no / This study discusses the experiences of women who participated in a program for partner-violent women by understanding their views of the treatment process, outcomes and the meanings they attached to it. This study followed a Husserlian descriptive phenomenology. Interviews were conducted with seven English women who used physical intimate partner violence in heterosexual relationships. The data were analyzed using by the method developed by Colaizzi (1978). The qualitative findings suggest the women experienced the treatment as positive and meaningful and experienced personal transformations. Deeper analysis of the data, showed that there were two key areas of benefit to the women, one involving the connections and bonds formed with other women in the group and the facilitators, and the second including the skills and strategies the women learned for managing anger and negative emotions.

The purpose of this study was to explore women's dual experiences of IPV to examine whether their motivations fit the current framework on four types of intimate partner violence (IPV) in light of Johnson's typology, which includes: violent resistance (VR), situational couple violence (SCV), mutual violent combat (MVC), and intimate terrorism (IT) (Kelly and Johnson 2008). I applied these types of IPV to describe women's physical aggression, control, and emotional responses experienced and performed during IPV. Johnson's typology classified six of 10 participant experiences; to describe the remaining four, I applied blended types of IPV. Findings in this study indicated that VR and SCV overlooked women's use of controlling physical aggression; this study identified alternative concepts and additional dimensions of control and resistance, and introduced tempered violence resistance (TVR), a new IPV type to describe women's use of controlling physical aggression during protective violence. Correspondingly, findings also indicated that interpretations of physical aggression and control in MVC and IT did not consider wide-ranging degrees of control such as self-control, situational control, and partner control. Hence, distinctions between SCV or MVC and MVC or IT were limited by vague interpretations of control. Furthermore, VR, MVC, and IT did not fully describe women's emotional responses. These types of violence focused solely on the context of physical aggression and control, which minimized perceptions of conflict and omitted reported samples of motivations. Forthcoming studies applying Johnson's typology should include external contexts of relationship conflict and consider multiple types control and dimensions of resistance. / Ph. D.

Thesis (M. A. (Social Work)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Intimate partner violence among heterosexual couples seem to be on the rise with men as victims of female perpetrated violence. Recent research on this phenomenon indicates that partner violence against men is a social and health problem that is hidden and unspoken of in most societies. The current study was aimed at exploring men’s non-disclosure of intimate partner violence at Ga-Masemola, Sekhukhune District in Limpopo Province. Qualitative research methodology and exploratory research design were applied to successfully explore men’s non-disclosure of IPV. The target population of this study was heterosexual male victims of ages 18 and above. Non-probability sampling of blended convenience sampling and snowball sampling were employed. Data was collected using a semi-structured interview guide with open-ended questions and was analysed through thematic analysis of qualitative data. The results of the study have revealed that male victims of partner violence hide their situations. Determinants of non-disclosure were found to include men’s own personal feelings of fear to disclose, masculinity factors, societal expectations and cultural norms, which negatively affect men’s decisions to disclose. Help-seeking behaviour of male victims remains a huge challenge for most male victims. Due to fear of ridicule, disbelief and false accusations, abused men seem to lack courage to seek help. The shocking outcome is that most victims appear to lack knowledge of services available for them. The study recommends that public education, advocacy and appropriate gender-sensitive intervention programmes be implemented to overcome the effects of violence and to prevent further victimisation.

The purpose of this study was to describe and analyze IntimatePartner Violence (IPV). How does contemporary science illustrate men as victimsand women as perpetrators in these relationships? Ten articles were presentedand analyzed in a systematic literature study. The results show that men beingabused by their female intimate partner, do exist and that they in many ways doconform to abused women. There are many underlying causes to the violence inclose relationships. There are also many shapes and degrees in violence and inIntimate Partner Violence (IPV). Furthermore, Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) exhibitssymmetry in socio-demographic characteristics, such as gender and ethnicity. Thefindings also points out that Common Couple Violence (CCV) are a much morecommon form of violence than Intimate Terrorism (IT) and that both forms areused by men and women. Finally, violence is ambiguous, includes many aspectsand is not easy to explain among cultural values, norms and social contexts.Still, violence is a universal human issue which demands social interventions.

