How People Think Differently when a Woman or a Man Is Being Abused

The notion that women are weaker than men are causes the society to react differently when a man or a woman is the recipient of public violence. The society is quick to offer help when the woman is a victim of violence of any kind but the same vigor is not used when the man is the victim of violence. People are reluctant to help men because a man is expected to fight his battles and show strength. An experiment where people were allowed to watch a video of a man and a woman being victims of abuse and the reaction of the public in each of the incidences was used for the study. The population of the study comprised of people from different cultural backgrounds, different genders, and different age groups. The results indicate that the society believes that men are more likely to become abusers while women are more prone to victimization. However, the roles of gender in violence have changed and today women are becoming abusers while the number of male victims is rising by the day. It is, therefore, necessary for the societies of the world to change the narrative and the attitude shown to men who are victims of abuse.

How People Think Differently When a Woman or a Man Is Being Abused
Background of the Study
The traditional notion that women are the only victims of violence no longer holds water in the current generation. Abuse whether physical abuse, emotional abuse or intellectual abuse affect all genders today. Women have become quite assertive and willing to fight for their rights.

Issues of domestic violence where the man is the victim of the violence are reported every day in various institutions. However, regardless of the inversion of the gender roles, the society still sees women as the weaker gender and whenever domestic violence arises, it is easy for the society to think that the man is the offender that to conceive the idea of a woman being the offender (Miller, 2005). The aggressive nature of women in the society is seen as a psychological disorder and people would be quick to suggest help for a woman who abuses a man. Contrary, when a man abuses a woman, it is considered a premeditated act, and even of there were psychological issues, the society will be quick to disprove such claims as excuses because men are seen as abusers naturally.
Experiment
An online video was shown to a group of people to determine their reactions towards a woman or a man being assaulted. The video was taken in a natural environment and the public in the video show two different kinds of reaction depending on who was being accused. When the man was a victim, people watched from a distance and even appeared to like it. It was more of an entertainment to the people. On the other hand, when the woman was a victim, the people gathered around to help. A woman from the audience even confronted the man who was assaulting the woman. The group was to watch the video and give their opinions.

Method
Thirteen people between the ages of 18 to 54 were used in the study. The study population included members from three ethnic groups including the whites, the African-Americans, and Latinos. Five of the thirteen people were male while eight of the population comprised of female respondents. Each person answered seven questions three of which were demographic information questions. The first two of the last four questions asked the probability of a man or woman being an offender or a victim. The last two were comparative questions where the participants were asked if watching the video had an effect on their thinking and feelings.
Results
On the question about who is most likely to be a victim between a man and a woman, six of the respondents said women, five said both and two said men were prone to victimization. On the question of who is likely to be an offender, eleven respondents said men, one said women, and another one said both men and women. When asked if the video had changed their minds, nine said no and four of the participants said yes. Lastly, when asked about how they felt after seeing the video, ten of the respondents indicated negative feelings such sad and anger, two of the respondents said their feelings were neutral and one indicated that she was happy.
Discussion
Feelings of sympathy, disgust, and anger arise in the society when a woman is abused especially in public. People would be quick to run into aid of a woman who is being a victim of violence in the family. In fact, organizations have come up with programs that help women who have gone through abuse of any kind to recover. These organizations help the women to pursue legal solutions to their situations especially those involved in domestic violence. Moreover, neighbors within a society are more likely to offer shelter to a woman who is being abused by a man, which is not typical when the roles are reversed. Very few programs are coined to help men overcome the trauma of abuse because the society does not believe that men can be victims of violence without having a contributing hand in the issue (Vandenhole, 2005). Especially, men who are abused by women are disrespected by the society and seen as weak people who cannot defend themselves. In addition, it is easy for the society to see the mistakes of the man who is being abused than see the abuser as the wrong party. In case such issues happen in the public, people will stand and watch the man being abused without showing any kind of remorse. If anything, people see this as an entertainment act and can tweet about it for weeks in a humorous way or use the incidence to scold men who appear weak.
The changes in the reaction of the people when a man or a woman is being abused depend on several issues. First, the mental state of the woman; if the society believes that woman is sober; the people will be reluctant to help. Women are not violent in nature; therefore, the choice of a woman to abuse a man and act violently towards the man shows that the act is justifiable. As a result, people fail to assist in any way to allow the woman achieve her justice. Further, the society sees the act of a woman abusing a man as a good thing since most of the times, women suffer in silence when the men in their lives continue to inflict pain (Cook, 2009). The act of women abusing men is an indication that the society is coming of age and the women are taking back their power to manage and control their lives.
On the other hand, the society reacts differently when a man is the abuser of another man. Although they still will not help, they show compassion for the weaker man. In this case, they accuse the offender man of the crime and they might choose to help the victim a little by either taking him to the hospital or offering first aid in case the victim is injured (Staudinger & Ortbals, 2013). The victim, however, is seen as weak and unable to handle his affairs. Feelings of disrespect for the man being abused can arise among the society in the case of public violence.
The view of women as weak and in need of help causes people to show sympathy and concern when a woman is being abused in public or in private spaces such as homes. On the other hand, because men are considered strong and able to fight their battles, people often show less concern when a man is the victim of violence. Additionally, few programs exist to help men cope with abuse in comparison to the numerous organizations that shelter women. The unwillingness of men to accept that they are victims of abuse continues to interfere with how the society takes a matter of abuse in relation to different genders.

References
Cook,W. (2013). Abused men: the hidden side of domestic violence. Westport, Conn: Praeger.
Miller, S. (2005). Victims as offenders: the paradox of women’s violence in relationships. New Brunswick, N.J: Rutgers University Press.
Staudinger, L. & Ortbals, C. (2013). Terrorism and violent conflict: women’s agency, leadership, and responses. New York: Springer.
Vandenhole, W. (2005). Non-discrimination and equality in the view of the UN human rights treaty bodies. Antwerpen Holmes Beach, Fla: Intersentia Distribution for North America by Gaunt.