Posts by Carolyn Skelton
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There may be some element of chance, at least in some cases. But people who have worked with and/or studied domestic violence have identified some common patterns. These include increasing escalation in the level of violence, for instance, so that a very violent incident usually follows incidences of lesser violence. This is not chance. It involves a pattern of behaviour, usually incorporating attempts to control the behaviour of the victim.
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/svaw/domestic/link/lethality.htm
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A big issue for me is to do with the law and that it should be applied equally. It bothers me that many violent offenders with little money and/or little powerful contacts go to jail for domestic violence. In contrast it seems that wealthy white guys can buy their way out of a similar situation.
How does this help to lessen violence in NZ?
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Then solution, then Sacha, would be to make all men watch the match on Prime (as I do). Since the beginning of the tri-nations they've extended the time it takes to broadcast a match. This meanS more time for commercials. They went to a break about a minute before the end, leaving us waiting to see if Carter could do the droppy. But the extended breaks are enuff to deaden any stimulation, win or lose.
For myself, I was a little disappointed in the result. But as I thought it was all going to be over once Williams went off, the rise in effort and skill from the youngsters made for an exciting match.... and positive for the future.
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So, what's to be one then to make the world a better place with respect to domestic violence?
Should the be changes to the law? To legal and/or police procedures/systems? To media rights to report on domestic violence cases?
Both the Veitch case, the allegations of sexual assault by England rugby players and statements by representatives of refuges seem to highlight real problems in the system: many victims of DV prefer not to make charges because they feel they will be put on trial in court and have their reputations damaged in public.
And now it seems that Kristin Dunne-Powell did go to the police eventually (though at least 6 months after the alleged incident), but decided against making a formal complaint. And it seems that Veitch only told his employers there might be a problem after this and before a settlement was reached.
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What's also strange is that the incident apparently occurred in 2006, yet Veitch didn't talk to his employers about it til Dec 2007. And he made the pay-out to his ex after that.
And yes, I agree, Sofie, that Veitch should just own up.
This case also highlights how it's easy for guys with money to avoid legal punishment for domestic violence, and to keep the middle-class statistics low for such crimes.
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I have been trying to check how much the physical conflict that is part of rugby has an influence on domestic/intimate violence. So far I haven't found any (I spent some time online last night looking for such "academic" evidence). There is evidence of some cultural attitudes associated with rugby in NZ being related to some incidences of domestic violence. But from my experience, it doesn't seem that much different from some cultural attitudes and violent behaviours associated with the "beautiful" hearts non-violent game of soccer in the UK. And in my experience not all rugby followers participate in that kind of culture.
I grew up in a very rugby-centred family. I did not experience or hear about any violence within my family, or within other families or groups I came into contact with at rugby games and clubs. I did get pretty annoyed with some sexist attitudes and double standards (of the "slag" versus "stud" kind). But I've seen some improvement since then - at least amongst the male rugby supporters I know. And in my time living in England I saw some thuggish and misogynistic soccer supporters. And I saw some young boys seeming to mimic such behaviour in quite violent ways, including some sexual harassment of young girls.
The main evidence that I found online relating to rugby, was of reports from women's refuges of an increase in domestic violence after NZ and/or local teams lost a rugby match. But the evidence doesn't show the nature of that relationship: i.e. between rugby losses and domestic violence. Though, it looks more likely to me that it's as much cultural cause/influence as something inherent to the physicality of rugby.
I also looked to see how much Veitch was involved in playing rugby. I found no evidence of him playing any sport - he just seems to like to hang out with guys who do, and to exert his influence/power verbally. After extensive searching, all I could find was evidence of his journalistic background, plus a 2nd example of him making a racist comment about an African American tennis player. So it seems to me, if rugby had any influence on his violent behaviour, it was from the particular culture of rugby that he has most contact with - and that culture is not one that some of us rugby followers have any contact with.
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And then there's this...........
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P2-12023903.html
Sunday Star Times:
Date: December 26, 2004| Author: BOLAND, Mary Jane |
BROADCASTER TONY Veitch is under fire for calling an African American tennis player "the world's ultimate golliwog".
Veitch was interviewing James Blake - who is coming to Auckland for next month's Heineken Open - on Friday, when he asked why the popular player had cut off his dreadlocks."You were the world's ultimate golliwog . . . now look at you, you're bald," Veitch said on his Radio Sport breakfast show.
The Sunday Star-Times was contacted by people concerned at V...
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Thanks for posting that article, Craig. It is an interesting read.
The anti-romantic grittiness of BSG and the way it references post Sept 11 2001 US politics in a complex way. In season 1 it seem to be taking a Bushite line with an anti-democratic militaristic authoritarian command, against the evil cylons. But in season 2 it seemed to shift to resisting some of that, by accentuating some of the human qualities in cylons, equating prejudice against them with Islamophobia, and promoting democracy within a society under threat of extinction.
And this weeks C4 ep we were sympathetically shown a human suicide bomber as a justifiably desperate measure to resist violent imperialistic oppression. Also Adama seems to have over-come his dislike of cylons so that he's treating a cylon as a confident. meanwhile many human collaborators have sided with the nastier cylons.
I suspect it's the sort of show that raises political discussions, while it could be interpreted as supporting a left or right wing philosophy (much like the production and mixed reception of the lesbian subtext in Xena).
I find the mix of music and graphics (especially in the signature sequence near the beginning of each ep), achingly beautiful - a kind of nostalgic yearning.
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I can't wait for tomorrow night! I knew that Torchwood and season 3 BSG would finally get to FTA TV. BSG is my favourite show in recent years, and I just don't understand why other lesser programmes have had a more favourable showing on NZ TV e.g. Bionic Woman, Cashmere Mafia, endless CSI derivatives....
And I am one who still watches TV. Some of us can't really afford the kind of internet connection that would allow for lots of TV downloading. As a recently ex-grad student with debts, any savings are worth it. And most stuff eventually gets to FTA TV (or my local library at a reasonable rental charge).
In these times when some folks are struggling to pay the bills and/or buy food, I don't think it can be assumed everyone gets their TV from the Internet or bought DVDs, and that "no-one" watches FTA broadcast TV any more.
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If there's truth to the stories that the truck protest was planned before King's announcement of RUC rises, then it seems that the owners of truck businesses are gearing up for a major challenge from rail, and that the protest was the first stage.
But given that rail is looking like the future, I found it strange there were no reports of people crowding onto trains to get to work this morning. I was watching for such reports as I usually travel to Britomart from West Auckland, and was looking for the best time to leave home.
With no info, I went into Britomart late morning. It was all very un-crowded, and quiet when I got into the city. If I hadn't been following the news, I would never have known a protest had happened.
So, it seems loads of workers chose to stay home because driving to work was to much hassle, rather than take the train? I don't get it. The train's cheaper, and less stressful as long as one allows for possible delays.
And all the news reports focused on the roads and possible or actual gridlock. No interest in the alternatives??? Even though the alternative is the ghost in the machine that's probably the motivation for the protests.