Photo essay- A Portrait of Domestic Violence

[Flabbibulin]

Pretty interesting photo essay posted on the Time website today. Essentially, a photographer documents an incident of domestic violence in a couple from Ohio. She was initially documenting the life of an ex-convict, but the incident came up one evening. The piece is quite interesting, but obviously brings up some ethical questions.

Aside from the possible ethical issue, very disturbing portrait of a very common problem.

Not necessarily NSFW, but the content is still a little iffy:

http://lightbox.time.com/2013/02/27/...ic-violence/#1

[DuffMan]

People sure have to get lonely to hook up with someone with face tats, and who has been incarcerated most of their lives, with the idea that it will be a long term relationship.

[SeeBass]

I await the day that the opening paragraph mentions domestic abuse by both sexes.

[Cole436]

I think the thing that disturbs me the most about it, is that the photographer was taking photos of the events, instead of helping stop them...

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Originally Posted by SeeBass

I await the day that the opening paragraph mentions domestic abuse by both sexes.

The fact is that it is males who generally are the abusive partner - whether it be due to societal views on manliness, physical strength, or the effects of testosterone on anger/rage, men are much more prone to abusing their partners than women.

If guys want to change this they should start standing up and saying that this isn't right.

[Flabbibulin]

Originally Posted by Cole436

I think the thing that disturbs me the most about it, is that the photographer was taking photos of the events, instead of helping stop them...

I disagree. She would be putting herself up against a raging lunatic and would have likely enraged him further. She makes it clear that she confirmed the police had been called and then continued photographing. Secondly, this isn't some occasional occurrence in society that can actually be improved upon with one person intervening. Documenting the abuse and putting a picture to what is typically a very private subject is important imo. Most importantly, it doesn't appear she was there with the intention of photographing domestic violence- it happened to occur while documenting the life of an ex-convict. Some might say she saw the warning signs and knew it would inevitably happen, but still- what was she supposed to do? Call the police beforehand and say she thinks this guy will eventually assault his girlfriend?

[SeeBass]

Originally Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard

The fact is that it is males who generally are the abusive partner - whether it be due to societal views on manliness, physical strength, or the effects of testosterone on anger/rage, men are much more prone to abusing their partners than women.

If guys want to change this they should start standing up and saying that this isn't right.

please define "much more" and "generally" cause I bet if you looked up the numbers you will be suprised

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by Cole436

I think the thing that disturbs me the most about it, is that the photographer was taking photos of the events, instead of helping stop them...

First, he was there as an invited guest and recording something different than he was anticipating.

When the more interesting story erupted in front of him, instinct kicked in . . . . . . he kept the motor drive going and recorded the event. Tell you the truth, as someone who was a photojournalist at one time, I probably would have done the same. And that's how you end up published in Time Magazine. Being ready for anything at anytime.

You can see the guy lost his cool and engaged in what, for him, was normal behaviour and then, after he started, became aware the event was being recorded. That's when he leveled out a bit and kept insisting the woman accompany him to the basement where he could beat her out of range of the camera. She probably knew she was safer where the camera was and stayed because the camera was going.

If the photographer had dropped the camera and intervened, its probable the violence would have escalated.

In the end, the perpetrator is a coward.

Coincidentally, right now I'm working on a charity project with a women's emergency shelter, helping them meld them with my other event so they can raise monies for themselves. I was inside the shelter a few weeks ago and that's not the first time I've been inside a women's shelter . . . . the last instance was about 25 years ago. Sadly, the level of security to protect the women inside is both necessary and astonishing, both then and now, and its sad that these places are necessary in our society.

To be frank, I think the photographer continuing with his job kept the violence from escalating even further.

Cowperson

[RedMileDJ]

Some intense pictures. I didn't get through all of them.

[Flabbibulin]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

First, he was there as an invited guest and recording something different than he was anticipating.

When the more interesting story erupted in front of him, instinct kicked in . . . . . . he kept the motor drive going and recorded the event. Tell you the truth, as someone who was a photojournalist at one time, I probably would have done the same. And that's how you end up published in Time Magazine. Being ready for anything at anytime.

You can see the guy lost his cool and engaged in what, for him, was normal behaviour and then, after he started, became aware the event was being recorded. That's when he leveled out a bit and kept insisting the woman accompany him to the basement where he could beat her out of range of the camera. She probably knew she was safer where the camera was and stayed because the camera was going.

If the photographer had dropped the camera and intervened, its probable the violence would have escalated.

In the end, the perpetrator is a coward.

Coincidentally, right now I'm working on a charity project with a women's emergency shelter, helping them meld them with my other event so they can raise monies for themselves. I was inside the shelter a few weeks ago and that's not the first time I've been inside a women's shelter . . . . the last instance was about 25 years ago. Sadly, the level of security to protect the women inside is both necessary and astonishing, both then and now, and its sad that these places are necessary in our society.

