Such claims are also sometimes made by men involved in court custody battles.
THE REALITY This claim, which has gained some credence in recent years, is largely based on a 1994 article in the Archives of Sexual Behavior by Eugene Kanin that found that 41% of rape allegations in his study were false. But Kanins methodology has been widely criticized, and his results do not accord with most other findings. Kanin researched only one unnamed Midwestern town, and he did not spell out the criteria police used to decide an allegation was false. The town also polygraphed or threatened to polygraph all alleged victims, a now-discredited practice that is known to cause many women to drop their complaint even when it is true. In fact, most studies that suggest high rates of false accusations make a key mistake equating reports described by police as unfounded with those that are false. The truth is that unfounded reports very often include those for which no corroborating evidence could be found or where the victim was deemed an unreliable witness (often because of drug or alcohol use or because of prior sexual contact with the attacker). They also include those cases where women recant their accusations, often because of a fear of reprisal, a distrust of the legal system or embarrassment because drugs or alcohol were involved. The best studies, where the rape allegations have been studied in detail, suggest a rate of false reports of somewhere between 2% and 10%. The most comprehensive study, conducted by the British Home Office in 2005, found a rate of 2.5% for false accusations of rape. The best U.S. investigation, the 2008 Making a Difference study, found a 6.8% rate.
THE CLAIM In another effort to show that men are discriminated against, many mens rights activists assert that women attack men just as much as men attack women, if not more. The website MensActivism.org is one of many that criticizes what it characterizes as the myth that women are less violent than men.
THE REALITY Mens rights groups often cite the work of Deborah Capaldi, a researcher with the Oregon Learning Center, to back their claim. Capaldi did find that women sometimes initiate partner violence, although women involved in mutually aggressive partner relationships were more likely to suffer severe injuries than the men. But Capaldi studied only a very particular subset of the population at-risk youth rather than women in general, invalidating any claim that her findings applied generally. In fact, the 2000 Department of Justice study found that violence against both women and men is predominantly male violence. Nine in 10 women (91.9%) who were physically assaulted since the age of 18 were attacked by a male, while about one in seven male assault victims (14.2%) were victimized by females. Similarly, all female rape victims in the study were attacked by a male, while about a third of male victims (35.8%) were raped by a female.
THE CLAIM Close to half or even more of the sexual assaults reported by women never occurred. Versions of this claim are a mainstay of sites like Register-Her.com, which specializes in vilifying women who allegedly lie about being raped. Such claims are also sometimes made by men involved in court custody battles.
THE REALITY This claim, which has gained some credence in recent years, is largely based on a 1994 article in the Archives of Sexual Behavior by Eugene Kanin that found that 41% of rape allegations in his study were false. But Kanins methodology has been widely criticized, and his results do not accord with most other findings. Kanin researched only one unnamed Midwestern town, and he did not spell out the criteria police used to decide an allegation was false. The town also polygraphed or threatened to polygraph all alleged victims, a now-discredited practice that is known to cause many women to drop their complaint even when it is true. In fact, most studies that suggest high rates of false accusations make a key mistake equating reports described by police as unfounded with those that are false. The truth is that unfounded reports very often include those for which no corroborating evidence could be found or where the victim was deemed an unreliable witness (often because of drug or alcohol use or because of prior sexual contact with the attacker). They also include those cases where women recant their accusations, often because of a fear of reprisal, a distrust of the legal system or embarrassment because drugs or alcohol were involved. The best studies, where the rape allegations have been studied in detail, suggest a rate of false reports of somewhere between 2% and 10%. The most comprehensive study, conducted by the British Home Office in 2005, found a rate of 2.5% for false accusations of rape. The best U.S. investigation, the 2008 Making a Difference study, found a 6.8% rate.
http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2012/spring/myths-of-the-manosphere-lying-about-women
We've seen a lot of these arguments around. It's important to know that they are generated by right-wing hate groups dedicated to attacking the civil rights of half of the population. It's important to call these arguments out for exactly what they are: Extremist right-wing hate.
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exactly. he has to go all the way back to 60's or 70's and pulled ONE woman out. da man. right on
seabeyond
Apr 2014
#33
There is a largish school of thought that would class this OP as part of the terrible "Gender Wars"
intaglio
Apr 2014
#13
Yeah, I just totally lack the amazing courage it takes to hit the rec button...
Violet_Crumble
Apr 2014
#78
The false rape report statistics when further broken down are even more 'debunking' of the false
stevenleser
Apr 2014
#21
that is because many disagree with current law, and think incapacitating your "intended" is a valid
bettyellen
Apr 2014
#22
Yes, I will find it. I used it for my show segment on rape culture a few months back... nt
stevenleser
Apr 2014
#24
And of course, now that I want to I am having trouble finding the exact link. But here are some
stevenleser
Apr 2014
#37
If you check the link, the 2.7 million to 1 refers actually to false rape accusations. nt
stevenleser
Apr 2014
#47
It's not so much that there is no patriarchy, the problem is that it is fundamentally misunderstood.
lumberjack_jeff
Apr 2014
#83
Agree with that completely. The level of tolerance for trans-hate is unacceptable. n/t
nomorenomore08
Apr 2014
#73
They *should* be designated as hate groups, even if they arguably have less influence than the MRM.
nomorenomore08
Apr 2014
#52
No, but I can see why you'd be confused. They all kind of look the same.
lumberjack_jeff
Apr 2014
#43
a) Your claim that women are less likely to report IPV than men is unsubstantiated. Link please.
lumberjack_jeff
Apr 2014
#84
I excerpted the paragraphs from the SPLC release that illustrated my point.
lumberjack_jeff
Apr 2014
#89
It's typical... He cherry picks statistics and misrepresents stuff regularly to make MRA points
Ohio Joe
Apr 2014
#59
i am having too nice an evening to discuss one woman from a handful of decades ago. you want to
seabeyond
Apr 2014
#36
The discussion of Solanas arose because SPLC wanted to take on its critics' arguments.
Jim Lane
Apr 2014
#46
"I dare say that if social justice and equal protection under the law were all that the MRM
nomorenomore08
Apr 2014
#51