MATHEMATICIANS advise that an equation should be treated as a balance whereby the left side always equals the right.

HERMANN KELLY exposed a little of the real agenda behind the so-called children’s rights referendum (Irish Examiner, March 9).

IN his article on the profile of child abusers (Analysis, The Irish Examiner, February 3), Shane Dunphy states: “While abusers are generally male, I have dealt with numerous cases involving female perpetrators, and have been involved in research projects that suggest that as many as 13% of children who have experienced abuse did so at the hands of a female family member”.

MARIANNE MACDONALD (Irish Examiner letters, February 28) pours cold water on Hermann Kelly’s assertion (February 22) that research shows “the best and safest environment for the upbringing of a child is in a stable natural family based on marriage”.

THE Labour Party’s women and equality officer Kirsi Hanifin (Irish Examiner letters, January 20) takes me to task for stating (Letters, January 16) that domestic violence is not a gender issue.

RATHER than dealing with the particular point raised by Patrick McGinnity in his letter headlined ‘Domestic violence campaign vilifies men’ (Irish Examiner letters, January 16), Kirsi Hanafin, the Labour Party’s Women and Equality Officer, seems to try to divert our attention away from the Women’s Aid advertising campaign, mentioning issues such as genital mutilation and female infanticide (Irish Examiner letters, January 20).

PATRICK McGINNITY suggests domestic violence is not and should not be seen as a gendered issue (Irish Examiner, January 16).

THE recent advertising campaign on domestic violence, funded by the Justice Department on behalf of Women’s Aid, once again presented men as violent abusers and women as their hapless victims.

IN my letter (Irish Examiner, October 30), I questioned why your columnist Fergus Finlay (Irish Examiner, October 24) had omitted male victims of domestic violence.

I WELCOME Dr Sarah Alyn Stacey’s acknowledgement that men are also victims of sexual harassment, (Irish Examiner letters, November 6).

REGARDING the newly-published Women’s Aid report (Irish Examiner, November 2), Áine Kerr states: “Overall, half of the abuses reported occurred in current relationships, with marriage remaining the most common context for abuse”.

I CAN only agree wholeheartedly with Patrick McGinnity’s assertion (Irish Examiner letters, October 31) that men may also be the victims of sexual harassment and I regret, therefore, that he interpreted my letter (Irish Examiner, October 27) as signalling women to be exclusive in this respect.

IN her letter, Dr Sarah Alyn Stacey (Irish Examiner, October 27) refers to the guilty party in sexual harassment cases as “he”, indicating that she considers all such cases to be the fault of men.

READING Fergus Finlay’s column (Irish Examiner, October 24), I was reminded of Bob Dylan’s line: ‘Maybe someday I’ll remember to forget.’

THE new advertisement produced by the Gay Police Association in the UK is nasty and degrading.

MARY CLEARY (Irish Examiner letters, October 5) draws attention to the plight of “thousands of fathers who feel they have been very badly treated by the family law courts”.

PRESIDENT Mary McAleese spoke recently in Athy, Co Kildare, at a ceremony to mark the 40th anniversary of Cluan Mhuire, the addiction recovery centre founded by Sr Consilio.

I AGREE wholeheartedly with the sentiments expressed by Mary Cleary (Irish Examiner letters, September 15) concerning the recent TCD study on domestic violence.

THE announcement of the Strategic Infrastructure Bill to fast track major projects is another nail in the coffin of Irish democracy.

IN her letter headlined ‘New policy needed on domestic violence’ (Irish Examiner, February 4), Senator Mary White refers to domestic violence research published last July by the National Crime Council.

ONE of the tragedies of our time is the war on childhood innocence being waged in contemporary western society.

LOVE of Amnesty International (Irish Examiner letters, April 1) dismisses my view that their ‘Stop Violence Against Women’ campaign is blatantly sexist (Irish Examiner, March 29).

IN her letter (Irish Examiner, March 18), Mary Cleary exposes the blatant sexism underpinning Amnesty International's 'Stop Violence Against Women' campaign.