page 10 WOMEN the other press page October 3 1977 Wife battering myths still rampant | Wife battering has gone on for centuries, but has only recently become recognized as a social problem because women are no longer accep ting abuse passively. As more and more women have come out of the closet with accounts of the horrors of rape and wife battery, social scientists have busied themselves about finding an explanation for the violence. With the ‘‘possible explana tions‘‘ that have filtered down into the literature have Rape law changes not enough by Colleen Glynn iRecent rape-related changes don‘t go tar enough, two Vancouver women have charged. Lynn Smith, a lawyer, and Shona Moore, a second year law student, told a Vancouver People‘s Law School course on Rape Law that the Sexual Offenses section of the Criminal Code must be rewritten. ‘Compared to other crimes like murder and common assault,‘‘said Moore, ‘‘rape is one of the easiest crimes to get away with.‘ While murder and common assault have conviction rates of 80 percent,‘‘ she conti nued, ‘‘rape has only a 40 percent conviction rate - and 10 to 15 percent of that are convictions on _ lesser charges. ‘‘ An amendment has already been made to the Sexual Offenses section which states that the sexual history of the complainant is not admissable evidence, unless the defence counsel gives reasonable notice of his in tent to question the complain ant on that point andcon vinces the judge that it is relevant to the case. Smith and Moore agreed that while the amendment was a step in the right_ direction to eradicate sexist also come a_ network of- myths. Myths associated with rape are increasingly being ex posed, but in the area of wife battery, research is recent and sporadic. Myths are still rampant. As with rape, the explan ation has been presented that wife battery is perpet rated byt sick men. The rebuttal of this myth is even more dramatic in the case of wife battery than rape, be cause men of every class, colour, religion and ethnic _ group beat their wives. Wife battery is also much more and antiquated laws, it didn‘t go far enough. “T cannot think of a single case where the complain ant‘s sexual history could be considered relevant, ‘‘Ms. Moore said. According to Ms. Smith, further amendments and deletions in the Sexual Offenses section are neces sary if they are to be relevant to modern society. “There is a whole subsec tion devoted to out-dated laws on the seduction of women under 21,‘‘ she said, “it only protects women of ‘of previously chaste charac ter‘ and provides no protec tion to men under 21. “Tt should be deleted and replaced by a law which prohibits sexual abuse and exploitation of all minors, male and female.‘ Smith went on to say that sentences under the section should be equalized and more realistic. ‘*A rape conviction carries a maximum of .life imprison ment,‘‘she stated,‘‘but the usual. sentence is under five years, and if it's a first offense, a suspended sen ’ tence is sometimes given.‘* “The law should not specify male or female in the Crimi nal Code,‘‘Smith said, ‘‘For indecent assault on a female, prevalent than rape. Even the FBI estimates wife bat tery to be at least three times as widespread as rape. Statistics from social and government agencies seem to indicate that wife battery is largely a problem of the lower income group. How ever, lower income people are more likely to end up at social service agencies, whereas middle and upper income groups are better able to keep the incidents quiet because they have the money to procure private assistance. Obviously, then, statistics have been biased. Women from every income bracket, with husbands from la bourers to judges and profes sional men, have come for ward with accounts of bat tering and many have sought refuge in transition houses. A second myth assumes that the frustation of unemploy ment and economic hard times cause wife battering. Economic hardship is a strain, but by no means does it cause wife battering. Men at the top of the economic structure hold a charac ‘teristic in common with those at the bottom:men in both categories beat their wives. This myth also assumes that as the financial picture brightens, battering dimi nishes - - - which is also not true.. Throughout patriarchal history, men have battered their wives in good times and bad. A third myth assumes that alcohol abuse causes wife bat tering. Alcohol abuse, until the maximum sentence is five years while indecent _ assault on a male carries a maximum sentence of ten years. There should be only one law on indecent assault and one maximum sent- ence, Smith and Moore both feel that public education on rape is necessary. “The law cannot be ex pected to function properly,‘ Smith said, ‘‘if social atti tudes do not change.