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

hard to trust or even find a solicitor that believes a man can be a victim of domestic
violence and that the law can be twisted to suit the needs of the abuser.
There was one piece of literature that stood out in my mind in relation to how social
work should be tackling domestic violence in all areas of practice. This was the
domestic violence ‘gender neutral’ policy being practiced at our very own Cork
University Hospital, which is facilitated by the social work department, a sign that
things can change. This was significant because my findings from the focus group
showed a main concern for the men to be the response they received from social
workers. The men interviewed were very angry about the way their situations were
dealt with and were concerned with the fact that the social workers in their cases were
very inexperienced. As one of the men in the focus group said, “social workers assisted
my wife in kidnapping my children”. This man, after putting up with years of abuse
from his wife, said that the social workers in his case would only listen to his wife and
would not believe him when he told them he was a victim of domestic violence.
Male victims of domestic violence and social work practice
In relation to social work practice and male victims of domestic violence, the social
workers interviewed revealed a mixed response between the different areas of social
work chosen for this dissertation, I feel this may be due to the varied levels of
experience in this area held by the interviewees.
The medical social worker had a lot of experience working with male victims of
domestic violence and provided a very positive view in tackling domestic violence.
There is an active gender-neutral policy in place at the hospital of which she was very
proud of, but also pointed out that disbelief exists among most professionals. Once a
man is identified as a possible male victim of domestic violence there is a procedure in
place in the hospital for the staff to follow. When the medical social worker gets the
referral from within the hospital an appointment is made with the possible victim and an
assessment carried out. If the man is identified as a male victim, work is carried out
with the man through support and counselling if needed. The medical social worker
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