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| The profound problem of male sexual violence | The profound problem of male sexual violence |
| (5 months later) | |
| The Guardian, like other media, is regularly burdened by stories of men's abuse of women and children, but last Wednesday was an especially heavy day. The front page and an inside spread presented breaking news of the abduction, sequestration and rape of Amanda Berry and two other women in Cleveland, Ohio. A further page was filled by the trial of Mark Bridger in the case of the disappeared five-year-old April Jones and of Stuart Hazell for the alleged murder of his step-granddaughter. There was also a report on the arrest of yet another TV personality for suspected child abuse. | The Guardian, like other media, is regularly burdened by stories of men's abuse of women and children, but last Wednesday was an especially heavy day. The front page and an inside spread presented breaking news of the abduction, sequestration and rape of Amanda Berry and two other women in Cleveland, Ohio. A further page was filled by the trial of Mark Bridger in the case of the disappeared five-year-old April Jones and of Stuart Hazell for the alleged murder of his step-granddaughter. There was also a report on the arrest of yet another TV personality for suspected child abuse. |
| The editorials that day dealt with EU membership and press regulation. Important matters, yes. But what more would it take to prompt an editorial on the profound, extensive and costly problem of male sexual violence? It is not irremediable. Gendered behaviour is culturally shaped. It could be addressed by many social measures, if only policy-makers willed it. Meanwhile, it cries out for a responsible editorial assessment. Cynthia Cockburn and Ann Oakley London | The editorials that day dealt with EU membership and press regulation. Important matters, yes. But what more would it take to prompt an editorial on the profound, extensive and costly problem of male sexual violence? It is not irremediable. Gendered behaviour is culturally shaped. It could be addressed by many social measures, if only policy-makers willed it. Meanwhile, it cries out for a responsible editorial assessment. Cynthia Cockburn and Ann Oakley London |
| • Kira Cochrane says she would love to see more men getting involved in the conversation on male aggression and acts of violence (Men must speak up too, 9 May). I am happy to contribute by declaring that I abhor all violent and aggressive acts perpetrated by men who use their strength and power to subjugate others, usually women and children. I like to think that, if I became aware of any such behaviour, I would report it immediately and would doggedly pursue my role in securing the perpetrator's criminal conviction. | • Kira Cochrane says she would love to see more men getting involved in the conversation on male aggression and acts of violence (Men must speak up too, 9 May). I am happy to contribute by declaring that I abhor all violent and aggressive acts perpetrated by men who use their strength and power to subjugate others, usually women and children. I like to think that, if I became aware of any such behaviour, I would report it immediately and would doggedly pursue my role in securing the perpetrator's criminal conviction. |
| Where I disagree, however, is that, like most of the British public, I think that there should be anonymity for anyone accused of rape and violent crimes until a conviction is secured. The presumption of innocence is integral to British justice, and reputations and lives can be ruined by false accusations. Indeed, the temptation to invent stories about public figures will be particularly tempting to those simply seeking attention. I find myself watching with growing unease as public figures are being arrested and named without, as yet, having been convicted of any crime. Stuart Hall turned out to be guilty, but others may well prove not to be. The police and courts are, thankfully, now taking rape and child abuse seriously and this in itself should be reassuring enough for victims to come forward. We should not subject anyone who has an accusation made against them to trial by public opinion. Tim Matthews Luton, Bedfordshire | Where I disagree, however, is that, like most of the British public, I think that there should be anonymity for anyone accused of rape and violent crimes until a conviction is secured. The presumption of innocence is integral to British justice, and reputations and lives can be ruined by false accusations. Indeed, the temptation to invent stories about public figures will be particularly tempting to those simply seeking attention. I find myself watching with growing unease as public figures are being arrested and named without, as yet, having been convicted of any crime. Stuart Hall turned out to be guilty, but others may well prove not to be. The police and courts are, thankfully, now taking rape and child abuse seriously and this in itself should be reassuring enough for victims to come forward. We should not subject anyone who has an accusation made against them to trial by public opinion. Tim Matthews Luton, Bedfordshire |
