LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Men can be abuse victims, too

OPINION:

It is good to help survivors of domestic abuse and to fund anti-violence programs. The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) needs some revision, but not necessarily the kind envisioned by House Democrats (“Police, advocates: Strict stay-at-home orders put domestic violence victims in tougher situation,” Web, May 6).

Search the U.S. Code; zero references to domestic violence against men can be found. But recent research indicates that two of every five abuse victims is male. Abuse is gender-specific, so the VAWA needs to be rendered gender-neutral. After all, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized in the early ’70s that it is unconstitutional to discriminate based on gender.

DAVID P. EATON

Salem, Ore.