Reem Alsalem’s UK Report Highlights the Arrogance and Irrelevance of the United Nations

February 26, 2024 – The United Nations is facing unprecedented levels of criticism (1) around the world as UN agencies advance controversial proposals and engage in unethical conduct (2). The latest example is the report by Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur for the UN Human Rights Council, following her recent visit to the United Kingdom.

Last year Natalie Bennett brutally stabbed her partner Kasey Anderson in the heart. In October, Bennett was convicted and jailed for life. Just four days before Alsalem’s arrival in the UK, Anderson’s father finally revealed the depths of his grief, lamenting how his son repeatedly had come home "with black eyes and bruises, but the more we begged him to leave her, the more she got her claws in.” (3)

Kasey’s tragedy was not an isolated incident. Numerous studies prove that domestic violence is an equal opportunity problem affecting men and women (4):

• A survey of UK university students found 7% of male students and 15% of female students admitted to being physically aggressive with their dating partner (5).
  A 2015 study in London revealed nearly identical levels of physical victimization by a partner in the past year: Males: 62%; Females: 65%. (6)
  The UK Office of National Statistics recently reported, “The overall prevalence of any physical injury to victims of partner abuse was greater for male victims (22.2%) than female victims (13.6%).” (7)

But Alsalem’s February 21 report does not mention any of these studies. Kasey Anderson’s gruesome death receives no attention, either (8).

Equality: Alsalem’s draft report alludes to gender “equality” 15 times. But in true Orwellian fashion, “equality” only applies to women – not to the millions of UK men who have been victims of domestic violence.

Patriarchy: At the root of many of the United Nations’ problems lies a fervent devotion to an ideological agenda that precludes consideration of basic fairness or scientific fact. In the case of Reem Alsalem, she views the world through the Marxist-inspired lens of “patriarchy.” Alsalem openly displays her Marxist worldview, issuing the wild claim that “Entrenched patriarchy at almost every level of society…is denying thousands of women and girls across the UK the right to live in safety.” (9)

Alsalem does not offer any data to support her claim of “entrenched patriarchy.” Indeed, the reverse appears to be true. Equi-law UK has identified 10 areas of male disadvantage, such as education, suicide, homelessness, fatherlessness, and others (10). If the all-powerful patriarchy really exists, why it is allowing men to commit suicide at three times the rate of women?

Child Custody: Only 6.6% of divorced U.K. fathers are granted 50-50 shared custody of their children (11). But Alsalem insists that the “institutional violence perpetuated against mothers and children in family courts and the colossal failure of justice continue to be of grave concern” – a claim is so far removed from reality as to border on the hysterical.

By failing to address domestic violence against men, Reem Alsalem rejects the science, ignores the truth, and shamefully repudiates the gender equality provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Human Rights Council should censure Reem Alsalem for dishonesty and direct that her flawed report be removed from the UN website.

Contact: OHCHR-media©un.org

The Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance – DAVIA — consists of 126 member organizations from 34 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. DAVIA seeks to ensure that domestic violence and abuse polices are science-based, family-affirming, and gender-inclusive. http://endtodv.org/davia/

Links:

1. https://www.lee.senate.gov/2023/12/senator-lee-introduces-act-to-defund-and-depart-un
2. https://unwatch.org/future-beyond-unrwa-summit/
3. https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/kasey-anderson-natalie-bennett-murder-28592584
4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10989615/
5. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740907001855
6. https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Past-year-agestandardized-prevalence-of-acts-of-victimization-minor-and-severe-acts_fig1_272518443
7. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/partnerabuseindetailenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2023
8. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/women/sr/statements/20240221-eom-statement-uk-sr-vawg.pdf
9. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/02/no-time-lose-uk-declares-violence-against-women-national-threat-un-expert
10. https://equi-law.uk/ten-male-disadvantages/
11. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340653704_Joint_Physical_Custody_and_Adolescents'_Life_Satisfaction_in_37_North_American_and_European_Countries

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