Re: VAWA, Title IX, domestic violence

Linda Purrington (lpurring@earthlink.net)
Sat, 11 Jul 1998 12:02:15 -0700


Ted, the problem with parsing your agenda is with your "in some form"
waffling. In fact the researchers do say the women participate in
domestic violence; they also say that women are the ones usually
hospitalized, and who suffer the greatest damage. If you throw a cup of
hot coffee at your husband over some argument, and he breaks your ribs,
leg, arm, skull, and gives you two black eyes and you miscarry--did you
both engage in domestic violence? Did you in fact engage in the same
amount of domestic violence? Researchers are getting more savvy, and
therefore so are the laws and the police--the one who gets arrested in a
fracas is the one who has the least damage; the other one goes to the
hospital first.
This research is also beginning to filter down into school settings. If
a girl and a boy trade slaps, teachers are beginning to look at who has
more brawn to fling. What you are looking for is not a primitive tally
stick count of incidents, but a more sophisticated approach to
preventing a widespread social problem. Domestic violence lasws such as
have been passed in California are also now applicable to teen violence
in schools; and of course Title IX is intended to cover the school
handling such incidents so as not to discriminate against either gender.

Linda Purrington, Title IX Advocates, lpurring@earthlink.net

[Ted wrote, re women and men in domestic violence, that wome insitgate
as much violence as men....snip...]
> The assertions are serious, and in some form, they are held by
> researchers who've performed the largest surveys of victims.
>
> -Robert Weverka <weverka@optivision.com>


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