Familial abuse: a multifaceted problem

CMAJ 1998;158:866-7

When approaching a problem as politically and emotionally charged as domestic violence, one has to choose between the mythology of the day and reality. The "Editor's preface" and associated articles in the Dec. 1, 1997, issue unfortunately seem to prefer the former. Common to all of the articles is the implication that spousal abuse is synonymous with wife abuse. Not one of these articles refers to the man as anything but the purveyor of violence, nor is the woman ever portrayed as anything other than the victim. The facts point in another direction. Women are at least as likely as men to resort to violence in the home, including being the first or the only one to strike.^1,2 Probably the most telling evidence is that the incidence of domestic violence in female homosexual households approaches that seen in heterosexual ones.¹ In the US, where handguns are freely available, a man is just as likely as a woman to wind up dead after a domestic altercation.¹ Given these statistics, why couldn't the questionnaire "The eight types of abuse" (CMAJ 1997;157[11]:1557-8 [full text / en bref]), presented by Fern Martin and Dr. Catherine Younger-Lewis, be recommended for both men and women, and why weren't men at least mentioned as potential victims?

More disturbing is Dr. Barbara Lent's implication, in her editorial "Responding to our abused patients" (CMAJ 1997;157[11]:1539-40 [full text / résumé]), that child abuse is committed solely by men. Patricia Pearson's recent book states: "Women commit the majority of child homicides in the United States, a greater share of child abuse . . . about a quarter of child sexual abuse, [and] an overwhelming share of the killings of newborns. . . ."¹

What I find most offensive is CMAJ's participation in the annual exhumation of Mark Lepine and the subsequent waving of his corpse in the face of men everywhere. Do we routinely parade the names and stories of female multiple child murderers? When a similarity between me and Lepine is implied on the basis of my sex alone, I am both insulted and disgusted.

It is time to take a balanced view of domestic abuse, and we must be ready to accept the uncomfortable reality that violence is not the sole responsibility of one of the sexes. As Nicole Baer points out in her article "MDs have key role in bringing ugly secret of wife abuse out of closet" (CMAJ 1997;157[11]:1579-81 [full text / texte complet]), there is growing evidence of societal indifference to domestic abuse. Biased journalism such as this can only contribute to this trend. For a publication that has been trying hard to be seen as an evidence-based source of information, ignoring half the facts leaves it looking more than a little hypocritical.

Brian F. Rudrick, MD
Director of Laboratories
Department of Pathology
The Grey Bruce Regional Health Centre
Owen Sound, Ont.
rudrick@bmts.com

References

1. Pearson P. When she was bad. Toronto: Random House Canada; 1997.
2. Gairdner W. The war against the family. Toronto: Stoddart; 1992.

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