Week 10 - Research in to Domestic violence

 These four images are so strong in there message, I feel as though they highlight that a lot of abuse is invisible, in that it may be unsuspecting in that perhaps there is this need for people to hide behind a facade, similarly to how the couple in our piece are. Furthermore these images are disturbing in the fact that they are men. There is this awful perception that when it comes to domestic violence it is only women that suffer at the hands of their partners or spouses. 

"Domestic Violence Against Men" is a project of public campaign showing the problem of domestic violence, specifically violence against men. Photos on the move so far absent in the media, even taboo. It is also embarrassing for men, which met this evil, and for those who are aware of this problem. 1

On the popular Northern soap, Coronation Street, character Tyrone was at the receiving end of domestic violence from his partner Kirsty. I think that the fact that this storyline has made an appearance in popular culture on a soap that a lot of people watch highlights that domestic violence against men is strongly becoming an issue, just as much a domestic violence against woman. 

Charities posters

 Mike's Story 

"When my father rang me just before dinner one night my wife burst in to the room and threw a plate at me. She claimed that I was ignoring her. My father politely ignored the torrent of abuse in the background, and accepted my explanation that she’d dropped some crockery and I’d better hang up. More lies.

One day she hit me so hard on the shin with a solid object (I’m not even sure what it was) that I could see the bone through the wound. For a while I suspected that it was broken, but this was not the case. It certainly hurt enough though. I limped for a while, and told more lies about how it had happened."2

I found this account on the ManKind, a national charity, whose initiative is to help men who suffer from domestic abuse. When I read this real life account from a gentleman named Mike, I could not help but feel the up most sympathy for the abuse in which he went through. His story was over 10 pages long and went into great detail about the abuse in which he endured from his wife. This has really opened up my eyes to this issue which is clearly an problem in society that people are not aware of as much as they should be. I feel as though from reading about domestic violence against men, as a race we need to consider that we need to strive for equality. There is this stigma that domestic violence only happens to women, when statistics show that 40% of domestic violence happens to men.3 It is horrendous that men do not receive as much help as women. I feel as though after doing this research, it will help me delve into my character for the young couple domestic violence scene, as I feel as though my character feels as though he can make her stop being violent towards him, and that she does love him. Additionally I think he will believe that it is just a phase perhaps, and he has to keep up the facade for the sake of his family and his child. 

References

1. Domestic Violence Against Man - Photography by Konrad Sieroń. [ONLINE] Available at: http://inspirationhut.net/inspiration/photography/domestic-violence-against-man-photography-by-konrad-sieron/. [Accessed 08 January 2015].
2.  2015. . [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.mankind.org.uk/pdfs/Mike's%20story.pdf. [Accessed 08 January 2015].
3. More than 40% of domestic violence victims are male, report reveals | Society | The Observer . 2015. More than 40% of domestic violence victims are male, report reveals | Society | The Observer . [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/sep/05/men-victims-domestic-violence. [Accessed 08 January 2015].