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Thursday, October 25, 2007 12:00 AM

What's so funny about abusive girlfriends?

News about women's role in domestic violence inspires comedy, as well as cries in defense of men.

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  • Thursday, October 25, 2007 03:04 PM

    Not funny, sad.

    To feminists and people who care about the lives of their fellow humans, this is not funny at all.

    A few years ago, I served on a jury in a case where a woman was accused of beating her husband with a wine bottle. He required several stiches to close a nasty gash in his head. Several of the men on the jury were very hesitant to convict this woman. They wanted to believe that she must have felt physically threatened by her husband. When asked how they would rule if the situation were reversed, these men agreed they would easily convict a man who hit his wife with a wine bottle. But none of us laughed at the situation. We all were genuinely concerned for these two people. We ultimately found the woman guilty on two counts because it was clear to us that she had not acted in self-defense.

    The point is that feminism and the women's movement brought domestic violence out into the open. This has had the very positive effect of helping thousands of women out of violent relationships. The next step is for all of us to get serious about domestic violence in all its forms. This goes for homosexual relationships, parent-child relationships, and elder abuse, as well as women abusing their male partners. A violent relationship is not silly or entertaining, it is sad.

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