Dysfunction close to Blair

Cheri Booth keeps disreputable company
Cheri Blair keeps disreputable company

A large group of bizarre women circle round Tony Blair. They are not benign. They have no understanding of normal relationships between men and women.

Recently, a woman commentator said Harman was a gender supremacist.
Hock calls them “gender racists”.

Recently, I heard Harman speak at a DV conference . She is set to cause major damage to society.

The attitude of these four women is appalling, and very destructive. Further, they have the power to destroy.

Ivor Catt   
25aug02

See Laski and Leeds

Sandra Horley Power and control - Why charming men can make dangerous lovers Foreword by Cherie Booth, QC pub. Vermilion 1991/2002

Extracts from this volume:

Back cover.

‘I have written this book to show women that they are not alone, that what they are going through is part of a much wider scenario. And I am writing it in the hope that our society might acknowledge - and ultimately change - some of the subtle ways in which we give men permission to abuse women.’ - Sandra Horley

‘As a trustee of Refuge, I have seen at first hand that it is possible to break away from abuse and build a new life. I have no doubt that this book will show thousands of women that they are not alone and encourage them to take that first step.’ - Cherie Booth QC

One woman in four will experience domestic violence at some point in her life. And many of us will support a sister, mother, daughter, colleague or friend through such time.

Sandra Horley, recently awarded an OBE for 23 years’ supporting abused women and children, gives a fascinating, often harrowing insight into the minds and motives of charming men who turn out to make dangerous lovers.

This is the real story of domestic violence, a story about power and control, a story of men whose charm hides a darker truth - the ability to inflict devastating emotional and physical damage. But ultimately it is a story of courage and strength, told by women who have reclaimed their lives so that others may too.

Refuge Registered Charity Number: 277424.....

Page x:

.... Especial thanks to Helena Kennedy, Q.C. who champions women’s rights and so frequently provides me with her wise advice.

.... Also to Margaret Jay who ensures the cause is still heard. .... Also Cherie Booth, Q.C. who always finds time for us in her busy schedule; ....

Page xv:

Foreword by Cherie Booth QC

I first came into contact with the reality of domestic violence as a young barrister representing abused women. It was shocking to see for myself the bruising and scars and realise what can go on behind the closed doors of a woman’s home. Many of the women I met were pregnant and often the abuse had taken place in front of the children. It was then that I understood the enormity of the problem of domestic violence and the huge courage it takes to leave an abusive partner.

Increasingly, statistics demonstrate just how widespread that problem is. We now know that one woman in four will be abused by her partner at some point in her life [Note 1] and that domestic violence represents 25 per cent of all recorded violent crime in Britain. Yet our society often chooses to remain silent on this issue.

This book has already changed thousands of women’s lives by giving them the courage to speak out and seek help. Sandra Horley’s vast experience gained from over 20 years’ work with abused women results in a unique book which both inspires and informs. I am delighted that the huge demand for it has led to this reprint which will help raise awareness of the charity which provides essential services for abused women and children.

As a trustee of Refuge I have seen at first hand that it is possible to leave an abusive partner and build a new life. I have no doubt that this book will show thousands of women that they are not alone and encourage them to take that first step. [See Note 1. Cheri repeats the discredited Stanko 1 in 4 “research” “statistic”]

Page 3:
.... This woman is not alone. In my 21 years working with abused women, I have realised that her misery is shared by many, many women, who may have no cuts, bruises or scars, but who only know that they are miserable in their relationships. Many women are immobilised by the effects of years and years of subtle, all-pervading emotional and verbal abuse, without ever thinking of themselves as abused at all. Surely that is something which happens to other people? .... Yet should anyone suggest that they are abused, they would say, ‘Don’t be silly.’ ....

Page 4:
What such women are unaware of, since they do not even realise that they are being abused, is that their desperation and confusion, their low self-esteem, is a direct result of their partner’s abusive behaviour.

