Sir, – Nigel Ryan is alarmed by the campaign poster for the White Ribbon campaign, a male led organisation whose aim is to try to end men’s violence against women (Letters, December 2nd).
Mr Ryan finds the statement “helping end men’s violence against women” to be “a ghastly unqualified indictment and collective libel”. Perhaps his disgust would be better directed towards the statistics and facts around male violence against women. Just last week, Women’s Aid held a demonstration outside the Dáil in remembrance of the 78 women, who along with 10 children, have been murdered by their partners in Ireland since 1996.
Women’s Aid estimate that one in five women in Ireland have been affected by domestic violence at some point in their lives.
While any kind of violence, sexual or otherwise, is inexcusable, whether perpetrated by a man or a woman, the facts are that statistically, women are far more likely to suffer violence and abuse at the hands of a man.
This is what the White Ribbon campaign is trying to end.
As a woman, I would be more than happy to lend my support to any campaigns to stop gender-based violence against men. – Yours, etc, JILL MURRAY Headford, Co Galway.