On Earth right now, there are about 62 million women who have experienced physical and/or sexual violence since the age of 15, according to a survey by European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). The morals surrounding that issue lack what is right or wrong. This leans towards being very wrong.

    But based on these statistics, this type of violence isn’t an isolated issue. One of those 62 million could be a person hurting in our community, in our classrooms, or even worse, someone in our circle of friends.

    “FRA’s survey shows that…violence against women is an extensive human rights abuse in all EU Member States. The enormity of the problem is proof that violence against women does not just impact a few women only – it impacts on society every day,” FRA Director Morten Kjaerum said.

    So if those statistics shouldn’t be that high, why would any man today consider hitting a woman?

    “If she’s going to act like a man, I’m going to treat her like a man.” This line was used across the internet when people were discussing a video of Cleveland, Ohio bus driver Artis Hughes who got into a fiery argument with 25-year-old female passenger Shidea N. Lane.             In the clip that happened on Sept. 18, 2012, the woman provoked the driver to the point where he stood up and assaulted her, roughing her around before people got involved. His explanation for his actions was his excuse stated earlier.

    Based on his quote, men are naturally brutalistic animals who get into arguments and solve them with physical violence. That’s what happened after all, so isn’t that what being a man means? No, that certainly doesn’t sound right.

    Then does Hughes mean “getting treated like a man” has to involve violence then? No, all humans are taught as children to treat others as they would like to be treated, and no one wants to get hit.

    There is no logic in his statement, but what the underlying message says is that if a woman hits a man, then he has the right to hit her back.

    First off, women aren’t off the hook for this one. Violence is not acceptable, no matter what the circumstance. Regardless of gender, people should not be using their fists to solve problems.

    Men, if you have the strength to respond to a raging woman violently, you have the strength to fend her off as you walk away. Just because you have testosterone in your system does not mean you have to use it. She shouldn’t be hitting you, or provoking you, but it takes a real man to walk away and solve a situation with decorum.

    This goes both ways, extending also to same-gender assault. If you can raise your hand to an aggressor, then you can take that strength and turn on your heel with it. No matter what, it is never justifiable to hit another human being.

    “I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is  only temporary; the evil it does is permanent,” Mahatma Gandhi said.