Kvinnors våld mot män i nära relationer : en kvalitativ studie ur de våldsutsatta männens och ett professionellt perspektiv

Sammanfattning: Abstract Author: Arianna Pilhav and Karolina Mogren Title: Females abuse against men in close relationships. Supervisor: Anders Lundberg The aim of this study was to examine the experiences of abused men and professionals' views on domestic violence, focusing on women's violence against men. Our questions regarded women's violence against men in intimate relationships, both from a professional perspective but also from the abused men's perspective and therefore we have chosen to limit ourselves to these groups in our survey. The study was based on a semi-structured interview with an experienced professional, analysis on a forum for abused men and a literature review. A conclusion of this study is that the abused men experience the violence as frightening. It also affects their self esteem and confidence. The men do not dare to make use of self-defense because many men are raised to never hit a woman and they are also afraid of being labeled as abusers of the society. The men feel that they don´t get enough support from the society and do not feel that they get the help they need. The men feel that they are not taken seriously and not to be relied on by the society. Stereotypical gender constructions contribute to preconceived opinions about men and also affect the professionals in their work. The women are often seen as the weaker part and as victims. Violence can take the expression in different ways, both physically and mentally. Violence can be of different nature and scale, ranging from tweaking to fist and stabbing. Keywords: Abused men, female perpetrator, professional perspective on abused men