Våld i nära relationer är ett omdiskuterat och välkänt samhällsproblem. Ofta handlar dialogen om mäns våld mot kvinnor och det talas sällan om att en man utsätts för våld av en kvinnlig partner. Syfte: Syftet med examensarbetet var att beskriva mäns erfarenheter av att vara utsatta för våld av en kvinnlig partner i en nära relation. Metod: En litteraturöversikt gjordes där fem kvalitativa och tre kvantitativa artiklar inkluderades. Databaserna som användes var CINAHL, PsycInfo och PsycArticles. Dataanalysen utgick från en trestegsmodell och samtliga artiklar granskades genom en kvalitetsgranskningsmall. Resultat: Under analysen framkom huvudkategorierna "Erfarenheter och konsekvenser av våldet", med subkategorier "Fysiskavåldshandlingar", "Psykiska våldshandlingar", "Hälsoeffekter" och "Sociala effekter", "Omgivningens dubbelhet" med subkategorier "Myndigheters bemötande" och "Närståendes förhållningssätt" samt huvudkategorin "Kvinnans makt och kontroll". Resultatet visar att män upplever både fysiskt, psykiskt och sexuellt våld från en kvinnlig partner i en nära relation. Det framkommer även att underliggande genusnormer och stereotypiska antaganden hindrar män frånatt betraktas som egentliga offer. Konklusion: Mäns utsatthet för våld i en nära relation är enkomplex problematik som är starkt förknippad med samhällets normer och antaganden ommaskulinitet. Professionella brister i sitt bemötande av våldsutsatta män vilket kan få stora konsekvenser för mannen. För att få mer kunskap och bättre förståelse för mäns utsatthet av våld i en nära relation behöver problemet synliggöras ytterligare och diskuteras på både individ- och samhällsnivå. Praktiska implikationer: Adekvat utbildning kan bidra till att professionella får rätt verktyg för att bemöta våldsutsatta män vilket kan leda till en minskad utsatthet och ökad hälsa hos utsatta män. Examensarbetet kan bidra till att förbättra det preventiva arbetet inom till exempel hälso- och sjukvård och socialtjänst för att förhindra att män faller offer för våld, då dessa myndigheter ofta har en betydande roll i att upptäcka våldet. Förslag till fortsatt kunskapsutveckling: Ytterligare forskning krävs kring mäns utsatthet för våld i nära heterosexuella relationer för att bryta stigmatiseringen kring utsattheten och bidra med kunskap till professionella inom människobehandlande yrken som möter dessa män. / Domestic violence is a debated and well-known social problem. Often, the dialogue is about men's violence against women and it is rarely mentioned that a man is subjected to violence by a female partner. Aim: The aim of the study was to describe men's experiences of being subjected to violence by a female partner in an intimate relationship. Method: A literature review was conducted which included five qualitative and three quantitative articles. The databases used were CINAHL, PsycInfo and PsycArticles. The data analysis was based on a three-step model and all articles were reviewed through a quality assessment template. Findings: During the analysis one main category that emerged was "Experiences and consequences caused by violence", with the sub categories "Physical acts of violence", "Psychological acts of violence", "Health effects" and "Social effects", another main category was "The ambiguity of the environment " with sub categories "The response of authorities " and "The approach of relatives" and the last main category was "The woman's power and control". The results show that men experience both physical, mental and sexual violence from a female partner in an intimate relationship. It also appears in the study's findings that underlying gender-based normsand stereotypical assumptions prevent men from being considered as actual victims. Conclusion: Men's exposure to violence in an intimate relationship is a complex problem that is strongly associated with society's norms and assumptions about masculinity. Professional shortcomings in the treatment of abused men can have major consequences for the man. In order to gain more knowledge and a better understanding of men's exposure to violence in an intimate relationship, the problem needs to be further visualized and discussed at both individual and societal levels. Practical implications: Adequate education can help professionals get the right tools to deal with abused men, which can lead to reduced vulnerability and increased health of abused men. The study can help to improve preventive work in, for example, health care and social services to prevent men from falling victim to violence, as these authorities often have a significant role indetecting violence. Suggestions for continued knowledge development: Further research is required on men's exposure to violence in intimate heterosexual relationships to break the stigma around the exposure of violence and to contribute with knowledge to professionals in the humantreatment professions who encounter these men.