Domestic Violence – When the Man is the Victim

Abstract

More and more appear reports in the news about domestic violence. Violence in these reports is in most cases directed at children and women, the perpetrators are men who heavily hurt or eventually sexually molested their victims. Within domestic violence there is a hidden part about that nobody, not even the victims speak. In the general knowledge abuse is identified by physical force. In many cases verbal aggression and psychological injury connected to that and to physical violence leave deeper marks for the victim than bodily pain. This paper elaborates the topic of domestic violence from a different point of view. It explores the situation when the victim is a man. Social expectations consider a man as a strong personality bearing everything, crying is here unacceptable as it is a sign of weakness. A man learns and is grown up in the consciousness that it is bad manners to harm a woman. He obtains himself to this basic assumption even in case that his partner behaves aggressively. Because of eventual scornful looks and mockery, he does not ask for help. He does not speak about his abjection and accepts everyday insult by word and deed. By hitting back in self-defence, he could cause more severe injuries than his injuries, and when the woman would ask for help in such a case the man has to proof his innocence in court.