Chairperson

John Waters

PROGRAMME

Registration and Coffee
9.00 to 9.30 a.m

Official Opening

Colm Keane
Speaking Out.
9.30 a.m

Dr. Malcolm George FRSA
An overview of International and U.K. Research on Male Victims of Domestic Abuse.
10.00

Male Victims of Domestic Abuse as a Social, Community and Family Issue.
A policy statement from the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs
10.45

Refreshments.
11.15

Marie Murray
Men being bullied in the home.
11.30

Men’s Stories.
12.15

LUNCH
1.00 p.m – 2.00 p.m.

Ken Connolly BL.
Male victims of domestic – the legal perspective.
2.00 p.m

Male victims of Domestic Abuse as a Justice and Equality Issue.
A policy statement from Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.
2.45

Men’s Stories.
3.15

Mary T.Cleary
Presentation of recent Irish research survey.
3.45

The Speakers.

John Waters.

A Leading journalist with the Irish Times, John has recently been central in the growing debate about fathers and men in society.

Colm Keane.

Senior producer with RTE Radio1. Colm is an award winning journalist whose published books include, "Nervous Breakdown", "Death and Dying" and "The Stress Files"

FRSA Queen Mary and Westfield College, London University. Author of Aggression in British Heterosexual Relationships: A Descriptive Analysis and others.

Principal Clinical Psychologist and Head of the Psychology Department at St.Vincent’s Psychiatric Hospital and St. Joseph’s Adolescent Services, Dublin. She also lectures at UCD, DCU and the Mater Hospital, Dublin. She is co-author, with Colm Keane, of The Teenage Years and The ABC of Bullying.

Barrister-at-law Honourable Society of Kings Inns. Practices on the Dublin and Northern Circuits and deals mainly with Family Law cases.

Set up the AMEN helpline for male victims of domestic abuse in December 1997. Since then the helpline has been inundated with calls for information and support from men and their families.

• Human Resources; Union Representatives and Employee Assistance Officers.
• Health Professionals; Doctors; Social Workers; Psychiatrists; Psychologists and Nurses.
• Human Rights; Equality; Legal and Justice Professionals
• Men’s groups, Women’s groups and Family interest groups.
• Politicians and Public Officials, Local and National.
• Counsellors; Family Therapists and Mediators.
• Clergy and Charitable Societies.
• Educationalists; Sociologists; Social Researchers and Journalists.
• Voluntary Organisations.
• Social Welfare and Equality Personnel.
• Gardai; Defence Forces; Prison Officers and Probation Officers.
• Health and Safety Officers.

1. Following the founding of AMEN in December 1997 this formerly taboo subject has featured in many newspaper articles and radio and television programmes.
2. Domestic violence has traditionally been portrayed as a women’s issue, however recent evidence shows that many men are suffering silently in abusive relationships.
3. Culturally there has been a denial of the male victim and the invisible barriers, such as rejection, ridicule and disbelief, isolate him and make it difficult for him to speak out.
4. Domestic violence is a social issue affecting men, women and children. Addressing only part of the picture will continue to cause damage and create division within families.

Domestic Violence in Washington: 25,473 Men a Year
According to a Nov. 1998 Department of Justice report on the National Violence Against Women Survey, 1,510,455 women and 834,732 men are victims of physical violence by an intimate. In Washington, that's 42,824 women and 25,473 men. That includes 2,754 on whom a knife was used, 5,508 threatened with a knife and 11,016 hit with an object. Here are the data.

Help for Battered Men Practical suggestions, Hotline numbers, on-line resources. Print it out and hand it to a man you think may be battered--your caring opens him up to talking about it.

Men's Stories Here are some personal stories by battered men, and links to sites with more of them. The more we talk about it, the more we tell our stories, the more we increase public awareness that men are battered and encourage battered men to get the help they need. Send us your story, so we can post it here (anonymously, of course, unless you tell us differently.)

What's Wrong with the Duluth Model? The "Duluth Model" is the approach most widely used for perpetrator treatment--but it gender polarizes the "people problem" of domestic violence.. What's wrong with the Duluth Model? It blames and shames men. It's based on ideology, not science. It ignores drinking, drugs and pathology. Only one cause, only one solution. There's no real evidence it works. It ignores domestic violence by women. Women who need help can't get it. It's taught by wounded healers.

Latest Research Findings National Violence Against Women survey shows 37.5% of victims each year are men. Men are at real risk of serious physical injury. Murray A. Straus looks at controversies in DV research. Martin Fiebert examines reasons women give for assaulting men. JAMA emergency room study shows equal number of men, woman victims.