SAFE BlogArchive

It's the message more domestic violence experts locally and statewide are trying to get out.

And it's a fact becoming more evident by the growing number of male victims reporting cases of abuse.

According a 1988 report by the state Attorney General's Office, just 6 percent of those arrested for domestic violence were women. By 1998, the total had risen to 16.5 percent.

Last month alone, women accounted for half of the six domestic violence arrests in Calaveras County, according to sheriff's reports.

And so far this year, the percentage of women arrested for spousal abuse is up slightly from last year's figure.

In 2005, about 22 percent of the 114 people arrested in the county for domestic violence were women.

While increases in female arrests are small, experts in the field are taking notice of the trend and trying to figure out what might be causing it.

"I believe men are becoming more outspoken now and are coming in more now," said Cindy Landreth, domestic violence manager at the Calaveras Crisis Center in San Andreas.

The article is targeted at men who are fair parties or the victims in the divorce.