Domestic Violence Resource Center For Men and Women Opens (Utah, USA)

Domestic violence resource center opens doors in West Jordan

By Marjorie Cortez
May 6 2013

WEST JORDAN — The West Jordan Community Resource Center opened its doors Monday at City Hall in an effort to provide domestic violence outreach.

The center, a project of South Valley Sanctuary, is a partnership between the domestic violence shelter and the city. Its mission is to offer case management and referral services to domestic violence victims and local families.

It is also a resource and referral hub for first responders, clergy, corporations and community support agencies.

“We’ve had a vision. We wanted to come out into the community and help the community more,” said Jennifer Campbell, associate director of South Valley Sanctuary. On Monday, the dream was realized, she said.

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Need knows no gender (The Independent, UK)

When Earl Silverman needed to escape his violent and abusive marriage, he looked for help, support and shelter close to his home in Alberta, Canada. It was not there. He made it his mission to ensure no other man would find himself in a similar situation. He opened a victim’s helpline, began lobbying politicians and campaigning for better services, and eventually succeeded in opening the Men’s Alternative Safe House (MASH*4077), Canada’s only dedicated shelter for male victims of domestic abuse and their children. 

It was always a struggle. At every stage Silverman was refused federal and provincial funding. He depended upon private donations and his own money to open the shelter and keep it running, eventually selling his own home to make ends meet. Six weeks ago he announced that the situation could continue no longer and the shelter was declared closed. On Friday April 26 he was found dead in his garage, having apparently taken his own life.  A story that could and should have been an inspiration has concluded as the most bleak and bitter of tragedies.

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Violent Femmes (SBS TV)

Because they're bored. Because someone said something nasty on Facebook. Because someone was "being a smart arse" to them.

Australian girls are getting into some bad fights.

Although males are responsible for most violent assaults in Australia, there has been an increase in violent offences committed by females, many of them aged 14-25. More females than ever before are being imprisoned for physical assaults and stories of young girls fighting are becoming more common.

This week on Insight, girls as young as 14 own up to ‘putting the boot in’, hair pulling and slamming heads into walls. And victims tell of the impact on them.

Presenter: Jenny Brockie
Senior Producer: Jodie Noyce
Associate Producer: Hannah Meagher

Available now via SBS on Demand. 

During the program, the NSW Police Commissioner admits to being a victim of a woman’s abuse.

Letter published in Sydney Morning Herald

The following letter was published in the Sydney Morning Herald on Saturday 27th April 2013 in response to the article below it.

Domestic violence

NSW Rape Crisis Centre executive officer Karen Willis repeats the discredited claim that domestic violence is about masculinity ("Mosman woman's death puts spotlight on domestic violence", April 26).

Research shows domestic violence is most prevalent among young people and is linked to social disadvantage, drug and alcohol abuse, mental health issues, and inadequate conflict management and emotional regulation skills. "Masculinity" simply cannot account for the one in three reported victims of domestic assault in NSW who are male, nor the one in five offenders who are female. We won't reduce domestic violence rates by incorrectly identifying the causes.

Greg Andresen senior researcher, One in Three Campaign

Mosman woman's death puts spotlight on domestic violence

It was the horrific end to an already terrible tale. The death of 32-year-old Mosman resident Kate Malonyay was followed a few days later by her ex-boyfriend Elliott Coulson plunging to his death from a Gold Coast hotel. NSW police are still investigating the circumstances surrounding both deaths.

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A male survivor's perspective on "rape culture"

An article titled “Rape Culture: What It Is and How It Works” posted on the Good Men Project website earlier this week prompted me to leave the following comment:

The “rape culture” terminology, as I’ve typically seen it applied, brands all men and boys as potential or latent assailants and perpetrators who need to be “taught not to rape.” Any man who somehow resists the inborn imperative to rape is nevertheless still considered responsible for all the men who don’t. Many boys and men who’ve been sexually violated, who are often already carrying the secret and undeserved burden of psychological responsibility for what someone else did to them, will quite naturally respond to these characterizations by retreating even deeper into the familiar phantom zone of feeling shamed, scorned, disowned, and scapegoated by the culture around them.

This, in turn, makes taking the risk of seeking help feel even more daunting. The first group I ever attended for male survivors of childhood sexual abuse was held at the local rape crisis center. I remember arriving for the first meeting one evening after work. I was so terrified. I’d been in my share of men’s groups, which helped me feel a bit safer, but I’d never spoken about that part of my history in a group of strangers. The walk from the parking lot to the front door seemed to take every ounce of strength I had.

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