MALE VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Informing Social ... - Amen

this kind of pressure, along with their fears of losing their family and home as pointed
out by Cleary (2004).
In general, the response from the focus group supports the view taken by the literature.
The men did not report the abuse at first to anyone as they felt they would not be
believed. The belief of the group was that a lot of men stay too quiet for far too long
and suffer in silence, because of the humiliation associated with being a male victim of
domestic violence and also the fear of losing all contact with their children. Another
fear is that if the authorities stepped in they might remove the mother and the children
may never see their mother again. If the men were going to reveal that, they were
victims of domestic violence, it would be to a close family member.
An analysis of the social work interviews revealed that if a male victim of domestic
violence reported to the three interviewees, the report would be taken seriously. The
medical social worker follows a procedure that is in place in the hospital for when a
person, male or female, is suspected of being a victim of domestic violence. An
appointment is made with the victim and an assessment carried out. Support and
counselling is put in place if needed. In child protection there is also an assessment
carried out, but their primary concern is around the safety and welfare of the children.
The community social worker would also carry out an assessment with the male victim
and support him in what ever he would like to do about the situation.
The main types of abuse male victims of domestic violence suffer
An analysis of the literature revealed the following. There is a consensus between
Freeman (1979), Gelles (1983), O’Leary (1988), Brady (1993), Cose (1995), Cooke
(1997), Wiehe (1998), Cleary (2003) and McKeown and Kidd (2003) that the main
types of domestic violence across the board are physical abuse, emotional/psychological
abuse, sexual abuse and economic abuse. This is a topic that very few discuss in
relation to male victims of domestic violence, which has made it difficult to research.
Cleary (2004) pointed out that male victims of domestic violence experience different
forms of abuse, but physical abuse and emotional/psychological abuse are the main
forms. She also points out that male victims find it very hard to disclose sexual abuse
so its occurrence remains unknown.
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