A new Statistics Canada report finds that rates of reported dating violence are on the rise, for both womyn and men. I say reported because the study is quick to point out that the rates are probably higher across the board because people so rarely report.
Unfortunately, this information is not surprising to me on its own. The fact that teenage girls experience 10x more dating violence than their male counterparts is not news to those of us that are paying attention but it's 'nice' to have solid statistics to back up what advocates are saying on a daily basis.
One aspect that I hope doesn't get lost in all this is that the majority of incidents occurred after the relationship had ended. So when we hear "Why won't she just leave him?" for the upteenth time, you can point to this statistic to demonstrate why womyn don't leave abusive situations.
The relationship might be awful on its own but many womyn choose to stay because they know that leaving will only make it worse.
Here's hoping those with the power to do so, take this report seriously and start enacting some serious work to combat it.
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I READ THIS IN THE PAPER.
In the Sun there's an article about how womyn are most likely to be on the receiving end of dating violence.
I literally stared my computer in the face and said, "Well, NO SHIT SHERLOCK."
I almost threw up at the vigil tonight, too, when a female Ottawa police officer stood in front of the womyn in attendance and said "Womyn NEED to work in conjunction WITH the law and WITH the criminal justice system and report sexual assault and rape."
People who are ensconced in (read: being paid by) this corrupt system really have NO fucking clue what it's like to be marginalized and trying to keep safe.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Just STOP committing gender based violence, world, STOP.
It's really that simple. In fact, I saw little girl holding a sign at the rally against the police brutality of the G8/G20 weekend today that said "Treat others the way you want to be treated". Out of the mouths of babes. That phrase applies to SO much.
If only people could see past their quests for power and control, if only.
End rant.
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