The Empathy Gap: Male Disadvantages and the Mechanisms of Their Neglect

From the Preface: "This book majors on the presentation of empirical evidence in the form of data. The most digestible form for communicating such material is through the use of Tables and Figures, generally graphs. Consequently, the book has a great many Tables and Figures and the latter are often in colour. Viewing on a device capable of rendering colours is therefore recommended although monochrome will be adequate in most cases." The Empathy Gap proposes the thesis that men and boys are extensively disadvantaged across many areas of life, including in education, healthcare, genital integrity, criminal justice, domestic abuse, working hours, taxation, pensions, paternity, homelessness, suicide, sexual offences, and access to their own children after parental separation. The claim is justified in the book by empirical evidence, mostly but not exclusively from the UK, involving nearly 1,000 references, 179 Figures and 49 Tables. To most people, of both sexes, this will appear to be a perverse perspective as disadvantage has become the province of women, girls and minorities, not males. Yet the empirical case supporting the disadvantages suffered by men and boys is undeniable to the objective mind. But if this is so, why is the popular perception that males are privileged whereas disadvantage is the province of the opposite sex? Why do the male disadvantages go largely unremarked, by both sexes, if they are so pervasive? Presenting the case for widespread and substantial male disadvantage is also a challenge to the usual hegemonic paradigm of feminist theory. These issues are addressed within The Empathy Gap by presenting an entirely different orientation on the social psychology of relations between the sexes. Out goes the idea of an oppressive patriarchy. Instead, a man's participation in the human pair bond is seen to be altruistic, a phenomenon arising originally from evolution and enacted in the individual via the emotional psyche. This is the origin of an asymmetry in the perception of the sexes which normalises the preferencing of females and therefore inevitably disadvantages males as a corollary. The successful evolved strategy involves male utility and relative male disposability, the latter being facilitated by a muted empathy for males, by both sexes - the empathy gap. Rather than working to overcome this male disposability, as a true egalitarian movement would have done, feminism has fed upon it and amplified it. The feminist project relies upon the true state of affairs remaining unacknowledged, and the empathy gap is instrumental in its own invisibility. In respect of this theory, the author makes no claim for originality. The ideas presented have been circulating within the sub-culture for decades. However, the focus of the book is to show how these ideas are manifest in practice.

Table of Contents:
Testimonials Preface to the 2021 eBook Edition 1. The Differently Gendered Society 1.1 Purpose of this Book 1.2 Equality? 1.3 What is the Origin of the Empathy Gap? 1.3.1 The Nine Factors Underlying the Empathy Gap 1.3.2 Discussion of the Factors Underlying the Empathy Gap 1.4 Aims and Limitations 2. Education 2.1 Primary School Attainment 2.2 Secondary School Attainment Aged 16 2.3 A Levels 2.4 University Entry 2.5 Gender Gap and the Nature of the Award 2.6 Innate Gender Difference? Adult Competencies 2.7 School Staff and Stereotyping 2.8 University Staff, STEMM and Athena Swan 2.9 Gender Skew in Provision 2.10 Perceptions and Expectations 2.11 Worldwide 2.12 Summary: The Education Empathy Gap 3. Physical Health and Longevity 3.1 Gender Disparity in Premature and Early Death 3.2 The Leading Causes of Premature Death (<75) 3.2.1 Cardiovascular Diseases 3.2.2 Cancers 3.2.3 HIV-AIDS 3.3 The Leading Causes of Early Death (<45) 3.4 Occupational Health and Workplace Injuries and Deaths 3.4.1 Workplace Deaths in History 3.4.2 