| • I share Kira Cochrane's appalled reaction to the cases she outlined, as well as her marking of the seeming absence of men from the conversations around these issues. I think this absence is caused, at least in part, by the fact that many people read gender issues as women's issues. In my work I teach a course called Performing Masculinities, which has, as a core theme, the concept of gendered violence. The first task of the module, which I think is also the first task of getting men into the conversation, is a recognition of the role that cultures play in producing gendered violence: it is not simply a question of aberrant behaviour. Revealing the hegemonic gendered structures at play is the first step in getting men to speak out and, as Cochrane implies, to take a public stand. Dr Wallace McDowell School of Theatre and Performance Studies, University of Warwick | • I share Kira Cochrane's appalled reaction to the cases she outlined, as well as her marking of the seeming absence of men from the conversations around these issues. I think this absence is caused, at least in part, by the fact that many people read gender issues as women's issues. In my work I teach a course called Performing Masculinities, which has, as a core theme, the concept of gendered violence. The first task of the module, which I think is also the first task of getting men into the conversation, is a recognition of the role that cultures play in producing gendered violence: it is not simply a question of aberrant behaviour. Revealing the hegemonic gendered structures at play is the first step in getting men to speak out and, as Cochrane implies, to take a public stand. Dr Wallace McDowell School of Theatre and Performance Studies, University of Warwick |
| • Here we go again. Men bad, women good. Of course most men are upset by reports of the abuse and murder of young girls and boys by other men; the insinuation by Kira Cochrane that they don't care as much as women because they don't take to Twitter as often to express the obvious is ridiculous. As for Diane Andrewes (Letters, same day), I thought that the complicity of women in "honour" killings, genital mutilation, turning a blind eye to abuse and the supply of false alibis, to name but a few of that sex's imperfect actions, might have laid to rest the black-and-white ideas of the 1970s. And if she wants to see more women in power, she should persuade more of them to be actively involved. Jefrey G Pirie Totnes, Devon | • Here we go again. Men bad, women good. Of course most men are upset by reports of the abuse and murder of young girls and boys by other men; the insinuation by Kira Cochrane that they don't care as much as women because they don't take to Twitter as often to express the obvious is ridiculous. As for Diane Andrewes (Letters, same day), I thought that the complicity of women in "honour" killings, genital mutilation, turning a blind eye to abuse and the supply of false alibis, to name but a few of that sex's imperfect actions, might have laid to rest the black-and-white ideas of the 1970s. And if she wants to see more women in power, she should persuade more of them to be actively involved. Jefrey G Pirie Totnes, Devon |
| • What a fantastic article by Kira Cochrane – I felt as if she had been reading my mind. I too wonder why all the good men in the world do not come out and say something about the abuse and violence that so many women suffer at the hands of men. As a grandmother with three beautiful granddaughters, it makes me feel sad and angry. I have felt overwhelmed watching the horrific stories on the news this past week. | • What a fantastic article by Kira Cochrane – I felt as if she had been reading my mind. I too wonder why all the good men in the world do not come out and say something about the abuse and violence that so many women suffer at the hands of men. As a grandmother with three beautiful granddaughters, it makes me feel sad and angry. I have felt overwhelmed watching the horrific stories on the news this past week. |
| If the media, politicians and famous people spoke out and started to challenge the behaviour of some men, it might be a better and safer world for my granddaughters to grow up in. Joan Procter Worthing, West Sussex | If the media, politicians and famous people spoke out and started to challenge the behaviour of some men, it might be a better and safer world for my granddaughters to grow up in. Joan Procter Worthing, West Sussex |
| • If Kira Cochrane agrees with Joseph Harker that focusing on race doesn't help us to get to the bottom of cases of child abuse, in what way does focusing on men instead do any better, especially when she graciously concedes: "Most men clearly abhor male violence"? Far from wanting men to join in a conversation, she seems more concerned with insisting they condemn what she condemns, on her terms. Most men do not need feminist prompting or permission to display empathy for the victims of violence, or revulsion at the perpetrators – regardless of the gender of either. Derrick Cameron Stoke-on-Trent | • If Kira Cochrane agrees with Joseph Harker that focusing on race doesn't help us to get to the bottom of cases of child abuse, in what way does focusing on men instead do any better, especially when she graciously concedes: "Most men clearly abhor male violence"? Far from wanting men to join in a conversation, she seems more concerned with insisting they condemn what she condemns, on her terms. Most men do not need feminist prompting or permission to display empathy for the victims of violence, or revulsion at the perpetrators – regardless of the gender of either. Derrick Cameron Stoke-on-Trent |
| • Richard Horton says (Letters, 9 May) that police and social workers turned a blind eye to the grooming of girls by predominantly Pakistani men for fear of being accused of racism. If those men had been stealing as many cars as the number of young women they abused, or had been involved in as many incidents of shoplifting as the number of young women, I suspect the police would have pursued them and prosecuted them without any fear of racism. It was precisely because of the lack of respect for the victims that there was so little interest shown in pursuing the perpetrators. Aileen Nurse London | • Richard Horton says (Letters, 9 May) that police and social workers turned a blind eye to the grooming of girls by predominantly Pakistani men for fear of being accused of racism. If those men had been stealing as many cars as the number of young women they abused, or had been involved in as many incidents of shoplifting as the number of young women, I suspect the police would have pursued them and prosecuted them without any fear of racism. It was precisely because of the lack of respect for the victims that there was so little interest shown in pursuing the perpetrators. Aileen Nurse London |
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