Examining Men’s Experiences of Abuse From a Female Intimate Partner in Four English-Speaking Countries

Abstract

This qualitative study explores the experiences of men who self-report victimization from a female intimate partner in four English-speaking countries. Forty-one men who reported any type of intimate partner abuse (IPA) from a female partner were recruited via targeted advertising in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Twelve online focus groups were conducted across countries using a phenomenologically informed design. Thematic analysis was carried out from an inductive and realist epistemological position and themes identified at a semantic level. This approach was taken to directly reflect the men’s experiences and perspectives, ensuring the voices of this hard-to-reach and overlooked population were heard. Three themes were identified across the countries: an imbalanced experience of harm; living with sustained abuse; and knowledge is power for men experiencing IPA. It was found that most participants underwent physical harm in the context of coercive control and experienced abuse over long periods of time. They were slow to recognize the magnitude of their partners’ behavior and act upon it for a range of reasons that are described in detail. In addition, promoting knowledge about the victimization of men by women, using appropriate language and active learning, was found to be important in helping the men gain autonomy and agency to break the pattern of abuse and aid their recovery. The implications of the findings for developing male-friendly IPA policy, practice, and services are discussed, in addition to the need for innovative research methodology to access hard-to-reach populations.

A Qualitative Study of the Male Victims’ Experiences With the Criminal Justice Response to Intimate Partner Abuse in Four English-Speaking Countries

“… Note. The same table appears in other articles published with these data (Dixon et al, in press; Lysova et al, in press). …”

“…For this study, we analyzed responses to Question 4 to provide an in-depth focus on men’s help-seeking that involved a CJS response. The other questions are the focus of other publications (Dixon et al, in press; Douglas et al, 2018; Lysova et al, in press).…”

Help seeking by male victims of domestic violence and abuse: an example of an integrated mixed methods synthesis of systematic review evidence defining methodological terms

“…We are aware because of the length of this process there is new evidence which could be assimilated into this IMMS. Three multi-country studies by the same research team have been published in 2020 [37][38][39].. One of these new studies reenforces the findings of our IMMS on help seeking by male victims and service provision [37]. The second study specifically examines male victims experiences of the criminal justice system and this would add new material to our IMMS [38].…”

“…The second study specifically examines male victims experiences of the criminal justice system and this would add new material to our IMMS [38]. The final study focuses on male victims experiences of female perpetrated violence [39]. In an ideal world we would update this IMMS but we are confident that the evidence summary and conclusions still stands in 2020.…”

Men, masculinities, and gender‐based violence: The broadening scope of recent research

“…Large sample quantitative studies that perforce homogenize men's experiences can make it appear as though their rates of victimization are similar to women, but claims of symmetry in GBV are highly disputed as the large data sets used to demonstrate symmetry often lack the complexity of measurement or depth of context required to compare men's experiences to women's effectively (Anderson, 2005; Felson & Cares, 2005; Gavey, 2019; Harris, 2012; Michalski, 2005; Morris & Ratajczak, 2019; Stemple, Flores, Ilan, & Meyer, 2017; Stemple & Meyer, 2014). That said, recent research with small samples has demonstrated that violence inflicted on men by female partners is often quite severe (Allen‐Collinson, 2011; Archer, 2002; Dixon et al., 2020; Migliaccio, 2001), and that the longstanding argument that women only or usually commit violence in self‐defense may not be empirically supported (Felson & Cares, 2005; Sarantakos, 2004).…”