By Paul Waldmiller
Did you know that according to the CDC, 40% of all domestic violence cases across America are male victims?
It is Domestic Violence Awareness Month across the United States and here in Florida as well. According to Philip Cook, author of the book, Everything You Know Is Wrong, “Despite many findings that show almost equal amounts of abuse perpetrated against men and women, the media and government focus the most attention on the female victims of domestic violence.”
Cook also stated in his book that “men who do not report physical violence are more likely to be ridiculed-both by law enforcement and by the public-than women are.”
In 1994, Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act. Billions of tax dollars have been allocated to states to incarcerate men who perpetrate violence against their female partners. However, there is no money allocated for men when they become victims of abuse at the hands of their female partners despite forty-percent of domestic violence victims being males.
Some states such as California and Arkansas have a men’s shelter in place for male victims of domestic violence. Currently, Florida is not listed as one of those states.