Abuse is NOT Gender Exclusive

Most people I meet seem to assume that domestic abuse afflicts only women. When I see phone numbers for domestic abuse hot lines, they're aimed towards women. Everyone seems to forget, however, that the roles of abuser and abusee can be reversed.

In a heterosexual relationship, men are generally considered to be the bigger and stronger one in the relationship. The thought of a woman winning a battle of brute strength is repugnant to most men. It's this trail of logic that has resulted in under-reporting of domestic abuse cases. On their info page on domestic violence against men, Mayo Clinic states:

"Because men are traditionally thought to be physically stronger than women, you might be less likely to report domestic violence in your heterosexual relationship due to embarrassment."

Whenever I make a statement along these lines, nearly everyone jumps to the conclusion that I'm anti-feminist. IN NO WAY am I anti-feminist, but I'm not going to ignore the huge bias against men when this topic is discussed. The 'Getting Help' page on the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence website does not use the word 'men' a single time. But abuse is not gender exclusive.

Do you think that abuse against men is a serious issue?