NCJ Number
213764
Date Published
2002
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This Australian study explored the ways in which men who used violence in their intimate partner relationships understood the experience of violence.
Abstract
Study results support the view that there are many factors connected to the cause of domestic violence. Although it is clear that domination and control are always inevitable outcomes of violence, the path to achieving these outcomes varies from relationship to relationship, and man to man. Study results suggest the need to engage men around their perceived control and/or their perceived lack of control; to challenge denials of violence and deflections of responsibility within the context of the style of violence and the man’s positioning of himself in relation to his partner. The study also supports social measures to reduce domestic violence. To contribute to the understanding and analysis of some men’s perspectives on men’s violence, in the context of their own lives, this study involved lengthy interviews with 24 men. Most of the men attended domestic violence men’s programs conducted by Relationships Australia in Sydney and the ACT (Australian Capitol Territory) from 1997 to 1999. From transcripts of the interviews, key themes, ideas, and constructs were intended to be found. The themes identified were how men constructed and experienced their violence, how men experienced their relationships with their partners, how men saw their relationships between themselves and their parents when they were growing up, and how men thought about masculinity and femininity, as well as their attitudes towards women. References