DEAR ABUSIVE GIRLFRIEND - CHRISTINELEE314 ��

Think about   and you think of women, battered by their husband, boyfriend, or a man they used to involved with. Now, think again. Every year in the U.S., about 3.2 million men are the victims of an assault by an intimate partner. Most assaults are of a relatively minor nature such as pushing, shoving, slapping or hitting, though many are more serious - and some end in homicide.

Abused men are not necessarily smaller or physically weaker than the women who abuse them. Abused men often do not use their greater size or strength to hurt their abusive partners even when they are being hurt.

Men often suffer physical   in silence because they are afraid that no one will believe them or take them seriously. In fact, some men who do try to get help find that they are mocked and ridiculed. No one would even think of telling a battered woman that getting beaten by her husband wasn’t a big deal, but people often don’t think twice about saying that to a battered man. Many men are too embarrassed to admit that they are being abused.

Traditional gender roles also confuse the matter. A "real man" is expected to be able to "control" his wife. Aside from the embarrassment over admitting abuse, abused men may feel that they are somehow less of a man for "allowing" themselves to be abused. But just like abused women are told when they suffer physical violence, abuse is never the victim's fault. This is no less true just because the victim happens to be male.

Take the violence seriously.  Don't hit back.  Don't keep it a secret. Speak out about your experience as a   of abuse. Perhaps domestic violence would no longer be perceived as merely a woman's issue.