While you may not agree with the WRC approach of targeting violence against women exclusively, we do believe that this is justified given the evidence that men are significantly over-represented as aggressors of domestic violence.

While we may disagree on some points it is great to be aligned on opposing all forms of violence.

But We have to fight it ..

And i think we will find medicine for it

In regards to the question of why men have been less active in drawing attention to the issue of prostate cancer…we clearly live in a time where for many reasons the community relies on those vested with power and influence to drive issues and bring them to the attention of the community. It would be harsh to suggest that the issue of prostate cancer deserves less attention because men are not as apparently as likely to rally together. When we look at the breast cancer ‘movement’ we see that the public awareness campaigns are predominantly driven by very well funded organisations such as the NBCF. Notwithstanding the terrible grief that this disease causes, it would be difficult to defend the suggestion that the issue is not used by savvy marketers and in turn many of our most prominent and prestigious business giants. In simple terms, women take the crown for discretionary spending, and so the major players get out the cheque books to capture their hearts and minds. Take a walk down any retail isle and you will see just about every conceivable product swathed in some form or pink with a reference to breast cancer. Even in traditionally male dominated arenas such as international cricket and football breast cancer is given greater coverage than prostate cancer. This in turn creates a fund raising movement which results in organised fund raising activities, and so it seems that women are naturally more prone to rallying for a cause and this is used by some to justify why the attention of male and female health is not equal. But if we are to accept that men are naturally less capable of rallying about such important issues, isn’t this even more reason for us all to band together to help them?

I share your sentiments about the wonderful experience of allowing ourselves as men to display the plethora of emotions that come with being a parent, however I don’t agree that men were discouraged from displaying emotion and affection in years gone by as opposed to today. In fact, I believe that we now live in a time where men are more emotionally suppressed than they have been for a long time. For example, imagine if a man behaved in the same way that Bob Hawke did when he was at full flight. Drunken, loud, bombastic and menacing behaviour are definitely not on the ‘how to win friends and influence people’ list for today’s modern man. From early childhood males are now struggling. Falling academic results and ballooning suicide rates are but a few of the ice burg tips that we should focus on. Never before have fathers been so precariously position in terms of their position as parents. At the whim of a vindictive female partner fathers can find themselves disenfranchised from their children and financially nobled. And if they become vocal and express their emotions as we are lead to believe the community encourages, they had better not display the very real human emotions of anger, frustration and despair or else they may most certainly find themselves at the wrong end of DVO. If they are lucky they will get a chance to have a hearing before a full order is made, but they will be afforded less legal recourse than a common criminal.

You make the point that the ABS Personal Safety Survey 2006 and the AIC Mouzas and Makkai Survey 2004 do not rely on statistics drawn from the criminal justice system. I see no need to address this issue further, because ultimately we are talking about sets of numbers, and no credible Organisation with genuine intent would seek to base a movement on statistics alone. As intelligent people we know that statistics should always be viewed with a critical eye. Statistics should only be used to support a position, and reason, genuine intent and common sense to illuminate. Otherwise as American Humorist Evan Esar observed in reference to statistics: “Definition of statistics: the science of producing unreliable facts from reliable figures.’

I appreciate that you would support anyone seeking to campaign on a platform of non violence, and so I would like to ask that as a leading community voice in regards to domestic violence that your Organisation comprehensively change its frame of reference to include men as victims and to reflect this in all of your campaign and marketing messages. Even if we are to accept that men are more likely to be the aggressors in domestic violence nobody can argue that they are not victims of domestic violence nonetheless. To refuse to be inclusive in this instance is clearly to discriminate on nothing more than gender. Good intentions aside, discrimination is never a good look.