In a shocking move today Family First launched it’s new domestic violence campaign, “Some violence is OK” aimed at decriminalizing “minor” or “light” slapping which occurs in loving “physical disagreements” between husbands and wives.
“It’s our experience, in dealing with people affected by the current domestic assault law, that many good husbands, and some wives, are being hauled before the courts because of a minor slap or shove.” said Family First spokesperson Bob McCoskrie. “We think that sometimes the best way to get your point across, especially when the other person isn’t listening, is to give them a firm, but loving slap, and frankly we don’t see this as a problem. We don’t think the majority of New Zealander’s do either.”
Responding to strong criticism from domestic violence campaigners, women’s refuge, men’s anti-violence groups and feminist academics, who all site many years of research into the traumatic effects of intimate partner violence, McCoskrie said “Look that’s typical junk science. These studies confuse the effects of a light slap or shove and more serious, and obvious beatings. We have studies from respected academics that show that not only does the occasional slap or shove not harm people, but that actually in some cases it improves the quality of a marriage.”
McCoskrie went on to say “We’re not advocating for domestic violence, we think people who, for example, throw people down stairs are bad people and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. But that’s not the same thing as giving your wife a firm slap if she is hysterical and just refusing to listen to your point of view. Right now their are lots of good husbands who are being treated like criminals for getting frustrated with their wives, and we think that’s Not OK”
Family First intends to lobby the Government to change the law to decriminalize minor physical disagreements between husband and wives. When asked McCoskrie said it is his view that people should still be prosecuted for minor violence if you’re not married, or in a same sex relationship, because they aren’t really relationships and shouldn’t be afforded the same protections.
This post is satire, but if you think what I’ve written here is far fetched, think again. It might be shocking to read but the point of view of Family First and Bob McCoskrie is not made up, just shifted in context. These statements are the exact same arguments he made in an interview with Radio Live yesterday about Family First’s proposal to decriminalize light smacking of children. If it sounds worse in this context, you really should ask yourself why…
Your post may be satire but it seems to me that Family First’s attitude to violence against women is not too far from this either.
MODERATION POLICY – we will publish comments we agree with, but not ones that hurt our feelings and challenge our flawed views. Pathetic.
Not quite Bob. I don’t have any interest in posting your very lengthy cut and pasted press releases, re-stating your organizations selective reading of the research literature. You have your own website for that. This is my website, and I will moderate as I see fit.
However your ongoing insistence here, and on Twitter, that somehow your disagreement is hurting my feelings, or upsetting me is both concerning and laughable.
If people want to read your press releases, or learn more about Family First’s views I suggest they go to: https://www.familyfirst.org.nz/category/media/
It seems that Family First supporters believe in the supremacy of the male in the family because he is the “protector”and “provider””. Taking these roles from him damages his self esteem and can have unfortunate consequences!
Family First’s (i.e. Bob McCoskrie) view isn’t based on rationality. It’s based on a particular interpretation of scripture. Such people start from the position that scripture (or their strict interpretation of it) is ‘the Word of God” i.e. is true. So everything starts from that point. It has to fit with that basic premise. This approach/belief provides guidance and security in an otherwise confusing world. I know this because I used to believe it myself. Many members of my family still do.
I’m a conservative Christian, and I could show good arguments from scripture to refute some of the statements made by Family First. I don’t think their beliefs are really based on scripture at all, but more on the premise that a particular ‘traditional’ form of family is the solution to all society’s problems. Then they selectively choose evidence that supports this view, while ignoring vast amounts of strong evidence that doesn’t suit them. It’s disappointing, because in the process they are minimising violence against children, and women.
Thanks for those comments. Related: it was interesting to me when Mike King and I talked about this on the Nutters Club last night that almost all callers who were in favour of smacking were men, could be a co-incidence but…