Abused Men Research Paper

Male victims are often unrecognized by the media, because they do not fit the stereotype that is set. Again, it’s been drilled into our heads that men are the perpetrators and women are the victims. Men are supposed to be strong, while women are weak, making them the easier target. How could a male be a victim of abuse? According to the media, there is no way men can be victims alongside women.

Typically, domestic violence occurs between a man and a woman, and usually, women end up being the victims more often then men (Heidensohn, 2012). The male is usually more dominant because he is bigger and significantly stronger then the female. However, in recent years, men have been experiencing their fair share of abuse from women. According to a study done by the Domestic Abuse Helpline for Men, “Over 90% experienced controlling behaviors, and several men reported frustrating experiences with the domestic violence system. Callers’ reports indicated that their female abusers had a history of trauma, alcohol/drug problems, mental ill- ness, and homicidal and suicidal ideations” (Hines, 2007). This study measured 190 male callers who called the DAHM and the study shows that women can also batter men. This applies to the case of Jordan Graham and Cody Johnson because a wife murdered her husband. No one should ever underestimate someone else’s strength or aggression as those characteristics can be extremely hard to gauge. Cody Johnson may have had no prior knowledge of Graham’s temper and may have even felt as if he were the dominant figure in their marriage. Sometimes, it is easy to accuse a spouse of being the core reason for domestic abuse, whether it is verbal or physical abuse. However, domestic abuse can be seen as a problem for human beings in general, “Others have argued that violence is a

One out of every 4 men experiences domestic violence. Those individuals who have been victims of domestic violence

Intimate partner violence, including both dating and spousal violence, accounts for one in every four violent crimes reported to police. In 2011, there were approximately 97,500 victims of intimate partner violence, representing a rate of 341 victims per 100,000 population. The vast majority of these victims (80%) were women.

The resource chosen is to identify and build awareness for a public health need to highlight the prevalence of domestic abuse against men. It is known that women are subject to Domestic Abuse, but Du-Plat Jones (2006) argues recent statistics

While women are often the victims of intimate partner abuse, the CDC survey found that men are increasingly reporting abuse (Degutis, Frieden, & Spivak, 2010). Approximately 11.2 million men have reported physical or sexual abuse, rape or stalking by a domestic partner (Degutis, Frieden, & Spivak, 2010).

•1 in 5 women and 1 in 7 men have been victims of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime.

Dating abuse and domestic violence are becoming increasingly prevalent in today’s society. Ten million people per year report to being abused by their partner (CDC, 2010). Due to the majority of the victims being women, however, the media often overlooks men as victims of domestic abuse. According to The National Domestic Hotline, almost 30% of men in the U.S. have experienced some form of domestic violence. Previous research has attempted to examine the different types of abuse as well as the factors that lead less men to report these incidents (James, 2003; Douglas & Hines 2011).

Shuler, C. A. (2010). Male Victims of Intimate Partner Violence in the United States: An Exami

•1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men in the United States have experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner.

Male rape victims are less likely to report their crime for various reasons. According to Nicholas Groth and Ann Burgess (1980), male rape myths stems from the traditional viewpoint of masculinity that most men are supposed to be strong, dominant and heterosexual. Thus, leading victims to believe that men cannot be raped and the effect of sexual assault should be miniscule for a man than it is for a woman (Carpenter, 2009; Groth and Burgess, 1980: p. 808). In accordance to Gillian Mezey and Michael King (1989), male rape victims that do report their crime are treated differently by the police and they find themselves being completely ignored, questioned as criminals, or being ridiculed. Many males who do

1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men have been victims of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime

The CDC reports that nearly half of all men and women in the United States have been psychologically abused by a romantic partner, while around a quarter of women and 1 in 7 men have been physically abused [2]. This is a dramatic difference from areas like the United Kingdom, where 8.2% of women and 4% of men have been abused [3] One in three people experience abuse by a romantic partner by the age of eighteen [4]. In 2015, 87% of hospitalized abuse victims in New York state were women, and were admitted more often than male victims [5]. This can likely be partially attributed to traditional gender roles, which assume that men are “stronger” than women and are “weak” if they are hurt by a woman.

Many of the violence against men are not recognized because police and hospitals are only trained to look for violence against women (Cook, 2004). If they see a man with a black eye, they think it's because he was in a fight with another man. In fact, it seems that no one wants to hear about male victims. To the public, they are an embarrassment and threaten the validity of the stereotype that the majority of men are violent and aggressive. Sometimes they are blamed for being the victims or the violence against them is justified in a variety of ways (Flor, 1999). As a culture we prefer to make the male victims the subject of humor and banter, not offer them help.

Disregarding male victims of abuse is largely due to the perpetuation of a second stereotype-that a man must be masculine through displaying strength and dominance. This juxtaposed with the stereotype