What happen to the rights of men?

Jun 02, 2026 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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(Kaieteur News) – A recent incident near Stabroek Market, where a woman was openly seen raining blows on a man in full public view, should force us to confront an uncomfortable question. The man appeared reluctant to defend himself. He seemed more concerned about avoiding trouble than protecting his own dignity.

Many who watched that incident likely understood why. In today’s environment, a man who raises his hand even to ward off an attack from a woman risks immediately being labelled the aggressor.

For many years now, the Guyana Police Force has adopted what can only be described as a zero-tolerance approach to violence against women. That policy emerged for good reason. For decades, many women suffered abuse in silence. Complaints were dismissed as “family matters.” Victims were often pressured to return home and endure further abuse. Society rightly decided that such attitudes could no longer continue.

Today, if a man strikes a woman, there is a strong likelihood that he will find himself before the courts .And more than likely jailed.  The message is clear. Violence against women will not be tolerated. That is a position that deserves support.

The problem, however, is that the principle appears to be applied unevenly.

While public attention is understandably focused on protecting women from violence, there is growing evidence that violence against men is also becoming a significant issue. Many men endure slaps, punches, scratches, kicks and other forms of abuse. Some experience sustained domestic violence behind closed doors. Yet these cases often receive far less attention, sympathy or legal action.

The result is a dangerous double standard.

A man who strikes a woman is quickly condemned, and rightly so. But when a woman strikes a man, the reaction is often laughter, ridicule or indifference. Television shows, social media videos and even casual conversations sometimes treat such incidents as entertainment rather than assault.

Assault is assault. The law should not change depending on whether the victim is male or female.

Many men have learned that defending themselves carries enormous risks. They know that if they attempt to push away an attacker or attempt to restrain someone who is attacking them, they may still end up being portrayed as the aggressor. Consequently, some simply absorb the punishment. They allow themselves to be slapped, shoved, scratched and humiliated because they fear what will happen if they respond.

No society should place its citizens in such a position.

Calling for fairness does not diminish the seriousness of violence against women. Nor does it deny the reality that women remain disproportionately affected by domestic violence. Both things can be true at the same time. Women can require protection, and men can also be victims deserving of protection.

The principle should be simple. What applies to men should apply to women.

If a man must answer before the courts for assaulting a woman, then a woman who assaults a man should also answer before the courts. If police officers are expected to take complaints from women seriously, they should also take complaints from men seriously. Equality before the law cannot be selective.

There are already examples showing that the law can act when women are the aggressors. Last year, a woman was sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment after assaulting a 76-year-old man at Stabroek Market. According to court reports, she kicked and stomped the elderly victim after an altercation. The magistrate cited both the seriousness of the attack and the victim’s age in imposing the sentence.

Beyond Guyana, courts in other countries have also convicted women for assaulting men. Such cases remind us that violence is not exclusively a male behaviour. Women, too, can be perpetrators.

Perhaps one reason the issue remains under-discussed is that many male victims are reluctant to come forward. Some fear embarrassment. Others fear they will not be believed. Still others worry that reporting an abusive female partner could somehow lead to accusations against them.

That silence allows the problem to remain hidden.

A modern society should reject all forms of violence, regardless of who commits it. We cannot condemn violence when it flows in one direction and excuse it when it flows in another. Consistency is the foundation of justice.

The image from Stabroek Market should serve as a reminder. No one should be forced to stand helpless while being assaulted because they fear that defending themselves will make them the villain. A society committed to justice must send a clear message: violence is wrong, whether the victim is a woman or a man, and the law must respond with the same seriousness in both cases.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)                       

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• men, Men abuse, Peeping Tom, rights of men

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