The ABC reports that some men are uncomfortable with the focus on ‘gendered violence’. And that they should…

The ABC reports that some men are uncomfortable with the focus on ‘gendered violence’. And that they should be. I think some men and women just don’t subscribe to social media gender team sports. The Council of Europe helps here. /1 https://t.co/VQsuAFggv6 https://t.co/TtcwW2o70q

As the Council says, summarising much research: “There is no single factor that can explain gender-based violence in our societies, but rather a myriad of factors contribute to it, and the interplay of these factors lies at the root of the problem.” /2 https://t.co/TptCaWq62n

Some experts in Australia said the same this week, trying to be heard above the usual social media mob rage. Absolutely models of masculinity are part of the equation. That’s the ‘cultural’ factors the Council refers to, circled in red. /3 https://t.co/oVez837B5j

But that’s only a quarter of the causation. The blue arrows show the other dimensions. Australian experts this week talked about these other dimensions. They were heard, but much less prominently. /4 https://t.co/f2x9QhhAb3

Like every topic now, this one is being used as fodder for social media team sports. Gender is a hot, toxic social media issue. And it’s that toxicity which itself creates much gendered violence, ironically. /5 https://t.co/etavBdsw7e

In addition the baseline for these discussions should surely be an assessment of the magnitude of the problem. Like the rate of domestic violence killing, in a week focused on deaths. Here’s the data. /6 https://t.co/FuZT3IV23c

That rate has more than halved, in the past 30 years. Which calls into question the overwhelming narrative this week that this is a spiralling epidemic. It doesn’t in any way minimise it as a critical issue. But it miscasts it in important ways. /7 https://t.co/nFbrunmRJV

We saw how social media team sports works with this issue earlier in the pandemic too. With the claims by anti-lockdowners that lockdowns would lead to vast increases in domestic violence, with victims locked up with their abusing partners. What’s the data say? /8

I shared it earlier this week. It shows the opposite happened. Rates of DV declined. Described as an ‘unexpected’ result. Unexpected because it contradicted the social media team sports narrative. /9 https://t.co/OaJmhEzF1V https://t.co/K1KKALxU1k

Why did it drop? Almost certainly because lockdowns inadvertently alleviated some of those blue arrow areas. Perhaps, as the researchers said, families getting quality time together actually made them happier. /10 https://t.co/JYmNt6d4HT

This is a topic I’m always wary to discuss, because of the toxicity of social media. You’re immediately shoehorned into one of the idiot ‘teams’. I’m not on any team. Team sports is wrecking our societies. /end