LEXINGTON, Ky. (FOX 56) — When people think of domestic violence, they often visualize the image of a distressed woman. However, women aren’t the only victims of domestic violence.
On Monday in Lexington, Lasielle White was arrested after police said they responded to a domestic violence incident involving a weapon. A citation revealed White stabbed her husband with a kitchen knife and slashed the tires of his car.
“People tend to think that men couldn’t be victims. Where I think we talk a whole lot about female survivors, not so much about male survivors,” Executive Director Darlene Thomas said.
This is an opportunity to shed light on issues faced by men that typically lie in the shadows of society. One of these issues is intimate partner violence against men. GreenHouse17 in Lexington said this topic isn’t brought to the forefront enough.
“There are absolutely male victims, probably underreported in some ways,” Thomas said.
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Statistically, women are more likely to be abused by men in a relationship. But intimate partner violence does not discriminate.
“Victims come in all shapes, sizes, backgrounds, economic backgrounds, religious faith, gender, race, I do think there’s an extra layer of this societal expectation that, oh, they make light of, oh, men couldn’t be abused,” Thomas said.
The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence reports more than 800,000 men are abused by an intimate partner each year. Women are 7 to 14 times more likely to report domestic violence than men. This underreporting is possibly due to stereotypes regarding men.
“Oh, he must be weak. Oh, you know, that kind of mentality really, I think, further shuts down. matter how you identify if you’re a primary victim of intimate partner violence,” Thomas said.
Just as women have long fought to be believed when they report abuse men face a similar fight and similar biases and prejudices.
GreenHouse17 is one of several domestic violence programs in Lexington.
“Our organization provides all those services from shelter. We have a 24-hour crisis line. We have emergency shelter. We provide a kind of case management support, housing advocacy,” Thomas said.