Severity of Victimization and Formal Help Seeking Among Men Who Experienced Intimate Partner Violence in Their Ongoing Relationships

Abstract

This study examined the severity of intimate partner violence (IPV) experienced by men in their ongoing relationships and their help-seeking behavior with the criminal justice system and other professional agencies. This study also examined the extent to which socio-demographic variables predicted formal help seeking among male victims of IPV. Data were drawn from 2009 and 2014 cycles of the Canadian General Social Survey on Victimization with a nationally representative sample of 52,400 respondents. It is estimated that about 655,400 men in Canada reported having experienced physical and/or sexual victimization due to IPV in married/common-law relationships at the time of the surveys between 2004 and 2014. The latent class analysis generated four types of IPV victimization among men. Among male victims of physical and/or sexual IPV, about 64,000 men experienced the most severe type of IPV characterized by chronic and severe physical and psychological violence with a high probability of injuries and negative emotional effects of IPV. Although most of the male victims of IPV did not seek formal help (e.g., did not contact the police and IPV services), the severity of experienced violence was associated with the increased use of formal services. Some structural factors, such as being unemployed and residing with young children, were found to be substantial barriers to contacting formal agencies for help. Our findings highlight the need for the development of gender-inclusive and gender-sensitive public policy and intervention programs that help all victims of IPV regardless of victim gender.

Suggestions to improve outcomes for male victims of domestic abuse: a review of the literature

“…That such a model is mainstream in both the legal system and support services not only leaves many workers without effective guidelines on how to respond to or support male victims of DA, but also contributes to the view that male victims of DA are elusive in comparison to female victims (Bohall et al 2016;Douglas and Hines 2011;Lysova et al 2020a). This view is also reflected in general SN Soc Sci (2021) society, where female-perpetrated DA is often minimized and men are frequently blamed for their own victimization (Lysova and Dim 2020;Tsang 2015;Walker et al 2020). This view is common across cultures but may be even more pronounced in cultures with more traditional views of gender roles or rigid expectations of masculinity (Ayodele 2017;Cheung et al 2009;Thobejane and Luthada 2019).…”

“…Male victims of DA may simply not feel as though the negative behaviours they face in their relationships constitute abuse (Lysova and Dim 2020;Tsang 2015;Walker et al 2020). There may be a number of contributing factors to this.…”

“…This view is common across cultures but may be even more pronounced in cultures with more traditional views of gender roles or rigid expectations of masculinity (Ayodele 2017;Cheung et al 2009;Thobejane and Luthada 2019). As a result of the pervasiveness of dismissive attitudes towards male victimization, men may be less inclined to view all but the most serious and violent acts from their partner as abuse (Arnocky and Vaillancourt 2014;Lysova and Dim 2020;Lysova et al 2020b).…”

“…This is due in part to the narrative reasons previously discussed surrounding female victims and male perpetrators (Ramsey 2015;Walker et al 2020). However, traditional masculine norms focus on male agency and control, and these notions are at odds with the idea of being a victim (Bates 2019;Lysova and Dim 2020;Walker et al 2020). In some ways, denial of this victimization language may come from a desire to avoid appearing vulnerable, both internally and to others (Ayodele 2017;Lysova and Dim 2020).…”

“…However, traditional masculine norms focus on male agency and control, and these notions are at odds with the idea of being a victim (Bates 2019;Lysova and Dim 2020;Walker et al 2020). In some ways, denial of this victimization language may come from a desire to avoid appearing vulnerable, both internally and to others (Ayodele 2017;Lysova and Dim 2020). Men may avoid this sense of vulnerability as a coping mechanism to help maintain their self-esteem and to combat shame, depression, and anxiety (Dim and Elabor-Idemudia 2018;Pešáková 2013;Shorey et al 2011).…”