On the very weekend that spouse abuse and its horrific consequences hit the public consciousness in the form of O J. Simpson’s alleged murder of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman, I read your story, “Troubling trend: Spouse and child abuse in military has Pentagon officials worried” (June 19). This story documented an increase of spouse abuse from 12 cases per 1,000 in 1988 to 18.1 cases per 1,000 in 1994.
While this news is in itself troubling enough, my dismay-and anger-stems from your decision to feature this story in the Womanews section. This is not woman’s news, any more than it is a woman’s problem. Your placement reveals a subtle assumption that this is not worthy of genderless and first-section, if not first-page, coverage.
Until we view abuse as an overarching human issue and until men in all walks and positions in society decry this behavior, I fear we will continue with an increasing body count. This is a human, societal, cultural issue.
