Men's Violence to Known Women: Men's Accounts and Men's Policy Developments (From Violence and Gender Relations: Theories and Interventions, P 99-114, 1996, Barbara Fawcett, Brid Featherstone, et al., eds. -- See NCJ-162754)

• NCJ Number: 162761
• Author(s): J Hearn
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 16 pages
• Sale Source: Sage Publications Ltd
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

The way in which violence is perpetrated and the way in which men socially construct themselves and are socially constructed are affected by many factors.

Abstract

Research on why men commit violence against women involves placing men in a social context and considering men's power relationships with women and the social development of boys and men. One research study involved initial and followup interviews with 60 men in England who had been violent to known women. The study investigated men's views on violence and the nature of reactions from friends, families, and social agencies. Findings revealed that men talked about and constructed violence in different ways. Violence directed at women known to men was generally constructed as physical violence involving more than a push, physical violence that caused damage, and physical violence not seen as specifically sexual. Physical violence was also constructed as the natural outcome of reciprocal anger and arguments. Men typically accepted blame but not responsibility for violence. They tended to place responsibility in the past, in drink or drugs, in the woman's behavior, or in psychiatric disturbances. The author concludes that policy development in relation to men who have been violent to known women is fundamental to reducing and stopping violence. He also stresses the importance of social supports for men and the need for appropriate organizational responses to male violence. 21 references, 2 tables, 2 figures, and 3 notes