To be frank, I think the photographer continuing with his job kept the violence from escalating even further.

Cowperson

To correct your post and add some comments- the photojournalist is actually a woman. For whatever reason, I went through the article and pictures the first time thinking it was a man as well. I had the initial thought that he should step in, but changed my mind when I found out the photog was female. Not sure if that is right or not, but looking at the ex-convict, the reality is a woman probably would have more difficulty stopping the situation. She did confirm that the police had been called.

[SeeBass]

I saw that as a child about 2-3 times a week growing up.

The only difference is we never left and nobody called the cops.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Originally Posted by SeeBass

please define "much more" and "generally" cause I bet if you looked up the numbers you will be suprised

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...an-report.html

"The report indicates almost half of the reports had a spouse accused of the violence. Women were also almost twice as likely to be a victim of domestic abuse in 2010"

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/...ce-050714.html

"The data collected show the nature and consequences of spousal violence were more severe for women than for men.
Female victims of spousal violence were more than twice as likely to be injured as male victims.
Women were also three times more likely to fear for their life, and twice as likely to be the targets of more than 10 violent episodes.
And, overall, female victims were twice as likely as male victims to be stalked by a previous spouse. Eleven per cent of female victims and six per cent of male victims reported being stalked by a previous boyfriend or girlfriend"

Obviously domestic abuse in general is a major issue for both genders however to suggest that it is equal, including the physical ramifications of the abuse would be incorrect.

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by Flabbibulin

To correct your post and add some comments- the photojournalist is actually a woman. For whatever reason, I went through the article and pictures the first time thinking it was a man as well. I had the initial thought that he should step in, but changed my mind when I found out the photog was female. Not sure if that is right or not, but looking at the ex-convict, the reality is a woman probably would have more difficulty stopping the situation. She did confirm that the police had been called.

Thanks. That's a different perspective. Also explains why he may have been more comfortable to start the thumping in the first place.

I gave the link to a contact at the women's shelter . . . . bottom line, she felt it was important to shine a spotlight on domestic violence, not hide it in the basement.

Cowperson

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by DuffMan

People sure have to get lonely to hook up with someone with face tats, and who has been incarcerated most of their lives, with the idea that it will be a long term relationship.

She's 19 and two small kids in tow. Most guys she meets would probably never call her again once they knew about her kids.

[DuffMan]

Originally Posted by Cowboy89

She's 19 and two small kids in tow. Most guys she meets would probably never call her again once they knew about her kids.

so desperate, not lonely?

[Northendzone]

who would have thought that a guy with so much ink and a face tatty and who spent time in prision could do that.......

i hope that somehow this story turns out well for maggie and her kids - seems very sad for kids to live in such a chaotic enviroment

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by DuffMan

People sure have to get lonely to hook up with someone with face tats, and who has been incarcerated most of their lives, with the idea that it will be a long term relationship.

I don't know if its that simple.

you combine the typical girl below the age of 35 wants a bad boy, ,with the probability that most serial abusers can be very charming and wear a mask that hides their true personalities. How many times have we read stories that the abuse started after the relationship got serious and it went from verbal to physical after he cut her off from her support system.

Abusers are very good at what they do and tend to be very calculating in what they want.

I might sound weird here, but when I read that article at first it was very sympathetic to the guy, that he was trying and it reads like he exploded one night. Even the cop said he's a good guy who should know better.

We can't judge people because of facial tats and because they're white trash, but this article sounds more like it was an explosion on his part as opposed to serial abuse. Or am I reading it wrong?

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I don't know if its that simple.


We can't judge people because of facial tats and because they're white trash, but this article sounds more like it was an explosion on his part as opposed to serial abuse. Or am I reading it wrong?

Giving her a choice of taking her beating upstairs or in the basement suggests to me its something he's been doing for a while. Maybe not with her, but with others.

It's not his first rodeo.

Cowperson

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Cole436

I think the thing that disturbs me the most about it, is that the photographer was taking photos of the events, instead of helping stop them...

Like with most photo journalists, by doing her job and capturing the photos, the photographer did much more than she ever could if she put the camera down. She's brought the story to light for thousands of readers, and put a face to the problem. Without these photos, this woman is just another invisible stat.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by SeeBass

I await the day that the opening paragraph mentions domestic abuse by both sexes.

http://www.sylvanlakenews.com/news/193886171.html

Friday, Feb. 22nd


11:24 p.m. – RCMP received a call of a domestic dispute at a residence on Jarvis Glen Way. When members attended, a female advised that her spouse had threatened her son but would not provide any concrete details. A while later, police were called back to meet with the male who advised that he had been assaulted by the female who struck him in the face and the ribs. Further investigation has resulted in a charge of assault against the female.