Venkat Raman
While women have been predominantly mentioned as victims of family violence, there is also an increasing number of incidents in which they have been perpetrators.
Although male victims are not high in numbers, many of them suffer brutality, physical and mental abuse in as intense a measure as some inflict pain on their female partners.
The Police regularly receive complaints from men that they have been subject to violence.
We report two recent cases that came to our attention.
‘Batly’ beaten
The first relates to a man from India, well-educated and employed in a commercial bank.
He would be seen often with bruises and wounds, inflicted by his wife, also a banker.
Last week, he called the Police and said that he had been badly beaten by his wife with a Cricket Bat. The Police said that the type of wounds inflicted on the man warranted criminal charges to be brought against his wife, but he refused.
“I do not wish to lodge a formal complaint. I do not want her to face legal action. I would prefer to seek a divorce,” he said.
Later he said that he suffers severe abuse including expletives from his wife and her parents living with them.
Another male victim
Another case involves a couple from Fiji, living in South Auckland.
According to the man, his wife used to ‘regularly beat him, abuse him and worse, take out her anger on her children.
“I finally left her in utter disgust. She is a heavy drinker and smoker and in her inebriated state, she is at her worst behaviour. I have separated from her but she still haunts me. I am tolerating these for the sake of our children,” he said.
Three years ago, a man from Punjab, living in Wellington, attempted suicide since his life had become stressful with beating and other forms of violence by his wife.
“My wife makes me do all the house work. She was born in New Zealand and hence considers herself as a ‘superior woman.’ She takes all my earnings and insults me in front of her parents and my friends. I doubt if the Police will believe me because women are generally victims. If this continues, I will end my life,” he said.
UN Study reveals
However, his friends rescued him and today, he leads a peaceful life, away from his wife.
According to a recent UN study, Egyptian women ranked first in the world for abusing and beating their husbands, followed by the United Kingdom and India.
National Buzz, news channel, said, “The bitter truth is the ignorant behaviour that we, as a society endure and neglect that even men, suffer in silence. There is a drastic need for a shift, since our society is usually more sympathetic and forgiving when it comes to women. While it is true that even women suffer a bad marriage, it should not be ignored that men are also at the receiving end.”
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