Re: It’s not just women who suffer abuse, March 12
It is unfortunate that Centretown News did not speak with someone who actually works in a partner assault response program prior to publishing the above article.
PAR programs, guided by values of respect and empathy, work with the entire person. That includes addressing issues of childhood victimization if it has occurred; individually; in group sessions or through referral to other agencies.
Rick Goodwin, who last worked in Ottawa’s PAR Program almost two decades ago, is unqualified to offer critical comments about how a PAR program operates in 2010.
It is therefore profoundly inaccurate that Mr. Goodwin alleges that “A PAR program does not work with subjective experience of men.” Our clients would dispute this, as the following few comments illustrate.
•“I appreciated letting us freely share our experiences with abuse whether we were the abuser or were being abused.”
•“I found our class was great! We all spoke as a family. I myself opened up a lot and even helped others out.”
As Dr. Holly Johnson pointed out in the companion article, “Statistics can mislead,” the information contained in the 2004 General Social Survey (and elsewhere) makes it clear that men’s violence against their female partners is more frequent, more dangerous, more lethal and has more physical, emotional, medical and economic consequences than women’s violence against men.
It is for this reason that Goodwin’s suggestion that “Ontario really needs to provide a similar service (a system of shelters) for men who are victims of domestic violence,” is ill-advised and unnecessary. It is a political statement; not one that is supported by evidence.
Mark Holmes,
New Directions Partner Assault Response Program,
Catholic Family Service Ottawa