Workplace Deaths Now 3.4.3 Non-Fatal Injuries at Work 3.4.4 Occupational Health Issues 4. Men's Access to Healthcare and Health Spending by Sex 4.1 Men's Access to Healthcare 4.2 Global Health of Men 4.3 Healthcare and Health Research Spending 4.3.1 USA Healthcare Spending by Sex 4.3.2 USA Health Research Spending by Sex 4.4 The Empathy Gap in Men's Health 5. Male Genital Mutilation: History and Harm 5.1 Anatomy, Histology and Function of the Foreskin 5.1.1 Foreskin Development: Retraction 5.2 The History of MGM 5.3 MGM Procedures, Practitioners and Risk 5.3.1 Risks of the Procedure 5.4 Prevalence and Incidence of MGM 5.5 The Harmful Effects of MGM 5.5.1 Studies of Sensitivity 5.5.2 Studies of Men's Sexual Experience after Circumcision 5.5.3 Survey Evidence: Men's Subjective Experience of Circumcision 6. MGM: Claimed Benefits and Legality 6.1 Background to the 2017 review of Morris et al 6.2 Critique of the claims of Morris et al, 2017. 6.2.1 Urinary Tract Infections 6.2.2 Phimosis 6.2.3 Balanitis / Candidiasis 6.2.4 Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) 6.2.5 Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) 6.2.6 Other Diseases 6.3 The Opinion of Medical Bodies Worldwide 6.4 Legal Issues 6.4.1 The Illegality of MGM in the UK 6.4.2 Attempts to Make MGM Illegal in Other Countries 6.5 The Male Genital Mutilation Empathy Gap 7. Work, Pay, Tax, Spending and Pensions 7.1 UK Unemployment Data 7.2 UK Economic Inactivity 7.3 Gendered Occupations 7.3.1 The Public Sector 7.3.2 Armed Forces 7.3.3 Apprenticeships 7.3.4 The Gender Equality "Paradox" 7.3.5 Diversity? 7.4 The UK Gender Pay Gap 7.5 Gender Pay Gap Reporting: Company Submissions 7.6 Working Hours: The Gender Pay Gap is a Work Gap 7.7 Spending and Wealth by Sex 7.7.1 UK in Year 1993/4 7.7.2 Wealth and Spending, UK and USA, 2008 to 2018 7.8 Income Taxes 7.9 Pensions 7.9.1 Occupational and Personal Pensions; the Private and Public Sectors 7.9.2 The State Pension 7.9.3 Numbers of Payees and Recipients 7.9.4 Gender Pension Inequality? 7.10 Housework and Unpaid Caring 7.10.1 Men and Housework 7.10.2 Men as Unpaid Carers 7.11 The Empathy Gap in Work, Pay, Wealth, Spending and Taxes 8. Imprisonment 8.1 Harsher Treatment for Men 8.1.1 Harsher Treatment Over Time 8.1.2 Harsher Treatment by Sex 8.2 Pop Goes the Woozle 8.3 Characteristics of Prisoners 8.3.1 Children in Prison 8.3.2 Prisoners' IQ 8.4 Male Prisoners and Their Families 8.5 Self-Harming in Prison 8.6 Deaths in Prison 8.6.1 Suicide in Prison 8.6.2 Deaths in Prison from 'Natural' Causes 8.7 The Empathy Gap in Imprisonment 9. Violence and Abuse 9.1 All Violence 9.1.1 Victims 9.1.2 Perpetrators 9.2 Violence and Abuse Within the Home: Men as Victims 9.2.1 Incidence of Male Victims: Survey Data 9.2.2 Severe Force 9.2.3 Demographic Dependence of DA 9.2.4 Domestic Violence and Marital Status 9.2.5. Repeated Domestic Abuse 9.2.6 Reports to Police, Prosecutions and Convictions 9.2.7 Domestic Homicides 9.2.8 International Studies of Domestic Abuse 9.2.9 Dads as Victims of Domestic Violence 9.2.10 Domestic Abuse Services: The Sexes Compared 9.2.11 Perpetrator Programmes 9.3 The Empathy Gap for Men as Victims of Violence 10. Family Court Statistics 10.1 Family Court Statistics (England and Wales) 10.2 The Paramountcy Principle and the Perception of Risk 10.3 Legal Aid, LASPO and the Role of False Allegations 10.3.1 Legal Aid and LASPO 10.3.2 The Domestic Violence Legal Aid Gateway 10.3.3 Prevalence of Allegations of Domestic Abuse 10.3.4 Which Sex Gets Legal Aid in the Family Courts? 10.3.5 Routes through the Gateway 10.3.6 Statistics of Domestic Violence Remedy Orders 10.4 Lobbying and Serious Case Reviews 10.5 The Empathy Gap Against Fathers in the Family Courts 11. Are the Family Courts Biased Against Fathers? 11.1. Introduction 11.2 The 2008 Study of Hunt & MacLeod 11.3 Lawyers', Judges' and Court Officers' Opinions 11.4 The 2015 Study of Harding and Newnham 11.5 Enforcement 11.6 What Proportion of Separating Couples Apply to Court? 