One ad depicts a happy little girl with the message "One day my husband will kill me." Another shows a smiling boy with the message "When I grow up, I will beat my wife."
The kids are talking about their fathers, and their message is clear: "You have to be afraid of fathers."RT executives, click here.
To depict only fathers as perpetrators of domestic violence, and only mothers as victims, is an assertion not supported by the facts. Domestic violence research clearly establishes that men account for half of all domestic violence victims and incur a third of domestic violence-related injuries.
The ads were placed on the buses by The Family Place, a Dallas Domestic Violence service provider.
Not only have fathers been offended by this stereotyping, but children are certainly among the 10 million DART riders each month. The message sent to young boys riding the service is "It is OK to be an abuser." There certainly must be more effective ways to promote domestic violence programs and stem the tide of domestic violence than ads which unfairly target fathers.
