"I Have Guys Call Me and Say 'I Can't Be the Victim of Domestic Abuse'": Exploring the Experiences of Telephone Support Providers for Male Victims of Domestic Violence and Abuse.

Benjamin Hine,Elizabeth A Bates,Sarah Wallace

doi:10.1177/0886260520944551

Abstract

While previous studies have begun to provide evidence on the experiences of male victims of domestic violence and abuse (DVA), current understanding in this area is still limited, and subject to narrow methods of inquiry. Moreover, little is known regarding the challenges of providing support to men in abusive relationships, and how barriers to effective service engagement are experienced by both men and service practitioners. This is an important area for exploration, as the gender-specific experiences and needs of men have been historically overlooked within academic research and service provision. The present study therefore had two principal aims: first, to provide more detailed information regarding the nature and context of abuse toward, and help-seeking experiences of, male victims, and second, to explore the experiences of those supporting abused men. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four call handlers at a U.K. domestic abuse charity supporting male victims. Transcribed interviews were subjected to thematic analysis, revealing a superordinate theme of stereotypes and expectations of men which affected all the other three overarching and eight subthemes, including those detailing the range and severity of abuse suffered, the role of family and friends, barriers to reporting for abused men, and challenges in supporting them. Implications for services working with male victims of DVA are discussed: centered around the need for recognition, increased awareness, increased resourcing, and the provision of gender-inclusive services catering for the gender-specific needs of men.

Highlights

Much of the early research exploring domestic violence and abuse (DVA) posited that such violence results from men’s desire to control and dominate, rooted in historically and socially constructed patriarchal values which emphasize and facilitate male privilege
From our thematic analysis (TA), we chose one superordinate theme, Stereotypes and expectations of men, and three overarching themes, Men’s experiences and how they talk about it (Types of abuse, Recognizing and accepting, Outcome and impact of disbelief and expectations, Outcome and impact of abuse), Family and friends (Seeking advice, Desire to protect), and Barriers and challenges (For men, For service providers)
This theme represents unhelpful notions of gender and associated expectations of how men should behave, and expect themselves to behave, and its negative effects on almost every aspect of their abusive experience: I have guys that call me and say “I can’t be a victim of domestic abuse

Summary

Introduction

Much of the early research exploring domestic violence and abuse (DVA) posited that such violence results from men’s desire to control and dominate, rooted in historically and socially constructed patriarchal values which emphasize and facilitate male privilege. This valuable body of work has been instrumental in highlighting and exploring the experiences of abused women, and their support needs. A. Bates et al, 2019; Hine, 2019) within the literature which uniformly describes DVA as physical abuse perpetrated by men toward women, and which excuses female violence as enacted primarily in self-defense (Dutton & Corvo, 2006). Literature examining the experiences, outcomes, and help-seeking behavior of male victims, while still sparse (Morgan et al, 2014), is beginning to develop into a significant body of research

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