11.7 Actual Contact Outcomes 11.8 Financial Issues 11.9 The Empathy Gap Against Non-Resident Fathers 12. Parental Alienation, ACEs and the Woozling of Shared Parenting 12.1 What is Parental Alienation? 12.1.1 Prevalence of Alienation 12.2 Adverse Childhood Experiences 12.2.1 Behaviour and Health Outcomes of ACEs 12.2.2 ACEs and Parental Involvement 12.3 Woozling Shared Parenting 12.4 Parental Conflict and the Benefit of Contact 12.5 Empathy Gap in Alienation and Shared Care 13. The Drivers of Fatherlessness 13.1 Marriage, Divorce, Cohabitation and Single Living: the Data 13.2 Statistics on Children's Living Arrangements 13.3 The Decline of Marriage Drives Fatherlessness 13.4 The Socioeconomics of Marriage: The Marriage Gap 13.5 Summary of the Drivers of Fatherlessness 14. The Effect of Fatherlessness on Outcomes for Children 14.1 The Differing Perspectives on Fatherhood 14.2 Families Without Fatherhood, Dennis & Erdos, 1992 14.3 The Big Picture - A Selection of Studies 14.4 The Study of Radl, Salazar and Cebolla-Boado, 2017 14.5 The Study of McLanahan, Tach and Schneider, 2013 14.6 The Indirect Empathy Gap for Fatherless Children 15. Paternity and Its Enemies 15.1 Men's Control Over Their Own Fertility 15.1.1 Male Contraception 15.1.2 Option Denied? 15.1.3 Men's Fertility 15.2 Mispaternity and Paternity Fraud 15.2.1 Terminology and Perception 15.2.2 The Prevalence of Mispaternity 15.2.3 Men are Not Legally Entitled to Know if a Child is Theirs (UK) 15.2.4 A "Thin View" of Fatherhood? 15.3 The Empathy Gap Against Paternity and Male Fertility 16. Homelessness and Loneliness 16.1 Statutory Homelessness and "Single" Homelessness 16.1.1 Statutory Homelessness in England 16.1.2 Statutory Homelessness in Scotland 16.1.3 Statutory Homelessness in Wales 16.1.4 Statutory Homelessness in Northern Ireland 16.1.5 Statutory Homelessness: The Big Picture on Gender 16.2 Rough Sleepers 16.2.1 Rough Sleeper Counts in England 16.2.2 CHAIN Data for London 16.2.3 Rough Sleeper Counts in Wales 16.3 Deaths of Rough Sleepers 16.3.1 Bethany Thomas 2012 Data 16.3.2 ONS Data 16.3.3 Data from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism 16.4 Loneliness 16.4.1 Loneliness Survey in England 16.4.2 Loneliness Survey in Wales 16.5 The Empathy Gap in Homelessness and Loneliness 17. Mental Ill-Health and Substance Abuse 17.1 Mental Ill Health in Adults 17.1.1 Common Mental Disorders 17.1.2 Personality Disorders 17.1.3 Autism Spectrum Disorders 17.1.4 Psychotic Disorders 17.1.5 Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) 17.1.6 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) 17.1.7 Bipolar Disorder 17.1.8 Mental Disorders and Employment 17.1.9 Access to Treatment by Demographic 17.2 Mental Ill Health in Children and Young Adults 17.2.1 All Disorders 17.2.2 Emotional Disorders 17.2.3 Behavioural Disorders 17.2.4 Hyperactivity Disorders 17.2.5 Autism, Eating Disorders and Less Common Disorders 17.2.6 Mental Health Medication of Children 17.2.7 Demographic, Lifestyle and Sexuality Factors 17.2.8 Teenagers and Students in the USA 17.3 Substance Abuse 17.3.1 Alcohol Abuse 17.3.2 Drug Abuse 17.4 People Detained under the Mental Health Act 17.5 APA and BPS Guidelines for the Psychological Practice with Boys and Men 17.5.1 APA Versus Data 17.6 The Empathy Gap in Mental Health Perceptions 18. Suicide, Suicidality and Self-Harm 18.1 Self-Harm, Suicidality and Suicide Attempts (England) 18.2 Suicide 18.2.1 UK Suicide Statistics and Trends 18.2.2 The Suicide Paradox 18.2.3 Reasons for the High Male Suicide Rate 18.2.4 Methods of Suicide and Suicide Attempts 18.3 Male Suicide: Narratives, Rationalisations and Blaming 18.4 The Empathy Gap in Suicide 19. Rape and False Allegations 19.1 Definition of Sexual Offences 19.2 Prevalence of Rape and Police Reports 19.3 Conviction Statistics for Rape 19.3.1 Sex of Rape Victims and Defendants 19.4 Attrition 19.5 Rape Trials and Juries 19.5.1 Video Evidence by Complainants 19.5.2 "Training" Rape Trial Juries 19.5.3 Rape Trials Without Juries? 