Men not the real problem

THE EDITOR: While the recent murder of a young woman is a tragedy, certain sections of society are doing the wrong thing by making anti-male statements. By simplifying the situation to “all men are bad/evil” (a grossly unfair statement), not only are they allowing the root causes of the problem to persist (no efficient public transport, an unregulated PH taxi system, an ineffective judiciary), but they are actively deflecting attention from these issues when they are needed most.

The emergence online to publicly shame men (contrary to what most people think, female sex offenders exist) who are accused (but not convicted) of crimes is a violation of “innocent until proven guilty.” If the gender bias was reversed, would society agree? It’s important to realise that for men, a claim of abuse doesn’t even have to be true for damage to be done.

Even the Attorney General has made statements that warrant concern. There has been much fuss made about the National Sex Offenders Registry, but how many people know that public urination is enough to qualify? We’d probably register 90 per cent of people during Carnival and that includes women. Would you be happy to have a “sex offender” stamp in your passport because you couldn’t find a clean public restroom?

Also, it’s pointless to complain about repeat offenders if existing systems don’t address rehabilitation and reintegration into society. Are people supposed to solve the issues that got them into trouble without support?

Don’t forget that men are also victims of domestic violence and abuse by women. And, unlike women, there is no decent support structure (male-only shelters, counselling, fair treatment by the courts). Also, the number of women that make false claims against men are surprisingly high. Many know the system is biased in their favour and take advantage of it (ask the Single Fathers’ Association for horror stories).

It's important that male rights are not trampled in the current hysteria, so let’s think logically rather than emotionally.

R SAMAROO

via e-mail