Sensitive Issue of Women Being Abused - Essay Example

The conclusions as well as the implied messages of the researchers are flawed, in that the data itself is not sufficient to reach such conclusions. Before I begin stating my thoughts regarding the author's response, let me first make it clear that I stand strongly against men abusing women and that I support efforts to research further into the matter. Abuse is very damaging to the person experiencing it, whether it may come in the form of physical, emotional, or psychological damage. However, one must be very critical in defining what is considered abuse, and what is not.

I believe that in the research done, the line was obscure and inappropriate. It is with this that I would like to say that I agree with the author, in that the research done by DeKeseredy and Kelly is flawed and biased. I think that, based on the readings about their research, DeKeseredy and Kelly probably lack the experience necessary for a deeper understanding of what is going on between men and women. I felt that their conclusions were naïve and that they looked only at the data without really understanding what is going on.

The dynamics of a relationship are truly not that simple. But despite that, I salute the researchers for at least doing the research, because this is a matter that everyone should be concerned about. Even though reading some of their conclusions regarding men and women and some of the things implied in their research made me frown quite a lot in disagreement, I would agree with the researcher's conclusion in the end that there are still a lot of areas about violence and abuse of women that should be researched.

On the other hand, I also agree with Fox that it's a big mistake to group the least with the worse offenses. There is a big difference between an unwanted kiss and rape, and they should not be placed together. This is probably one of the biggest flaws in how the research results were presented—imagine the number of people who would suddenly realize that they abused their girlfriend or their wives (who are probably currently living a happy life with them right now) when they tried to kiss them without prior consent.

Such an incident is common, especially during the courtship stage, and labeling that as an abuse would provoke negative reactions and would not help in encouraging others to engage in more research into the matter. Furthermore, do most women view a single case of unwanted kissing as abuse? I guess the main problem with the research is really in the presentation and interpretation of the data, and distinguishing between what is important, and what is not important and pointing them out.

For example, a stolen kiss is relatively unimportant, except maybe if they can find a strong correlation that such an act will later lead to more serious offenses and point that out. Fox was able to identify a lot of flaws in the research, and she has also provided insight into which parts of the research could still be improved to provide more data. I think she provided a much better interpretation of the data as well as a better grasp of how the study should be treated.