NCOM says: Blame Rihanna! She Deserved It

LOS ANGELES/EWORLDWIRE/Nov. 5, 2009 — Pop singer Rihanna recently made a widely publicized statement to Glamour Magazine that she wants to “shed light on the reality of domestic violence.” The National Coalition For Men (NCFM) calls on Rihanna to discuss her own reported violence against Brown as well if she wants to shed light on the problem honestly.

According to court records and other sources, Rihanna struck Brown in the face “numerous times” before Brown assaulted her (’http://news.ninemsn.com.au/entertainment/768865/rihanna-hit-chris-brow…’). NCFM purports although that would not justify his more severe assault, her violence should not be ignored, and if she does not “woman up” to it then her message will be the usual one-sided double standards that leave female perpetration covered up.

The saying, “There is no excuse for domestic violence,” applies to both sexes. Female violence in relationships is not rare but is often hypocritically deemed acceptable or humorous, such as in the film, Sideways. It is part of the cycle of domestic violence, which cannot be stopped without addressing the problem honestly. Children are damaged just by witnessing domestic violence, regardless of its severity.

A 32-nation study by the University of New Hampshire found women are as violent and as controlling as men in relationships worldwide (’http://www.unh.edu/news/cj_nr/2006/may/em_060519male.cfm?type=n’,
‘http://pubpages.unh.edu/~mas2/ID41E2.pdf’).

A major study funded by the Centers for Disease Control found one-fourth of heterosexual relationships had violence and: “half (49.7%) of those were reciprocally violent. In nonreciprocally violent relationships, women were the perpetrators in more than 70% of the cases.” (’http://www.ajph.org/cgi/content/abstract/97/5/941′)

The same study also found “while injury was more likely when violence was perpetrated by men, in relationships with reciprocal violence it was the men who were injured more often (25% of the time) than were women (20% of the time).” (’http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/42/15/31-a’)

Over 200 studies now confirm the same thing, that “women are as physically aggressive, or more aggressive, than men in their relationships with their spouses or male partners,” as California State University Professor Martin Fiebert shows in his online bibliography at ‘http://www.csulb.edu/~mfiebert/assault.htm’. This data is more reliable than criminal justice data because men are less likely to report the violence or to respond positively to crime surveys because society still does not consider female violence as much of a crime.

If Rihanna sincerely wants to raise awareness about domestic violence, NCFM calls on her to be forthcoming about her own violence and to address the problem honestly.

Rihanna's Family Opens Up About Chris Brown Arrest

'I don't want her to go back to him,' one relative tells People.com.

By Jocelyn Vena

Rihanna's family is opening up about the relationship between Rihanna and Chris Brown after an alleged altercation before the Grammy Awards that left Rihanna injured and Brown arrested.

One family member told People.com that Brown "flew so far under everyone's radar that we just didn't think he was that [abusive] type." The relative added that the news comes as a surprise because "he was always looking after her needs making sure she was happy."

The relative agreed with Rihanna's dad, Ronald Fenty, who thinks his superstar daughter should "move on" from the relationship. "I don't want her to go back to him," the family member said. "I don't think anyone does."

Earlier this week, Kimora Lee Simmons, who was showing her line Baby Phat during New York Fashion Week, spoke about the incident with The Associated Press, saying she saw the pair earlier in the night before news broke.

"I saw them that night ... and I think it's a very unfortunate situation," she said. "And I wish them both all the best and I send them my love and I'm very personally attached to both of them. And sometimes I think young lovers go through things and I really don't know what happened, so I wish everybody the best."

Ray J, who was at the fashion show supporting Simmons, said he and Brown are good friends and sends prayers out to the pair. "I've got a chance to hang out with them a couple of times, and, you know, they're cool people. Keep your head up," he told the AP. "You know things like this happen in life. And in life, sometimes these are the tests and obstacles that you got to overcome."

SOURCE