Asking someone if a domestic violence offender should go to jail seems like a very easy answer. Although, it is very hard to see what goes on behind the scenes of these abusive relationships. The reason I am interested in this topic is because it is such a double standard that has a whole month dedicated to it. Yes, there are some relationships that are easy to see who the abuser is and the immediate thought is that it is the man. Except, many times the woman is the aggressor in the relationship. The research on this double standard strengthens what I believe about this topic. It is seen as a norm or not offensive when a woman hits a man, but turn it the other way around it is seen as abusive. I am no expert on this subject nor have I done studies on it, but I have seen it personally and have seen the effects it has on people. Domestic violence can be very hazy as to who the aggressor is, which is why it could be unjustified for a person to be sent to jail and have that permanently on their record. 

Cindy Boren, the Deputy Sports Editor at the Washington Post, suggests that the Ronda Rousey incident with her ex-boyfriend is a perfect example of the blurry lines when a woman is violent towards a man. Rousey described the incident with her ex-boyfriend in her book, "My Fight, Your Fight." Rousey gives details about how she punched, slapped, and dragged her ex-boyfriend when he blocked the door trying to talk about the nude photos he took of her without her knowledge. In the article, "When it Comes to Ronda Rousey, is there a Domestic-Violence Double Standard?", Boren compares Rousey's incident with the Ray Rice and Greg Hardy incidents. Ray Rice was removed from the Baltimore Ravens and Hardy was suspended for 4 games with the Dallas Cowboys, while Rousey never received consequences for her actions. Boren implies that the line between these was that there were no photos of the Rousey incident. With no evidence there was not much backlash against the athlete. Boren states that men are reluctant to come forward because typically the damage done is not as bad, but that the hitting should stop all together. Before the Washington Post, Cindy Boren was a reporter for Kansas City Star, Hartford Courant, National Sports Daily, and the New York Daily News. Now Boren is the Deputy Sports Editor for the Washington Post and an editor for the Redskins and The Early Lead. Boren is a creditable source to report on this topic. While most of her article is fact based and quotes, she puts a statement at the end that is a little biased. 

In a New York Post article, "Double Standard allows Soccer Star Hope Solo to Stay in the Game," Andrea Peyser compares the domestic violence incidents of Hope Solo to NFL players. Hope Solo was arrested for punching her 17-year-old nephew while intoxicated. Solo decided to plead guilty and faces up to 6 months in jail but she was never punished career wise. Although NFL players like Greg Hardy, Race Rice, Adrian Peterson, and others were either suspended from games or put on a leave of absence. Hope Solo had no consequences and continued to play because all her hard work was about to set a record. The value surrounding the Peyser's article is the comparison of the different athletes. Two different leagues having the same issue, yet no consequences for one. Peyser states that she is horrified that someone who is representing the United States in soccer was just accused of domestic violence and has no repercussions. Hope Solo's career and the value of winning was put before the value of doing the right thing. Andrea Peyser is a columnist that typically covers scandals for the New York Post. Before the New York Post, Peyser worked for the Associated Press, CNN and The Tampa Tribune. Like other articles, Peyser states mostly facts and quotes for most of her article. Only at the end she gives one statement of bias. The New York Post is a very trustworthy site that came about in 1801 by Alexander Hamilton and is the seventh most widely circulated newspaper. Both the source and the author have credentials to write on this subject.

Alanna Vagianos wrote a Huffington Post article to end Domestic Violence Awareness Month with statistics to showcase how common it is. Of the 30 statistics presented, 17 were only about women, 7 about families and people in general, 4 about gay and transsexuals, and only 2 about men. The 2 statistics about men stated that men who are exposed to these types of actions at an early age are 3 to 4 times more likely to do the same. The only other statistic about men is that 1 in 7 men will be victims of domestic violence. Alanna Vagianos' purpose behind the article was to give awareness of domestic violence worldwide. It is known that women are victims more than men in domestic violence, but that does not mean that they are the only people affected. While this article was supposed to be for all, it was written for the Huffington Post Women's page. Graduated from Elon University, Alanna Vagianos is now the Women's Editor for the Huffington Post. Even though she is obviously a little bias, Vagianos does cite her sources throughout the article from well known centers. Vagianos does not come out to say anything necessarily biased, but it is clear she is when this story about domestic violence was portrayed only for women. 

Changing the punishment for domestic violence would probably cause some backlash, mostly from feminist, but it is still a good topic to be discussed. It is clear that a woman can be hurt by a man way more than a man can be hurt by a woman. Even though when investigating an incident, the women could be the aggressor and hit the man first, but if the man hits the women once it could leave a bruise. Since most domestic violence are a "he said she said" situation, the women can lie and the man can go to jail even though she was the aggressor. Not only do those situations happen, but the punishment for women being the aggressor is a lot of the time less than what a man would receive. To get rid of or reduce this double standard, it would be best to change the punishment for domestic violence or how the aggressor is determined. It would be helpful to have more statistics and every day events rather than just athletes. A source on how the police determine the aggressor in a domestic violence dispute would either strengthen my argument or be an opposition to it. The information I found does help me support my claim, however I do need to narrow down my search to have more specifics on my topic. 

