Slap-Happy Serbs

The local paper today ran a quarter-page item lamenting the supposed cultural backwardness of Serbia, where, apparently, it is still considered socially acceptable to slap one's wife. One in three Serbian women, the piece laments, has suffered this form of “domestic violence.” (“In macho Serbia, it's okay to slap the wife,” Gulf Times, August 7, 2008).

I guess it is possible to see slapping someone in the face as assault. I guess some could believe this is an important issue, that it should be a criminal matter, and needs immediate government attention.

Still—what about a little balance? In what countries is it not socially acceptable for wives to slap their husbands? And how many men have been victims of this form of assault?

Is sauce for the goose really poison for the gander?