By the end of the day you will know about this commercial, a "Public Service Announcement" by the N.F.L. to be aired during the Super Bowl, intended to demonstrate the N.F.L.'s supposed commitment towards reducing domestic and sexual violence, an issue brought to light by the highly publicized abuse incident caught on camera involving Ray Rice, among several other incidents. It is purportedly based on an actual call to 911. If you haven't seen it yet, you should first watch the above video to get the full effect, which is dramatic and very powerful. The transcript is below:
“I’d like to order a pizza for delivery.”
“Ma’am, you’ve reached 911. This is an emergency line.”
“Yeah, a large with half pepperoni, half mushrooms.”
“Um, you know you’ve called 911? This is an emergency line.”
“Do you know how long it will be?”
“OK, ma’am, is everything OK over there? Do you have an emergency or not?”
“Yes”
“...and you’re unable to talk because?”
“Right, right.”
“Is there someone in the room with you? Just say 'yes' or 'no.'”
“Yes.”
“OK, um, it looks like I have an officer about a mile from your location. Are there any weapons in your house?”
“No.”
“Can you stay on the phone with me?”
“No. See you soon. Thank you.”
The PSA was
created by the advertising firm Grey New York for the National Football League and
No More.org, a coalition of anti-domestic violence groups. It is obviously well-intended, but what stood out for me was the singular question by the "operator" regarding the presence of weapons in the house, and the woman's reply in the negative.
There are many different ways to interpret that snippet, depending on your point of view and, to some extent, on your politics. Pro-gun types and the NRA could easily interpret that as the operator intending to suggest that the woman take advantage of any weapons in the house (ostensibly to use them against her attacker). The fact that she doesn't have a weapon could be interpreted as a situation that needs to be remedied. Or, the fact that no weapons are in the house can be interpreted to indicate that since domestic violence occurs without guns, guns don't contribute to domestic violence.
Conversely, the fact that the operator even asks about weapons may be a red flag that if there are weapons involved, the stakes have grown immeasurably higher for the woman on the phone, particularly if she is having one pointed at her by her abuser. And, since 911 is dispatching the police, they obviously need to know whether there are any weapons in the house before they come knocking on the door. So in that respect the commercial can be interpreted as a warning against the dangers of having a gun in the house, both to potential victims of domestic violence as well as the police.
Whichever interpretation you apply, it's not hard to figure out why the producers of the spot took the trouble to establish there were no weapons in the house. Because if weapons were present in the house, there are some rather troubling implications to address that go well beyond the confines of a 60-second "Public Service" spot:
Of women murdered by men, 93 percent are killed by someone they know -- and the majority are intimate partners of their killers.
* * *
Our report used data from 2012, the most recent year for which national data are available. In that year, 1,706 females were murdered by males in single-victim/single-offender incidents. That's 33 victims every week and more than four every day.
Just as in previous years, we found the most common weapon men use to murder women is a gun. For homicides in which the murder weapon could be identified, 52 percent of victims were shot and killed with a gun. The most common firearm was a handgun, used in 69 percent of the homicides committed with guns.
The data above were obtained from
this report prepared last year by the
Violence Policy Center. The report also found that states with the highest rates of female homicide victims are listed
here. Leading the pack are Alaska, South Carolina, Oklahoma and Louisiana, all virulently "pro-gun" with Republican legislatures beholden to the National Rifle Association. And in fact it is impossible to separate the NRA from the issue of domestic violence, as they have inserted themselves directly into it:
The National Rifle Association and its financial backers in the gun industry often raise the specter of an unknown assailant in order to encourage women to buy guns. However, our report makes clear that the vast majority of female victims are not murdered by strangers in a dark alley. In reality, having a gun can actually increase a woman's chance of being killed. One study found that women living with a gun in the home were nearly three times more likely to be murdered than those with no gun in a home.
In short, the evidence shows that women murdered by men are nearly always killed by someone they know, most often by an intimate partner, and the most common weapon used is a gun. Reducing gun violence against women goes hand in hand with reducing domestic violence.
So while the NFL spot is commendable for raising awareness, it falls short of telling the whole story.