Truth and Prejudice: Men's Experiences of Domestic Violence

By Edith J. Kashobera Crawford

Domestic violence is a serious social problem that is heart-breaking to each and every victim who experiences the abuse. However, it has hitherto been depicted in a misleading manner, by portraying men as always the perpetrators and women always the victims. This book is packed with factual evidence that shows that men are also victims of domestic violence perpetrated by their wives or female partners, and in high numbers. It thus dispels this old misleading stereotype and establishes that domestic violence is not a gender issue as heretofore portrayed, but a social issue and one capable of being perpetrated by either partner in an intimate relationship.

TRUTH AND PREJUDICE: Mens Experiences of Domestic Violence is based on a review of research findings from around the world covering Australia, Canada, China, South Africa, Uganda, United Kingdom and United States - confirming the reality of domestic violence against men by their wives or female partners. The book unveils the truth head-on, and lays bare the prejudice that male victims are subjected to by those responsible for responding to domestic violence victims.

Divided into four chapters - each examining a key issue of mens experiences - the subjects under discussion are: the prevalence and extent of this abuse against men; detrimental impact of this on them the disparity in support/service provision and biased response to male victims - concluding with an overview of the main arguments and recommendations for a way forward. The book is comprehensive in its examination of these issues and jargon-free, thus capable of appealing to all those (men or women) interested in the unbiased portrayal of domestic violence in our societies.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Apr 13, 2006
• ISBN: 9781467023818

Edith J. Kashobera Crawford

The author is a Domestic Abuse and Victims Rights criminologist and an independent researcher, with a masters degree in criminal justice studies. Her credentials as an author include two academic dissertations, one titled:Mode of Trial Procedure for Offences Triable Either Way at Magistrates Courts - for an undergraduate research project in Criminology, the other titled: Violence & Health: A review of the Health Sector Policy on Domestic Violence and Related Health Consequences - for the Masters Degree research project. Before that, the author had pursued a writing course for Short Stories and Articles with the London School of Journalism, and has had some of her articles published in newspapers, news magazines and womens magazines. In the field of criminal justice issues,the author has also been involved with victims of crime as an Approved Visitor for her local Victim Support Scheme in London, which she did after attending training tailored specifically to offer emotional support and practical help to victims of crime. She also trained in victim-offender mediation skills and thereafter worked briefly as a volunteer in this capacity for a local Scheme in London. Prior to her involvement in criminal justice issues, the author had worked as a broadcaster/newsreader. This involved translating news items from English into a local language, and entailed much writing, revising and proofreading of the scripts prior to broadcast. The author has also worked in other roles including teaching at a secretarial college and office administration duties.

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© 2007 Edith J. Kashobera Crawford. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 2/27/2007

ISBN: 978-1-4208-8339-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4670-6518-4 (ebk)

Printed in the United States of America

Bloomington, Indiana

Contents

Preamble

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Bibliography

Endnotes

About The Author

Preamble 

Aims and Objectives

The twofold aim of this research was to explore the prevalence of domestic violence against men by their wives and female partners, and to examine the response and attitudes of professionals, practitioners and other service providers to male victims of domestic violence. The objectives were to:

•   bring to surface the hidden side of this violence/abuse against men so as to enhance our understanding of men’s experiences of domestic violence hitherto eclipsed, thereby raising more awareness of this abuse against men;

•   illustrate (subject to the assumption that men would be more resilient to effects of such abuse) the detrimental consequences experienced by men as a result of the hurt and distress of domestic violence against them;

•   demonstrate the discrepancy and lack of impartiality that exists in responding to men’s experiences of domestic violence, by professionals and other practitioners responsible for intervening in cases of domestic violence; and

•   conclude with an overview of a clearer picture of the existence of domestic violence against men, thereby dispelling the stereotype of men always being the perpetrators of this abuse and, consequently, establishing that domestic violence is not a gender issue as hitherto portrayed.

The idea to undertake this investigation occurred to me while conducting research for my master’s degree in criminal justice, which focussed on domestic violence and its consequences on the victims. Although that research focussed on women as the main victims of domestic violence and men as the main perpetrators (as it appeared then), a different picture started unfolding as I reviewed the numerous literature on domestic violence. This revealed (albeit with a brief mention) that some men are also victims while some women are also perpetrators. I was, therefore, intrigued to explore the truth about this, i.e. its prevalence and extent; whether the male victims experience the same detrimental consequences that women do, and if so, how their victimization is being responded to. I was likewise motivated by the need to re-examine the current interpretations in order that domestic violence is perceived as violence that is capable of being inflicted by either partner in intimate relationships, thereby dispelling the stereotype of men always being seen as the perpetrators and women always as the victims, an approach that has tended to distort the concept of domestic violence and its victims. The questions examined as I undertook this investigation were, therefore:

(a)   How prevalent and extensive is domestic violence against men?

(b)   Are the numbers and experiences of male victims sufficient to make their victimization a problem worthy of attention by professionals and other service providers?

(c)   Do male victims experience the same detrimental effects of abuse as women do? If so, how are male victims’ experiences of domestic violence being responded to by those responsible for support and other types of intervention in domestic violence issues?

Methodology

The methodology chosen for this study was documentary review and analysis. Whereas documentary research is, perhaps, generally regarded as less important than other sources of data such as questionnaires and interviews, I was encouraged by the fact that even founders of modern social science like Durkheim (1951) and Marx and Weber (1930), drew extensively on documentary sources in their seminal works (University of Leicester, 1998-2000:126). Indeed, MacDonald and Tipton (1993:183-4) point out that the tradition of documentary studies started by these eminent scholars remains an important research tool in its own right as well as being an invaluable part of most schemes of triangulation. And, although studies that focus exclusively on husband abuse are rare, they are now beginning to emerge. This, therefore, boosted my confidence that this was, indeed, a valid and reliable method of data collection.

Consequently, for this inquiry, my main research tool was documentary evidence, which tool was also used as the focus of the research. Therefore, the research was primarily literature-based and involved reviewing official and public documents, including those of the Home Office (UK); The Scottish Executive (UK); the Canada Health Department; the World Health Organization; the American Medical Association and those of Australian, American, and British academic institutions. I also reviewed books by individuals; reports; newspapers (mindful of the possible exaggeration and sensational reporting by the media and, consequently, to attach weight cautiously); television interviews and publications on the internet - the primary consideration being the rationale behind such documents/publications. This intense search yielded good material on the existence of domestic violence against men, its impact and consequences on them, and how men’s experiences and needs are being responded to worldwide, in line with current interest and focus on domestic violence issues.

The initial concern, however, was that there might not be enough data to review given that the subject of male victims of domestic violence doesn’t seem to be receiving as much attention as that of domestic violence against women. Therefore, I applied the triangulation concept and used within-method triangulation by carrying out wider reading in order to complement the official documents so as to balance the strengths and the weaknesses of differing methods in order to maximize the theoretical value of the research and to reveal aspects of phenomena which the use of one method alone would miss - the purpose being to enhance the validity of the information gathered. Indeed, most of the research findings I reviewed had used cross-method triangulation of quantitative and qualitative methods, with qualitative research providing a rich data source upon which to build an understanding of the victims’ experiences as well as providing means of researching the dark figure of victimization. Theoretical triangulation was also applied, which involved