Male victims are hurt, scared, and afraid of not being believed.
Key points:
- Male victimization is a public health issue.
- Male victims of intimate partner violence share many symptoms that female victims do, including PTSD.
- Help and healing for male victims starts with knowing they will be believed.
October is Domestic Violence Month—and a good time to be reminded that women are not the only victims. Men are victims too.
As a society, with gender stereotypes and a long history of male violence against women, the dominant perspective often is that intimate partner violence involves a female victim and a male perpetrator. This belief, or bias, contributes to the denial or minimizing that a man can be abused and victimized by his intimate partner.
I’d like to make the case that men can be hurt and scared, and are too often unable to reach out for help. When they do, they risk not being believed. For help and healing to be options for male victims, they have to be believed.
[Read more…] about Male Victims of Intimate Partner Violence