19.6 False Allegations of Rape 19.6.1 The Harm Done by False Allegations 19.7 Disclosure 19.8 The Empathy Gap in Accusations of Sexual Assault 20. Sexual Assault: The Story Less Told 20.1 Sex Offender Prisoner Statistics (UK) 20.2 Examples of Women's Sexual Abuse of Minors 20.3 The Prevalence of Female Sexual Abuse of Minors (UK) 20.4 Male Offenders' History of Childhood Sexual Abuse 20.5 Perceptions of Female Perpetration and the Damage Done 20.6 The Sex of the Victim 20.7 Female Offender Sentencing 20.8 Female Sexual Offending in Correctional Facilities in the USA 20.9 Sexual Assault of Adult Men by Women 20.10 Adult Prison Sexual Assault 20.11 War Rape 20.12 The Empathy Gap in Sexual Assault 21. Reprise: The Case for the Empathy Gap 21.1 Education 21.2 Health and Longevity 21.3 Male Genital Mutilation 21.4 Work, Pay, Tax and Pensions 21.5 Imprisonment 21.6 Violence and Abuse 21.7 Family Courts 21.8 Alienation, ACES and Shared Care 21.9 Drivers of Fatherlessness 21.10 Effects of Fatherlessness on Children 21.11 Men's Fertility and Paternity Fraud 21.12 Homelessness and Loneliness 21.13 Mental Health 21.14 Suicide 21.15 Rape and False Allegations 21.16 Sexual Assault: The Story Less Told 21.17 In Conclusion Acronyms References Index

About the Author :
William Collins is a British retired engineer and physicist who blogs on issues relating to men and boys at The Illustrated Empathy Gap (EmpathyGap.uk).

Review :
"This man is a master. I am in awe of his work.";Janice Fiamengo, Professor of English and author of Sons of Feminism: Men Have Their Say and Daughters of Feminism: Women Supporting Men's Equality;"The Illustrated Empathy Gap is my 'go to' website for first-class evidence-based research into the twenty-first century hostility destroying the family unit and gender-based hostility towards men and boys.";Erin Pizzey, founder of the world's first refuge for domestic violence victims;"William Collins is the most insightful blogger on gender issues in the world, on his website The Illustrated Empathy Gap. This book will tell you all you need to know about the devastating impacts of feminism on men and boys directly, and on women and girls indirectly. A tour de force.";Mike Buchanan, founder and leader (2013-) of the British political party Justice for Men and Boys (and the women who love them), author of Feminism: The Ugly Truth and The Glass Ceiling Delusion;"For someone like me who likes facts and figures, finding EmpathyGap.uk was like stumbling upon an amazing hidden treasure trove. The observations which I had been building up about the positions of men and women in society, in particular the difficulties which men faced, suddenly had a mountain of rigorous, dependable, and authoritative sources to back them up. To focus on the rigour of William's research does not begin to do it justice. He reminds us of exactly how damaging and perverse what has been happening is, bringing us down to earth with a bump.";Belinda Brown, researcher, writer and speaker on family, feminism and men;"For some years, William Collins has consistently been writing the most important journalism that is appearing anywhere in the English-speaking world. His unmatched powers of analysis and synthesis, together with an unswerving intellectual rigour and devotion to evidence-based reason, make his output a genuine treasure. Nobody on earth is doing more to demolish the wicked myths, pernicious fictions and poisonous superstitions of the modern feminist creed.";Neil Lyndon, journalist, author of No More Sex War and Sexual Impolitics;"The Empathy Gap should have been an academic text. However, being the most significant, comprehensive and serious book to be published on gender - quite probably bar none - academe's loss is wider society's gain.";Elizabeth Hobson, former leader (2020/21), Justice for Men and Boys (and the women who love them)