One in three women in the United States has been a victim of physical violence by an intimate partner, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. When thinking of domestic violence, people commonly think of a man abusing a woman.
However, one in four men has been a victim of physical violence by an intimate partner in the United States. Naya Rivera, former “Glee” star, was arrested for allegedly assaulting her husband, Ryan Dorsey, in West Virginia.
According to the Daily Mail, Rivera allegedly struck Dorsey in the head and face which left minor injuries. Rivera was arraigned and released on 1,000-dollar bond.
According to The National Domestic Violence Hotline, an average of 24 people every minute are the victims of rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States.
“I think that it is different when you hear about a woman hitting a man because the opposite is more commonly talked about. So, when it is in the news of a woman hitting a man you think about it in a different way,” Danielle Basile, sophomore early education major, said.
After the incident happened Dorsey sent out a tweet saying, “This is a difficult time for everyone in the family especially for Naya and I. This isn’t some reality show, this is our life, and I ask everyone especially ‘the media’ please respect our privacy and treat us/this situation how you would want a loved one to be treated.”
“When I think about the man being the victim, the first thing that I think of is what did he do first to make it get that far. It is not the best way to think, but that is where my mind goes first,” Basile said.
Men particularly might decide to not report domestic violence to authorities because they do not want to be labeled as the instigator or not believed, according to Domestic Shelters.
“Our society is set up for there to be no outlet for men to go to,” Tommie Wilkins, violence against women on campus grant coordinator, said.
“My mother sat me and my brother down and explained to us that a lot of women abuse men. They physically abuse them because they think it’s okay and ‘boys can’t hit girls,’ but it’s not okay and we don’t have to take it,” Tarrell Clark, a psychology major, said.
No matter woman or man, everyone deserves respect and no one should feel that they cannot talk to someone because of embarrassment.
“We keep making excuses for women abusers and saying they must have underlying issues but in reality, they are just an abuser,” Wilkins said.
“Men are held at a standard to be strong and women to be weak, so if a woman ever holds more power, it’s embarrassing to the man, so they, in turn, hide it,” Guadalupe Mendez, political science major, said.
