Using statistics to further your own agenda?

Statistics are easily tripped out to make a point that is not neccessarily the case.

They should always be scrutinised.

For the last 250 years the number of blacksmith's forges in the world has dropped off dramatically and over the same period of time the average temperature of the earth has risen. More blacksmith forges = reduction in global warming.

Its easy to cherry pick and mis-represent statistics.

Have this conversation in a year's time and you'll be stifling the yawns :)

Flamingo - just wait. I got into a debate (much against my will, it was a party fgs) with a friend about the subject of a recent feminist campaign. In the end I just told him "you will NOT be better informed than me on this, and I will out-argue you so you might as well give up now!" :o Not my usual style at all but the good thing about being a feminist in a misognist society is you get plenty of chance to practise your arguments.

With regards to violence against women, I would point out that unlike violence against men, it is sanctioned and promoted by our society. Most people don't say that men are responsible for the violence which other men (mainly) inflict on them, but they do say that women are. The attitudes are very different and that's worth spotlighting. I'd also say that in the case of women, much of the violence is of a sexual nature and that women live with the constant threat of it in a way that men don't - we are more likely to alter our habits by taking taxis etc., than men are, because we don't feel safe on the streets. Now many men also don't feel completely safe, but they do feel safer and they don't automatically feel the need to shell out loads of dosh for a taxi every time they go out, because otherwise they might be a) beaten up and/ or raped and b) blamed for being so becaus they should have got a taxi/ shouldn't have gone out.

I don't see how anyone can claim that there isn't a problem when it comes to violence against women.

Extremely low levels of rape reporting, high rates of attrition, low conviction rates (in England and Wales alone, let alone the problem elsewhere - DRC anyone?)

Women aren't getting access to justice. It's a nightmare.

What is MWR?

Other posters more eloquent than me can explain why it is important to focus specifically on violence against women. I think it is possible to stand against all oppression and still focus attention on one form of oppression first and foremost.

It's hard to know how to respond to that without more detail

What does she mean "sensationalised statistics"?

Statistics are statistics. You can report them sensationally, but the statistics themselves don't change.