Domestic violence--Haven't men always hit women?

late last week I was asked a question by a friend and while I


 was at a friends place we talked about it, at that time I could not 


hold thoughts

and i need an answer to it. The 


Question was....

Haven't men always hit women?

To me It's hard to measure whether anything like domestic violence has always taken place. We do know we are a part of a patriarchal, anti-woman system. Most major cultures in our world today, and over the past 3,500 years, have tolerated men beating women under specific conditions. We see evidence of men physically controlling women in the Bible and other places. Evidence of women's suppression is portrayed in the morays, folkways, and laws of societies throughout the Christian and Islamic eras.

There is a MYTH which seems to have begun due to this type of physical control. The MYTH was that "a man could not beat his wife with a stick wider than the length of his thumb" - What is inferred from this myth is that there should be a limit on how you could control your woman, however as long as you worked within the limit, it was okay.

Although there has been a long history of violence against women in most cultures, there are cultures in the Pacific Islands, Central Africa and other parts of the world where there hasn't been much violence against women. 

What do you think Haven't men always hit women?

John: well While it is generally true that men are -on average- stronger physically by women (no that is not a sexist comment it is simply how nature made most of us) many men hold the principle of not "hitting girls". I do however know there are exceptions aplenty there too, resulting in domestic violence.

I also know however of women that are so dominating and neurotic that lead men into depression or even in some cases suicide. For them the infamous "nail-slap" and "vase-tossing" is all too natural.

Danny having the guts & the knowledge to state the facts. BTW, Statistical Abstract of US 1987; 57-61% of reported child abuse perpetrated by moms. 1988, Daly & Wilson/Canada reported 54% of child murders by moms. Another study by Stress, Gellar & Steinmetz, 1980 found violence seemed 2 b about even bewteen husbs & wives except for pushing & shoving. Steinmetz went on to say that the most unreported crime was not wife beating--it's husband beating.

Mr. Brown: this is about abuse,  if your son was beaten senseless by a woman and he did not defend himself becuase 'a man should never hit a woman', how would you feel? Would you tell your son that he must have deserved it? or that his feelings or personal safety is nothing compared to a woman's?or would you just beat him yourself? Abuse is wrong NO MATTER WHO THE VICTIM IS!! Get your head's out of your fucking ass's! 

William:  I believe in equality. I was told of a woman hitting a man, *With The Intention Of Hurting Him* and he hit her back. *With The Same Intent* Personally, i didn't care. I saw her black eye, and all i could say was "Women and Men are Equals now, you hit him with the intention to do him harm, i feel for you what i would feel for another man in your position... No pity." Suddenly i'm a bad guy? Equality has no excuses. You want equality? you get all of it,

Rocky: am up for equality, but damn! if u wont defend urself as a man in an abusive relationship, WALK OUT OF IT! get a restraining order! what it means to be a MAN is rising above emotional turmoil and doing what is right, not drowning in feelings and suffering. Thats why ur the "MAN" in the relationship.

P.S I will restrain my woman if she tries stabbing, poisoning, hitting or burning me, because am a MAN!!!

Sarah: "Domestic violence causes far more pain than the visible marks of bruises and scars. It is devastating to be abused by someone that you love and think loves you in return. It is estimated that approximately 3 million incidents of domestic violence are reported each year in the United States.” I will continue to be a voice for domestic violence..Because I know there is so many others out there that have no where to turn to..but believe me if you just hold on and don't give up tomorrow will be a better day!!


 Fatmata: This hit uncomfortably close to home. I've recently got out of an abusive relationship, and honestly part of me wishes I had this talk about 6 months ago so I suffered less. Mine was mostly psychological abuse, but it got worse towards the end and he hurt me a couple of times. This is when I received my wake up call and left; I'm so glad I did, with the help of my friends. Hearing that phone call made me want to cry out of shock of what would've been my future if I hadn't sought for help.

well the subject is a hard on to deal with, The hard facts are, she is not likely to get it to stop. A woman involved in a threatening, intimidating, or violent relationship, has to make a decision about whether she's going to seek help. It's easy to tell women, "call the police!" Since assault is against the law, she has the right to protection. If the abuser continues to harass her, the next steps would be to get a restraining order, and go to a shelter.

To seek good, proper help, a great first step is to call a Shelter Hot-Line in your area. They can talk to you by telephone on how to get started in the right direction; as it pertains to your situation. The same is true if you yourself are the one who's doing the battering. If there is not a local number for Batterer's Services or Shelters in your community, then you should call the 24 hour Battered Women’s Hotline 1(800)500-1119. Most major and small cities have more than one Hot-Line and support groups. For folks in rural areas though, the National Hotline number can help you start the process of seeking help.

Every month in the US, more than 50,000 women seek restraining or protection orders, but they don't always help. We can tell women to seek help, however, it can be hard to do.We need to continue writing and promoting issues of battered women and the help they need.