NCJ Number
190224
Journal
Caribbean Journal of Criminology and Social Psychology Volume: 5 Issue: 1&2 Dated: January/July 2000 Pages: 228-236
Date Published
2000
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This article explores the perception of male perpetrators as victims in domestic violence cases.
Abstract
One of the factors emerging in what may be the perception of the male perpetrator of domestic violence is the perceived victimization of a man at the hands of his female partner through verbal and psychological abuse, and his “retaliation” against such perceived abuse. Male perpetrators represent what they define as verbal and psychological abuse from their wives and spouses to be equally devastating to themselves as any physical assault on their wives. However, it has been established that where domestic violence occurs, it can more accurately be called woman battering as men usually inflict more severe and life-threatening physical injury upon female partners than is the reality in converse. So it may be necessary to consider that these claims are a result of competition for victimhood or an attempt to place men at the center of the debate. In terms of financial independence, women wield less power and men hold greater power due to historical male privilege. Men often see what they term as “inappropriate” verbal behavior by women as justification for physical violence. In Trinidad, men view women’s verbal behavior as infliction of pain, a threat to manhood, and cause for embarrassment. To work toward prevention of domestic violence, attention must be turned toward the way in which the gender relations are playing themselves out, what men and women expect of each other, and how they are negotiating with each other to have their expectations met. Mandatory counseling for abusive spouses and the provision of well-organized, adequately staffed counseling programs are absolutely necessary to reduce incidence of domestic violence. 15 references