“ Also working for new laws on rape and providing public education are the many Rape Relief centres across the country. From their beginnings as sources of support,infor mation and counselling to women who had been sexually assaulted, Rape Relief centres have estab lished a working rapport with the police, hospitals and courts. Comprehensive educational programs have also been established with speakers available for junior and sen ior high school classes, women‘s groups, community groups and service clubs. Through these programs, Rape Relief centres hope to educate the public about the many aspects of rape and why it exists. recently, has also been used as an excuse for rape. But alcohol is no longer accepted as a cause of rape; so it is also with wife battering. Many men are cold sober when they beat their wives. Some men drink to justify the battering. Other men drink and never beat their wives. As with rape, blame is traditionally placed on the already aching shoulders of the victim. The myth that women somehow cause the beating is still suggested. Although child abuse is ab horred by all and children are viewed as innocent vic tims, if the children and the wife are beaten by the same man, the woman is still assumed to have somehow been responsible for the attack. Freud and his following of psychiatrists are responsible for the myth that women like to be beaten; they perceive women as fundamentally masochistic and actually in need of abuse or hardship. This assumption would be laughable if fewer people took it seriously. The facts dispel the myth. Women who finally appear at transition houses have a long history of appealing for help from society through friends, relatives, police and social agencies. But because vir tually everyone avoids in volvement with domestic dis” __ It seem putes, the battered wife is left isolated and without any kind of assistance. It is often. assumed that battered women must not mind abuse because they Using mostly discussion group settings,the programs deal with the social conditio ning of women and how it has caused them to be- passive victims. They also discuss how tradi tional ideas about mascu linity contribute to the growing problem of rape. “They stress the positive principles of fighting back, endure it so many times and still remain with their hus bands. Yet, there are seve ral good reasons why these women do not or cannot leave. Many women have no money with which to leave. If wives have a husband to ‘“‘take care of them‘‘and separation proceedings have not begun,social service agencies are not interested in giving assistance. Another reason for remain ing in the same situation is fear of recrimination from the husband. Many women are hunted down by their husbands if they leave, and physical abuse can be worse if they are caught. Also, husbands have other roles than just batterers and the woman‘s emotional invol vement with her husband is often difficult to break. Many wives retain the hope that their husbands will stop battering them. About half of all homicides involve family members or close friends. Often, homi cide occurs without any pre vious signs of estrangement. And researchers have found that a man is most likely to attack his wife in aggravated assault, but the woman is more likely to be the attacker in homicide. . ems_thaj ; likely to endure abuse for a length of time and then react all at once by committing murder. Such a situation does not support the idea that women enjoy abuse. encouraging women to enroll in self-defense courses and give self-defense demonstra tions requiring audience part icipation. Rape Relief centres hope to see women becoming more assertive about their rights and rape victims feeling no more responsible for the crime that the victims of other violent crimes. at the woman is. San Francisco (Cup) --- Three U.S. legislators have introduced a bill in the house of Representatives author- “izing shelter and coun- selling services for victims of domestic violence. The bill, introduced by rep- resentatives James Howard, Newton Steers and Lindy Boggs, asks that $60 million in aid be provided for coun- selling services and shelters for battered wives or hus- bands. Howard has estimated that half the married women in the U.S. are abused to some degree and that 10 percent ane ar tr. ee badly battered.:: Bill for shelter Meanwhile, New Hamp- shire‘s status of wo- men commission has rejec- ted a proposal that would have aided battered wives in that state. The proposal, which called for shelters to be set up for women who felt threatened by domestic violence, was voted down after the com- missioners heard arguments that the women‘s movement is responsible for most wife beatings and that women bring the violence upon them -selves. One of the commissioners, Gloria Belzil, said in vetoing the proposal: ‘‘Those women libbers irritate the hell out of their husbands.’’