The Big Picture: DV Does Wonders for Ratings

Monday, January 4, 2010

DV Does Wonders for Ratings

To give credit where credit is due, we stole this post title from Feministing, where Jessica responds to actor Charlie Sheen's Christmas domestic violence arrest (see if you can spot the bad dv reporting in the People Magazine coverage):

Apparently, getting arrested for abusing your spouse will do amazing things for an actor's career. From the New York Post:

Sheen's comedy series, "Two and a Half Men" is back in the No. 1 spot.

Monday night's episode, the first time the show has aired since Sheen was jailed for allegedly putting a knife to his wife's throat, drew 11.1 million viewers to watch a rerun of the hit CBS comedy. That was enough to make it the most-watched program of the evening, according to preliminary ratings.
Incredible. As Broadsheet recently pointed out, Sheen has a long history of violence against women yet continues to do incredibly well career-wise. In fact, with his $825k per episode salary - he may be the highest paid actor in television right now.

It appears that when it comes to television, violence against women still doesn't matter.

We applauded radio stations for dropping Chris Brown's music and sponsors for scrapping his endorsement deals after his arrest for assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna. It would be nice to see Hanes, CBS, and especially fans hold Charlie Sheen equally accountable.

Update 01/07/10: Hanesbrands is, in fact, dropping their advertising campaign with Charlie Sheen.

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Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is the establishment of control and fear in a relationship through physical, sexual, emotional, and/or financial abuse. Both men and women are capable of misusing power and perpetrating violence, and male victims are often just as afraid to call the police. More resources for female survivors exist, however, because overwhelmingly women and children suffer the most severe consequences (medical, legal, social, and financial) and therefore require the most intensive interventions.

Many women choose to stay in abusive relationships because they do not want their relationship to end...just the violence. Women often remain in, or return to, abusive relationships because their partners threaten to harm them and their loved ones if they attempt to leave. Commonly, women choose to leave when they become convinced that their life is at risk, or that their children are in danger.

Domestic violence is not just a "family matter". The violence will not stop until men and women come together with a common attitude of non-tolerance. We must speak out for those who may not feel safe speaking up, and our children must learn through our words and example that violence is never justified.