Is the GBV fight discriminatory?(Men suffer in silence)

Statistics of growing domestic violence cases against men are growing alarmingly fast. 16 men were murdered by their wives between January and August 2011 while 21 committed suicide because of their spouses and other domestic issues. Some cases were linked to disputes over sharing family property. And in 2010, 17 men were killed by their spouse or lover, while 14 reported cases of physical abuse by women, according to statistics at the gender desk of the Police. This week, I asked someone about his views on GBV and without hesitation, he defined it as violence against women – going ahead to state how many cases of this crime he’d heard of. Society has fixated its focus on defenseless women that the mention of a man beaten by his wife is actually ludicrous. It is no secret either that support granted to GBV cases is in fact support for women being beaten up by their husbands. The saddest part is that men suffering at the hands of their violent wives, keep their misery to themselves, not out of fear of their wives, but fear that society will mock them. And who can blame them; even though most men will never raise a fist to a woman (not for lack of energy I can assure you), it is quite strange to find a man whose wife makes Floyd Mayweather’s boxing skills look like swimming lessons. I must also acknowledge that it’s not only because activists or governments are not doing enough but because men shy away from the truth. They have now resorted to silence as anything that will make them look less of a man is not an option. In 2009 when singer Chris Brown hit his then girlfriend, also singer, Rihanna, the world threw a fit and understandably so – who beats Rihanna? Just kidding. Anyway, Brown got his share of punishment and lost credibility as the sweet boy people thought he was. However, just recently, rap mogul Jay Z lost his credibility after a video leaked showing him being kicked and slapped by his sister-in-law, Solange. She is the little sister to superstar Beyonce. And while no one knows what triggered the fight as there was no audio, Jay Z became the joke of the internet, with photos, posts and what have you all making fun of him. Jay Z was a true gentleman. Instead Solange kicked and threw her hands at him like she was possessed. To make fun of that tells me that the world does not see just how wrong that is – and that’s the disturbing part. We need to fight this war fairly, for the brothers out there suffering with women who do not have the sense to be civil. Only then can we truly call it gender equality.