Do not think for a moment that I am dismissing the hundreds of women who come to see me with hideous wounds, women who are literally scared for their lives. A London survey showed that the problem of women abuse if horrifyingly high (I prefer to talk about ‘woman abuse’, rather than ‘wife abuse’, as women who live with their partners but do not marry them are as much at risk as wives).

On in four women has been hit by her partner, and research shows that women are beaten thirty-five times before they contact the police for help. ....

Page 5:

I wanted to know why so many women are abused - physically and emotionally. I wanted to know why men think they have the right to behave in such a controlling, domineering way towards their partners. I talked to hundreds of women, and delved into reams of research on abused women and the men who abuse them. The result is this book ....

Page 9:

What these men have in common is that they are invariably the last people anyone would suspect of abusing their partners. They are the ‘nice guys from next door’ who are always willing to do a neighbour a favour: they will mend the plumbing, weed the garden, jump-start the car. They may be the men who seem to uphold strict moral standards, who are popular at parties or in the local pub. Or they may be quiet, ‘steady’ chaps, the ones ‘you can always rely on’. Charm Syndrome Men present And being liked feeds their self-i8mage.

Some are intensely charismatic. ....

Page 11:

That word charm has cropped up again and Again. At first it seemed astonishing, but soon - and repeatedly - I was making the connection between these two apparent opposites, charm and abuse, which seemed to run like two threads  intertwined in the tapestry of these women’s lives. .... This is what I have called the Charm Syndrome.

Page 15:

My definition of woman abuse is this: systematic, patterned behaviour on the part of the abusive man, designed - consciously or subconsciously - to control and dominate ‘his woman’. And in the armoury of the abuser, charm is both an essential weapon and a disguise ....

Page 253:

Thanks to the kindness and commitment of so many people throughout the UK, Refuge has grown from the world’s first refuge in Chiswick to a national charity with a growing network of safe houses, a 24-hour national domestic violence helpline and a range of support services for women and children.

Page 254:

Refuge .... opened the world’s first refuge in 1971 ....

Note 1

first published in Ill Eagle 3, p1,
downloadable at www.ivorcatt.com/99.htm

Prof. Betsy Stanko of Brunel University

Telephone Stanko on 01895 -203068 or 203085 for your free copy of her October 98 booklet "Taking Stock", which is sexist propaganda masquerading as research.

In view of Home Office Study No. 191, it discredits her. She will also send you the A4 leaflet "Violence Research Programme" (VRP) which tells you that the ESRC is giving her £3.5million of your taxpayer's money to fund so-called "research".

Further leaflets outline each of the 20 programmes she funds, using Government money. This is our money, and is being used to mislead voters and legislators.

The inevitable result will be rising suicide among young men for a further fifteen years, until the crisis forces itself upon their attention. To see why, take the opportunity to request her 1999 study  "Counting theCost".

The myths of domestic violence
Home Office Research Study 191:

reprinted from Ill Eagle 4, p4 (archived version at www.ivorcatt.com/99.htm)

More Gender Supremacism:

Sandra Horley Love and Pain A survival handbook for women pub. 1988 Bedford Square Press of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, 26 Bedford Sq, London   WC1B 3HU

Extracts from this volume:

Page 6:

.... many abused women have told of violence during pregnancy. .... Not only is a pregnant woman .... less able to defend herself, her unborn child is also at risk. As Nagul described: The first time he hit me was when I was pregnant. Over the months he got more and more aggressive. .... When I was 8 months pregnant he completely lost control and kicked me in the stomach. .... the baby .... came before her time, but luckily it didn’t harm her. ....

.... I fell pregnant with Julie. .... He used to hit me when I was carrying her, ....

Page 14:

Who are the offenders?

There are many misunderstandings about the kinds of men who abuse their partners. Rather than examine the facts, many people choose to say woman abuse is caused by stress, unemployment, alcoholism or mental illness or else to describe it as occurring only among certain groups in society, for example, the working classes. In fact, men who batter their partners come from all walks of life, all cultures and all religions. Wives of vicars, doctors and lawyers are as much at risk as women living with unskilled workers.

....

.... Research shows that the proportion of mentally ill people among batterers is no higher than in the population as a whole.