Domestic Violence

From this link:

"California domestic violence laws violate men's rights because they provide state funding only for women and their children who use shelters and other programs, a state appeals court has ruled. The decision by the Third District Court of Appeal in Sacramento requires the programs to be available to male as well as female victims of domestic violence. The court said the services don't have to be equal - an agency could maintain a battered-women's shelter while giving men vouchers to stay at hotels, for example - but both sexes must have access to the programs."

This is a major step in the right direction. There is a perception that only women are victims of domestic violence, but, (while they do constitute the majority) this is patently untrue; the figures may turn out to be closer than we may imagine, as domestic violence against men is severely under-reported, due in large part to the cultural stigmatization male victims receive.

The section saying that services don't have to be equal did give me pause though. That would seem to violate the spirit of the California Constitution (as forbidding sex based discrimination). While I can understand the need to house female victims separately due to the inherent psychological distress that accompanies such crimes, I'm not sure how it can be reconciled with a prohibition of sex based discrimination. I'll have to read the decision in full...just giving my initial reaction for your digestion.