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Home  News Most Men Will Support Efforts to Prevent Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault
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Most Men Will Support Efforts to Prevent Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault |
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June 7, 2007
From the Family Violence Prevention Fund
More than half of men think it is very or fairly likely that, at some point in their lives, they will know a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault, and most are willing to take action to raise awareness, help victims, and promote healthy, violence-free relationships, according to a poll released in Washington on Thursday. Issued in time for Father’s Day, the poll was conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates for the Family Violence Prevention Fund, with support from Verizon Wireless.
The poll was released at a Roundtable on Capitol Hill featuring Senator Tom Harkin (IA), Macy’s West Chairman and CEO Robert Mettler, New York Giants Wide Receiver Amani Toomer and his father, Donald, of the Oakland School System, who is a survivor of family violence, as well as DC United Soccer CEO Kevin Payne. Peter D. Hart Research Associates President Geoff Garin discussed the poll. Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Ron Adrine, who chairs the Family Violence Prevention Fund’s Board of Directors and youth activist Rafael Suarez of Men Can Stop Rape also spoke. Derek McGinty of WUSA-TV moderated the Roundtable.
From L-R: Donald Toomer with son, Amani Toomer, NY Giants Wide Receiver, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Judge Ron Adrine, Robert Mettler, Macy's West CEO, and Derek McGinty attend a Family Violence Prevention Fund's event on the hill. June 7, 2007.
“The poll points us in the right direction,” Senator Harkin said. “We need more strong male role models to spread messages about healthy relationships – and those role models are sitting at this table.”
“Across the board, men want more done to stop domestic violence and sexual assault,” said Verizon Wireless President and CEO Lowell McAdam. “Men are ready to do their part by talking to the next generation, donating wireless phones to help victims, and more. Verizon Wireless will continue its commitment to stop violence, and encourages men – and women – to take action.”
Poll Results
According to the poll, 56 percent of men – and 60 percent of those age 18 to 34 – have reason to believe a member of their immediate or extended family, a close friend or acquaintance has been in a domestic violence or sexual assault situation. More than half (57 percent) think they can personally make at least some difference in preventing violence, and 73 percent think they can make at least some difference in promoting healthy, respectful, non-violent relationships.
And, it finds, men are taking action. Two in three fathers (68 percent) have talked to their sons about the importance of healthy, violence-free relationships, and 63 percent have talked to their daughters. Fifty-five percent of the men surveyed have talked to other boys who are not their sons.
“There has been a sea change in men’s attitudes toward domestic, dating and sexual violence, and especially in their willingness to take action to stop it,” FVPF President Esta Soler said. “That’s one reason domestic violence has been declining in this country. But it’s still a tremendous problem. We need many more individuals and institutions to get involved. We are asking Congress to fully fund the Violence Against Women Act, and the sports, business and other communities to step up and do their part. It is within our reach to dramatically reduce violence against women, but we all need to be part of the solution. That so many men say they are willing to act gives us real hope.”
According to the new poll:
# Two-thirds of men (67 percent) say domestic violence and sexual assault are very or fairly common in the United States. Just 15 percent of men (and just 12 percent of young men) say it is not likely that, at some point, a woman or girl they know will be a victim.
# Seven in ten men are willing to talk to children about healthy relationships (up from 55 percent in a poll conducted in 2000) and an equal proportion are willing to donate old wireless telephones to programs that help victims and prevent violence. Two-thirds say they would sign a pledge; an equal number would sign a petition or contact lawmakers about the issue.
# Men give no institutions high marks for doing enough to raise awareness and address domestic violence and sexual assault. More than 60 percent say the sports and entertainment industries, government, school and colleges, the news media and businesses should do more.
# 87 percent want employers to provide information for victims, 83 percent want employers to adopt policies to help victims, 77 percent want supervisors and managers to be trained to support victims, and 72 percent want employers to provide resources to employees on how to talk to children about healthy, violence-free relationships.
Leaders Respond
“Our stores and offices are based in communities where violence against women and children occurs every day,” said Mettler. “Some of our 40,000 employees go home each night to threats and violence; some live in fear for their lives and their children’s lives; and sometimes the harassment, stalking and violence follow them to work. Macy’s West is doing something about it. We are educating managers in every store to recognize signs of abuse in employees and encouraging them to respond quickly. We are asking each of our 193 stores to work with a local domestic violence agency to help victims, and encouraging our stores to give back to domestic violence agencies through employee education and volunteer programs.”
“I know from personal experience that boys look up to athletes, and that – whether we like it or not – athletes like me are role models on and off the field,” said New York Giant Amani Toomer. “We make a difference when we encourage boys to treat others, particularly women, with respect.” Toomer said that he learned to respect women from his father, and called his Dad his “greatest role model.”
Donald Toomer discussed the trauma he experienced as a child when his father battered his mother, and his work in the Oakland public school system. “We need to address the way some boys act, the disrespectful language and the play fighting,” he said. “We need to talk to young men and women, and we need to start at an early age.”
DC United Soccer CEO Kevin Payne added, “The poll says that men do not think the sports industry is doing enough to raise awareness and address domestic violence and sexual assault. I hope that men will do a better job of influencing the sports teams they follow.”
As the event drew to a close, youth activist Rafael Suarez directed his remarks at youth from Cesar Chavez High School in Washington, D.C, who joined the Roundtable. “Young people can give back to the community and do something positive.” Suarez then addressed the advocates, Congressional staff and representatives of the business and sports communities, “It’s not what we say here today – it’s what we do when we leave that matters.”
From April 23 to May 3, 2007, Hart Research conducted this national survey for the Family Violence Prevention Fund and Verizon Wireless among a representative sample of 1,020 American men age 18 and over. The margin of error for this survey is + 3.1 percentage points. For more information on the poll visit www.endabuse.org/07menspoll and www.verizonwireless.com/surveyresults.
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