Exploring Societal Attitudes Towards Male Victims of Domestic Abuse

This literature review examines societal attitudes towards male victims of domestic abuse, highlighting the unique challenges they face. The review emphasizes how societal norms and expectations surrounding masculinity often prevent men from reporting abuse or seeking help due to fear of ridicule and shame. It discusses the gender-exclusive perspective that often leads to disbelief or mistrust when men report domestic violence. The review underscores the need for society to acknowledge that both men and women can be victims of domestic abuse and to provide support and resources to male survivors, ultimately challenging harmful stereotypes and promoting a more inclusive understanding of domestic violence.

Running head: MALE VICTIMS OF THE DOMESTIC ABUSE
Male victims of the Domestic Abuse
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

1MALE VICTIMS OF THE DOMESTIC ABUSE
Domestic abuse refers to violence that are perpetrated by one person against another
within the domestic setting like the marriage or that of co-habitation. This literature review
focusses on the attitude that the society has towards the male victims of that of domestic
abuse.
There are various kinds of challenges that are faced by the male victims of the
domestic abuse. The male members of the society have sense of the masculinity that prevents
them from seeking any kind of help in the case of domestic abuse. The male victims within
the framework of the society feel sense of the shame along with the embarrassment that
makes them hide the incident of domestic abuse (Kelly and Westmarland 2016). They have a
fear that they would be laughed at within the society that makes them hide incidents
pertaining to domestic abuse. They think that they would be mocked by the other men that
complicates the situation for the male victims pertaining to domestic violence (Berns 2017).
The perceived sense of the masculinity keeps the men confined within the abusive
relationships. They are often used by the abused so that they cannot escape from the
miserable situation in their life.
Society cannot accept the fact that the men within the society can become the victims
pertaining to domestic abuse. The men are mistrusted who come forward to report about the
cases of domestic abuse. They have to go through a lot of struggle as society does not easily
accept the fact that the women can act in a violent manner towards the men. The men
continue to be within the abusive relationships as they cannot report regarding the fact that
they have suffered from the incidents of domestic abuse (Wallace et al., 2018). The beliefs in
the society are driven by that of gender-exclusive perspective which states that only the
women can become the victims of the domestic abuse. It has been found that there is lack of
any kind of action on the part of the male members in the society being abused. The other
members in the society do not come forward to help the male victim that arouses laughter in

2MALE VICTIMS OF THE DOMESTIC ABUSE
the society (Herman 2015). The people in the society should accept the fact that both the
male along with the female survivors can need support that can help in reducing the domestic
abuse against the men.
The male victims of the society have to face many kinds of challenges as notion of
masculinity prevents them from report regarding the incident of the domestic violence. The
male victims think that they would be ridiculed that makes them conceal such kind of
incidents. The men becomes confined within the abusive relationships as they cannot openly
talk about regarding the incident of abuse. The society does not accept the fact that the male
members of society can become victims. The men have to go through a lot of struggle
because society does not easily believe the fact that the men can be the victims.

3MALE VICTIMS OF THE DOMESTIC ABUSE
References
Kelly, L. and Westmarland, N., 2016. Naming and defining ‘domestic violence’: Lessons
from research with violent men. Feminist review, 112(1), pp.113-127.
Wallace, S., Wallace, C., Kenkre, J., Brayford, J. and Borja, S., 2018. Men who experience
domestic abuse: a service perspective. Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research.
Herman, J.L., 2015. Trauma and recovery: The aftermath of violence--from domestic abuse
to political terror. Hachette UK.
Berns, N.S., 2017. Framing the victim: Domestic violence, media, and social problems.
Routledge.