Intimate Partner Violence Research Paper

2462 Words10 Pages

INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is a serious social problem, it harms the people involved and the community one resides in. Intimate Partner Violence “refers to physical, psychological, and/or sexual coercion perpetrated in the context of an intimate relationship” (McHugh, et al, 2006). Intimate Partner Violence can be perpetrated by current or former intimate partner, which includes spouse, ex-spouse, current or former boyfriend or girlfriend, dating partner, or a date (Breiding et al, 2008,). According to World Health Organization Intimate partner violence consists of “physical aggression, psychological abuse, forced intercourse and other forms of sexual coercion, and various controlling behaviours such as isolating …show more content…

Many assume IPV to occur only in heterosexual relationship, and most tend to overlook that IPV can take place in any type of intimate relationship; it happens in heterosexual, gay, lesbian, and bisexual households. Just because one is not in a heterosexual relationship it does not mean that they are free from becoming a victim of IPV. Traditionally the society viewed the women as the victims and the men as the batterer, however that is not the case men are also victims of IPV and are harmed by it. This paper focuses on both male and female victims of Intimate Partner Violence and presents research regarding the impact of the crisis on the victims, and their behaviours, recommended interventions and the effectiveness of these interventions. This paper also presents services offered in the community for people facing such …show more content…

However many studies solely focuses on women and recognizes Intimate Partner Violence as women ‘s issues and acknowledges the violence occurring against women and disregards male victims and the impact of IPV on their lives. Several services and programs are created and are available in the society for female victims of IPV, and not many services are created or accessible for male victims. There is a strong stigma attached to males being victims of IPV. Many male victims do no report and disclose the abuse to others because they do not want to seem weak, and less masculine (Tsui et al, 2010). The society overemphasizes men’s physical capability to repel abuse, and expects men to be in control of their financial and personal lives, which influences men’s help seeking behaviours (Tsui et al, 2010). Additionally due to the stigma and societal expectation “men tend to be more socially isolated and utilize health resources less frequently than women, [having] less opportunity to discuss IPV they may have experienced” (Breiding, 2008, ). Other reasons abused men do not disclose or report the perpetrator includes shame, in denial, fear of being judged by others, and don’t think others can help them (Tsui et al,