Det osynliga våldet : En kvalitativ studie om psykiskt våld i heterosexuellaparrelationer

Sammanfattning: Although intimate partner violence is an established societal problem, psychological violence often falls in the shadow of physical violence. Studies have shown that both men and women are exposed to psychological violence to an equal extent, but despite this, men's exposure is not noticed to the same extent as women's. This study investigates the expression of psychological violence, which characteristics of individuals that are exploited by perpetrators and why individuals choose to remain in relationships where they are exposed to psychological violence, and whether the reasons differ between men and women. The results of this qualitative study are based on semi-structured interviews with six individuals, three men and three women who had previously been in a relationship characterized by psychological violence. The study's theoretical framework consists of Hearns view of intimate partner violence and concept of a distant intimacy, Connell and Pearse’s gender theory, Beauvoir's concepts of the other, immanence and transcendence, and Connell's concept of hegemonic masculinity. The results of the study indicate that the expression of psychological violence in heterosexual relationships was quiet the same for both our male and females respondents. The difference was that the female respondents felt criticized and derided by their partner. The male and female respondents also attributed themselves with similar characteristics, such as caring, accommodating and emotional. Yet it was only the female respondents who felt like their characteristics were exploited. The reason why the female respondents chose to remain in the destructive relationship was because they got broken down by the violence and formed a position of dependence on the their partners. The male respondents, on the other hand, remained in the relationship due to its difficulties in identifying their partner's destructive behavior as problematic.