>From: "J. R. Molloy" <jr@shasta.com>
>Subject: Re: sex based studies on violence...
>Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2000 12:38:22 -0800
>
>Doug Jones wrote,
> >Can you clarify what form of child abuse these stats relate to, physical
>or sexual? I suspect that there is a large gender difference in the
>perpetrators, with the majority of child sexual abuse being at the hands of
>males.
>
>These stats refer to all abuse. Of course, identical forms of abuse may get
>recorded as "sexual" abuse when a man does it, and "physical" abuse when a
>female does it. Furthermore, the general public tends to perceive abuse by
>men
>as more serious than identical abuse by females, which may partly explain
>why
>females comprise only 3% of those in prison for this crime, despite the
>fact
>that females commit twice as much child abuse as do men.
>
>--J. R. Molloy
>http://www.ncncfm.8m.com
>
I recall that my father, a major disciplinarian who took his army experience
as the model for how a family should be structured, was really quick with a
slap if I "mouthed off," but would be appalled at seriously injuring me or
any child, I'm certain. My mother, on the other hand, an early elementary
teacher by profession, once took virtually all the skin off my back, going
through an entire large stack of fresh pine boughs in the process.
My sin was that I forgot that I wasn't supposed to leave the yard. My
mother thought that I was faking having poison ivy lesions on my fingers in
order to avoid piano practice, which she forced me to endure for years,
although I had no talent and a cut nerve in one hand that precluded me from
ever being really good. So she punished me by forbidding me from leaving
the yard. But I forgot and wandered over to the neighbors.
But... she didn't have the advantage of piano lessons when she was a kid, by
God! So I had better be grateful - or else. My dad found me with my entire
back covered in blood and bandaged it.
... It is common in many primitive societies to let the women torture the
captives, as they are both better at it than men and also seem to enjoy it
more.
... I also recall that on the half-dozen or so times that I have been
seriously in danger of being murdered (I live a somewhat strenuous life..)
it was always a woman, usually trying to convince some man to do it for her.
A couple of times, however, it was the woman herself. I can't recall ever
initiating any violence against a woman, however.
It's also worth noting that the sexual crimes against minors for which men
are often incarcerated would not be crimes in other jurisdictions. Often
they are purely based on arbitrary age limits. On rare occasions, women
have been prosecuted for the same offences, but I suspect that the
percentages are in line with the other stats quoted in this thread.
... Then there are the gay bars that I used to see a bit of as a cab driver
in the '70's and mid'80's. The lesbian bars were ten times as violent as
the gay mens bars.
o'well - the point, I believe, has been made. The same culture, however,
that puts people in cages for years for using the wrong inebriate, that
ignores a male prison rape rate much higher than the total number of rapes
committed against women throughout society, is not likely to recognize these
kinds of truthes until it hits them in the pocketbook, as M.L.King realized.
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