UH doctoral candidate Venus Tsui, under the supervision of Monit Cheung, the doctoral dissertation chair at the Graduate School of Social Work, is conducting a survey of male victims of domestic violence in order to better understand the issue.
“It is definitely a challenging and tough topic,” Tsui said. “Although underreported and less common, male victims of domestic violence suffer negative physical and psychological consequences which are similar to their female counterparts.”
Tsui said the underreporting of domestic violence toward men is due to two main inhibitors: society and men themselves.
“Related literature and extant studies reveal that men are often discriminated against by domestic violence service providers and law enforcement systems in the help-seeking process,” Tsui said.
This and other forms of exclusion breed a stigma in men that causes them embarrassment and is often the ultimate provocation to keep the abuse to themselves, Tsui said.
“They face the challenge of masculine identity when reporting the abuse,” she said. “Socialization affects how men behave, and seeking help is often thought (of) as a sign of weakness.”
Cheung’s interest in the subject dates back to 2006 when she was a radio talk host for the Houston-Hong Kong Radio, AM 1050 and AM 1180, during a live phone-in program.
“In this 25-week program, I found that very few men called in, but for those who called, eight of them expressed that they were abused – physically and/or emotionally – by their partners/wives,” Cheung wrote in an e-mail interview. “I started to research more about male victims/survivors of domestic violence.”
Similarly, Tsui’s personal interest in the subject developed when she was living in Hong Kong and witnessed men as victims of domestic violence. The two researchers’ shared curiosities eventually led them to co-creating this survey.
“With my research, I hope to identify the barriers and facilitators to help-seeking among male victims of partner abuse as well as to develop effective prevention and intervention strategies that are gender-sensitive and responsive to the unique needs of male victims,” she said.
Both researchers recognize that the sheer secretiveness behind this issue is the very root of the problem.
“To help male victims in need, it is important to not only encourage them to ask for help, but also dispel the myth and acknowledge their need for services in the society,” Tsui said.
The survey, which is completely anonymous, is available both online and in paper format. It can be found online at www.surveymonkey.com/s/KS9WG96.
I commend Venus Tsui and Monit Cheung for their “forward thinking” research into male victimization. I am encouraged by the interest in male victims of late. I have been working with male victims who call our helpline (Nat’l line that specializes in helping male victims) for almost a decade now. I can tell you that men will seek services and support if you reach out to them and make it safe for them to do so.
Due to the efforts of researchers such as Strauss, Dutton, Gelles, Hines, et al society is coming to understand that domestic violence is not a gender based social problem today but a human problem. I, for one, am grateful for this change in societal attitude.
Sincerely, Jan Elizabeth Brown, Domestic Abuse Helpline for Men and Women
Thank you Venus Tsui and Monit Cheung for your work on this neglected issue.
I would also like to commend Venus Tsui and Monit Cheung for their work.
I just hope that they will recognize that another reason that many male victims don’t contact the authorities is because of the biased, sexist procedures of the police and the courts. Many, if not most, police departments in the US have mandatory arrest policies for domestic violence cases. Another dirty little secret they don’t tell you is that they follow the “dominant aggressor” doctrine. In other words, if you are a male then you are going to jail, regardless of who hit whom.
With the deck stacked against you like that, why would any man want to risk getting the authorities involved?
As a “survivor” I can relate to the lack of response or admittance by many men that they indeed have been abused by a mate. I never saw it happening and was totally unprepared for the cruel letdown I suffered by the woman I was seeing for three and a half years. Only once was there physical abuse, but the emotional abuse was there constantly. I just did not understand what was being done and what the harm was until way too late. The emotional hurt done by abuse lasts forever it seems. But things are turning around, slowly, but headway is being gained as more men admit they were or are victims of abuse by the woman in their life.
Tom
In my profession, I see many men who have been abused by their spouses or former spouses. Not one of them has ever reported it. Many minimize it, deny it, or make excuses for their spouse’s behavior. About 1/3 of the time, they will confess to reciprocal abuse – usually in the context of self-defense. In all cases, they are certain that they will not be heard, not be believed; they are certain that they will be arrested due to “mandatory arrest” and “dominant aggressor” laws, and they are certain that they will be mocked or ridiculed for being “weak”. In about 2/3 of the cases, I was the one who spotted indicators or markers for abuse, asked them about it, and only after my persistent questioning (e.g., “are you ready to tell me about those scratch marks I saw in your face? Not yet? Okay, well, I am here to listen when you do get ready”) did they finally gain the trust to tell me what had taken place. Men who have been abused are extremely fragile.
I too commend the researchers, and wish them luck. My heart breaks for all victims of abuse.