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

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Introduction This chapter highlights the research aim of this dissertation and gives a brief introduction that looks at and conceptualises the research topic. The researcher’s interest in the area of male victims of domestic violence is looked at and concludes with a brief description of each chapter. Research aim The aim of this research is to inform social work practice of the difficulties male victims of domestic violence experience and to document these experiences. To achieve the research aim the dissertation has been structured around the following themes so that the experiences of male victims can be drawn from and documented throughout the dissertation. • Domestic violence and society in relation to male victims. • The levels of reporting of domestic violence by male victims. • The main types of abuse male victims of domestic violence suffer. • The main affects of domestic violence on male victims. • The services available to male victims of domestic violence. • The law and male victims of domestic violence. • Male victims of domestic violence and social work. To generate the required knowledge needed to accomplish the research aim the research has employed the following methods, a literature review, a focus group and individual interviews. Brief introduction to research topic In my research I will be looking at domestic violence on adult male victims in Ireland. “IN THE SAFETY OF OUR HOME”, for some people these words mean happiness, comfort and security, a place to retreat from the world. Domestic violence translates these words into fear, shame, isolation and despair. Victims can feel trapped in the relationship. This is a process by which the abuser feeds off the power over their victim. No one wants to admit, especially men, that they feel safer walking the streets at night rather than in their own home. The occurrence of domestic violence in our society is one of the most unseen destructive forces with no boundaries in relation to age, class, race, gender or geographical location. 7
If an abused man seeks help as a victim of domestic violence, the majority of society will see it as a laughable situation. Society chooses not to believe the man. This creates the feeling of guilt and shame for the male victim (Cose, 1995). Society’s view on domestic violence has been reinforced by the medias coverage of the issues surrounding domestic violence, portraying females as the only victims and males as the abusers (McKeown and Kidd, 2003). The number of reported cases of domestic violence is only a percentage of its actual occurrence within our society (Wiehe, 1998). Cook (1997) put forward the argument from his study on domestic violence that one of the main reasons for men not reporting the abuse and remaining within the relationship could be known as ‘Internal Excuses’. In other words putting off reporting or leaving their abuser, because of the belief that given time things will change. Partner/spouse abuse can take a number of forms, but the main forms of domestic violence are physical abuse, emotional/psychological abuse, sexual abuse and economic abuse (Freeman, 1979.; Gelles, 1983.; O’Leary, 1988.; Brady, 1993.; Cose, 1995.; Cooke, 1997.; Wiehe, 1998.; Cleary, 2003.; McKeown and Kidd, 2003). For many victims of domestic violence the initial reaction to the abuse is one of shock and disbelief (Brady, 1993). For male victims, one of the realities of domestic violence is that it remains hidden because of feelings of shame and guilt. Often the only people to know about the abuse are the people immediately involved (McKeown and Kidd, 2003). In Ireland the only service solely dedicated to male victims of domestic violence is Amen, located in Navan, Co. Meath. Mary Cleary founded the service in 1997. Amen is an effective voluntary service that provides male victims of domestic violence with information and support in relation to legal issues, decision-making and making contact with counsellors/therapists. If a person commits a violent act against another person outside the ‘family unit’ it is considered a criminal offence by law, but if a violent act is committed against a member of the ‘family unit’ it is not, by law, a criminal offence. It is very arguable that these actions are indeed a criminal offence (Swindells, et al., 1999). 8
Page 1 and 2: MALE VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE I
Page 3 and 4: Table of Contents Slap…………
Page 5 and 6: I would like to acknowledge and tha
Page 7: CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION CHAPTER ON
Page 11: Chapter two - literature review Cha
Page 14 and 15: elation to male victims of domestic
Page 16 and 17: domestic violence carried out in th
Page 18 and 19: Community studies have consistently
Page 20 and 21: Support groups are the most effecti
Page 22: welfare and the criminal justice sy
Page 25 and 26: CHAPTER THREE - METHOD AND METHODOL
Page 27 and 28: I processed this information and ca
Page 29 and 30: group. These men represented thirty
Page 31 and 32: My own personality was an important
Page 33 and 34: CHAPTER FOUR - DATA ANALYSIS Introd
Page 35 and 36: this kind of pressure, along with t
Page 37 and 38: Findings from the focus group revea
Page 39 and 40: An analysis of the literature revea
Page 41 and 42: experiences. She also found that so
Page 43 and 44: CHAPTER FIVE - CONCLUSION Introduct
Page 45 and 46: hard to trust or even find a solici
Page 47 and 48: support group for male victims of d
Page 49 and 50: APPENDIX 1 RESEARCH THEMES 1. Domes
Page 51 and 52: 7. What are the experiences of male
Page 53 and 54: found Amen’s policies to be not a
Page 55 and 56: One man’s words were that “the
Page 57 and 58: They felt that the law could be ver
Page 59 and 60:
whatever their partner/spouse was s
Page 61 and 62:
like most women that the long-term
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assessment and on what you say happ
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5. How available/accessible are ser
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2. If a man reports that he is a vi
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BIBLIOGRAPHY Bell, M. and Wilson, K
Page 71 and 72:
Kingston, P. and Penhale, B. (1995)
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