Domestic Violence Against Men
While it is true that women are the more common victims of domestic violence in Las Vegas and elsewhere in the country, men can be victims of domestic violence too and cases involving domestic violence against men is also on a staggering rate. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 1 in 4 men had experienced some physical violence from their intimate partners.
If you are a man or know another male who is a victim of domestic violence, know that there are laws designed to protect you and them from further harm. On this article, we talk about that as well as what could happen if you are a man and accused of domestic violence against any gender.
What are the common types of domestic violence inflicted against men?
According to the Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS), domestic violence is beating, harassing, sexually assaulting, and intimidating your family member, a distant relative, your special someone, or anyone you are sharing a home with.
Just like what is being done to women, physical abuse such as hitting, punching, and kicking and emotional abuse such as insulting, threatening, and other forms of verbal attack are the types of domestic violence that can be inflicted against men. Concrete examples are husbands being taunted by their wives regularly, being repeatedly punched even for doing only a trivial mistake, and being deprived of time with his children when the wife is furious.
Domestic violence can happen to anyone. Men are never invulnerable to abuse and even some famous and prominent personalities have been victims of domestic violence. Whitney Houston admitted in one of her interviews that she had hit her husband Bobby Brown. And just recently, actor Johnny Depp filed a lawsuit against former spouse Amber Heard for domestically abusing him. One prominent injury he had from domestic violence was a severed finger. Remember that previously it was Amber Heard accusing Depp of domestic violence and with the case is still ongoing, nothing is proven.
Despite this information, men are still the prime offenders of domestic violence in the country. Nevada remains as the second worst state for domestic violence and is a consistent ranker for being one of the most dangerous States for women in America.
What should male victims of domestic violence do?
Signs of domestic violence are the same ones you could spot on a female victim. Since the beginning, men are usually seen as physically stronger and this is where the problem comes in. Some people and the male victims of domestic violence themselves dismiss the fact that they are being abused by their partner or any other family member because they believe they can take it on and they intentionally hide it from anyone in fear of being mocked, not knowing that it subconsciously damaging their mental health.
First off, the law itself (as seen in NRS) does not discriminate any gender or race and rightfully condemns anyone who performs domestic violence. Section 200 of the NRS states that anyone who is guilty of domestic violence will face either a misdemeanor and felony charges which both include jail times, fines, and domestic violence interventions. As a man, you need not be apprehensive about reporting domestic violence against men that might be being carried out by your spouse or anyone at your household as there is increasing support for abused men in the State despite what you think.
Domestic violence does not choose the gender of its victims. What makes domestic violence against men even more troubling is it can be ignored or dismissed by other people or the victim itself due to stigma and other social norms. If you are one of the many abused men in the country, do not be afraid to reach out for help. It does not matter if you are a man or a woman, what matters is that you are human that needs aid from abuse.
On the contrary, if a man is accusing you that you did domestic violence offenses against him, you also need help in the form of a criminal defense attorney in Las Vegas to ensure that the truth is shed some light on.
