Male Victims of Domestic Abuse
Call for participation in research project
Domestic abuse – not just a women’s issue
Over the past decades there has been an increase in awareness to the sensitive issue of domestic abuse and the topic has become a part of public discourse as well as government policy attention.
The Home Office (2013) defines domestic abuse as:
“any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are, or have been, intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality. The abuse can encompass, but is not limited to:
- psychological
- physical
- sexual
- financial
- emotional abuse.”
Clearly the phenomenon of PAS or Parental Alienation Syndrome, where the resident parent remains implacably hostile towards the non-resident parent and embarks upon a concerted campaign of hostility in order to alienate the children from that parent, is a form of abuse about which there are growing levels of awareness.
Despite this growing interest and awareness, however, there are still pervasive public misconceptions about what domestic abuse may entail and who the perpetrators and victims can be.
The Office for National Statistics (2014) found that 1.2 million women and 700,000 men reported having experienced domestic abuse in 2012/13. While the official Home Office (2013) definition of domestic abuse recognises that victims and perpetrators may be of any gender, sexuality, age, ethnicity, or social status, the current Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) framework for tackling domestic abuse sets out that
“domestic violence prosecutions should be addressed within an overall framework of violence against women and girls as well as alongside human rights”. (CPS, 2014).
This approach influences the support provision available to male victims as well as the attention given to their experiences and needs. The experiences and needs of male victims remain systematically unrecognised, under-researched and under-represented.
Addressing the experiences and needs of male victims
As part of a dissertation research project Anita Borondi is exploring the institutional processes involved in shaping male victims’ experiences of support seeking and the police inquiry into reported incidents.
The project examines the experiences of men who have been victims of domestic abuse. In particular, it focuses on their experiences regarding support seeking, decisions surrounding reporting incidents to the police and the process of investigation. For these purposes, she is seeking to gather information directly from the victims to ensure the authenticity of the data.
Please note that if you have been a victim of domestic abuse but have not sought any support nor did you report it to the police you can still participate in the research project.
Giving voice to male victims of domestic abuse – Research aims and expected outcomes
The project will contribute to three interrelated areas of knowledge simultaneously: (a) it will enhance our current understanding of male victims’ experiences of domestic abuse; (b) it will outline the investigative process involved in policing such cases and identify the main decision making points during the investigation; (c) it will map out the institutional processes that translocally shape both victims’ experiences and the policing process.
In addition to enhancing our theoretical understandings, the study also allows for male victims to participate in a research project that highlights their experiences and gives voice to them. From a practical point of view, the study will have the potential to identify the needs of male victims and possible gaps in currently available support provision.
I’m interested in participating – what will I need to do?
If you would like to take part in the project you can easily do so by completing an online questionnaire that will ask you about the following topics:
- Information about you (anonymous)
- Your experiences with domestic abuse
- Your experiences of seeking support regarding the abuse
- Your decision whether to report the incident to the police and why.
- Your experiences regarding the police investigation.
Your participation would be voluntary, confidential and anonymous.
You can access the questionnaire here: http://goo.gl/forms/ZfhD9F8M4V
Thank you in advance for your consideration and please to do not hesitate to get in contact should you have any further queries regarding the research:
Anita Borondi MA(Hons), MBPsS
E: U1471662@unimail.hud.ac.uk
Daddy don't you walk so fast 