Once an individual or agency believes the fundamental feminist ideology, that patriarchy is the cause of domestic violence, and/or that patriarchy is the single or a primary cause of domestic violence, acceptance of that philosophic belief demands the individual reject any other theory or philosophy. That the individual or agency must accept that women are the only victims. Hence men must always be the offenders.
To believe that domestic violence is only or primarily caused by sexism and the power and control men want to exhibit over women, demands an individual or agency must believe that women are not and can not be domestic violence offenders. Once an individual or agency sets reason or logic aside and accepts either belief, the other must necessarily precede or follow http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles/crimdom.pdf.
If individuals or agencies “know that the cause” of domestic violence is that men are sexist and that the abuse against women occurs because men exert power and control over women in society, how can an individual or agency actually accept or even tolerate the fact that males can be the victims of domestic violence?
The fact is that these individuals and agencies say that they believe that men can be victims and women offenders, while at the same time refusing to give up the “patriarchy-makes-them-do-it” philosophy. In reality they can not believe the former because that belief will negate the later.
What they are really doing is accepting male victimization only in the abstract, because the facts and reams of data demand they must. However, when they accept only the “patriarchy-makes-them-do-it” as their reality that belief negates what individuals or agencies claim to believe. Claiming that they do accept males can be victims and that their agency can provide for the needs of males, appears to be little more or little less than their attempt at disguising the clearly apparent individual bias and their agencies obvious discrimination.
Holding these myopic fundamental feminist ideologies causes many domestic violence advocates, who honestly attempt to view domestic violence though an unbiased lens, to have preconceived perception of what reality is supposed to be. That reality is that “men are offenders and women their victims.”
The fundamental feminist philosophy does not allow these advocates to accept the reality of male victims. Their assumption of what is supposed to be real, creates their reality. If men are victims for any other reason, the foundation of fundamental feminism will fall down around them. Monotheism demands and requires only one God. Fundamental feminist domestic violence philosophy demands and requires only one victim and one offender.
This myopic, the-patriarchy-makes-them-do-it theory, is clearly not accepted as the only or primary theory by the majority of physicians, nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists, family counselors, educators, social workers, attorneys, judges, or those in the criminal justice system who are not fundamental feminists. Why then does this myopic philosophy remain the engine that drives domestic violence public policy?
The vast majority of domestic violence agencies, the federal Violence Against Women Act, and the Violence Against Women Office continue to claim that their interventions and programs are gender neutral and are not sexist. These agencies claim they can and do provide resources and support for the “rare” male victim.
However, holding the fundamental feminist ideological beliefs similar to the majority of contemporary domestic violence agencies makes it almost impossible for any advocate to believe men can be victims and women offenders. What the majority of advocates actually believe, regardless of their claims of neutrality when presented with a male victim, is that somehow – someway, these men must be pretending to be victims and that they actually must be offenders in sheep’s clothing.
Few if any, deny that their individual or domestic violence agencies central and core belief is that domestic violence is caused by patriarchy, sexism and the desire of men to exert power and control to subjugate and dominate women. Accepting this as the truth then causes the advocate not to believe or at least become reluctant to believe the male victim. Thus this fundamental feminist ideology, in reality, renders the fallacious claim of gender neutrality inconsequential. This includes some who honestly attempt to be gender neutral.
