To Alison McKee,
 
It is very dangerous to say "Gee, something is not part of my own social
reality, therefore it doesn't exist."
 
Let's review some facts:
 
1) Violence against female spouses is a terrible problem, as noted by
the fact that over 90% of all violence reports to the police come
from women.
 
2) A growing body of literature on family violence indicates that women
are more likely than men to be initiators of the cycle of violence (that
is, they are the first ones to start hitting).
 
3) Violence by men toward women causes more damage to women than the
reverse, but ...
 
4) Women are more likely to use more extreme violence against men;  thus,
52% of all spousal murder victims are male.
 
Domestic violence is not just a male problem.  It is a problem for
both males and females.  To suggest that presenting *these* facts is
dangerous misses the point.
 
Rod Carveth
University of Bridgeport