CHRISTINE CHELANGAT
REG NO: N69/76744/2009
A PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE INSTITUTE OF ANTHROPOLOGY, GENDER AND AFRICAN STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN GENDER AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI
OCTOBER, 2016
This is my original work and has not been presented to any other university or institution for the award of a degree.
Sign____________ Date________________
Christine Chelangat
This project paper has been presented for examination with my approval as the university supervisor
Sign______________ Date___________________
Dr. Salome Bukachi
To all people who believe that a peaceful world revolves around the cognizance of gender equality.
I wish to express my sincere and unreserved gratitude to my university supervisor, Dr. Salome Bukachi, for her invaluable guidance throughout the study period. Her patience and dedication to walk me through this work was a timely asset and I feel forever indebted to her.
I wish to convey my special thanks to the entire teaching staff of the Institute of Anthropology, Gender and African Studies who gave me an insight into the study topic. I am indebted to their candid and unreserved inputs to see me through the proposal and project development stages.
My sincere appreciation goes to FIDA representative, local administration in Kiambu East Sub-County and the Kiambu hospital Gender-Based Recovery centre staff for their insurmountable input of information into this study. Your ideas were such an asset to me and the broad academia; thank you so much and be blessed.
To all my study subjects, thank you and be blessed for the cooperation throughout the study period.
Lastly but not least, I would like to thank my family; my dear husband, Dickson Wekesa, and our daughter Victoria Wekesa for their encouragement, moral support and giving me peaceful environment to study. I thank my parents for all support they gave me in terms of finance and encouragement.
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS xi
1.4 Justification of the study 5
1.5 Scope and limitations of the study 6
2.2 Prevalence of domestic violence against men 7
2.3 Nature of violence and abuse experienced by men in heterosexual relationships 9
2.3.2 Psychological or Emotional Abuse 12
2.4 Consequences of violence 13
2.5.2 Relevance to the study 17
2.6 Assumptions of the study 18
3.4 Study population and unit of analysis 20
3.7 Data Collection Methods 21
3.7.1 Individual In-depth Interviews 21
3.7.2 Key Informant Interviews 21
3.6.4. Secondary data sources 22
3.7 Data Processing and Analysis 22
4.2 Demographic characteristics of the respondents 24
4.3 Extent of domestic violence in kiambu East Sub-County. 27
4.4 Forms of domestic violence in kiambu East Sub-County. 29
4.5 Consequences of domestic violence 32
5.0 Discussion and Conclusion 36
5.2.1 Prevalence of domestic violence 36
5.2.3 Forms of domestic violence 38
5.2.4 Consequences of domestic violence 40
Appendix 2: In-depth Interview Schedule 47
Appendix 3: Key Informant Interview schedule 48
Appendix 4: Case Narratives schedule 50
Figure 2. 01 Ecological Model of Factors associated with IPV 16
Figure 3. 1: Map of Kiambu East Sub-County. Source MoPDN(2008) 20
Figure 4. 1 Age groups of the respondents 24
Figure 4. 2 Marital status of the respondents 25
Figure 4. 3 Educational levels of the respondents 26
Figure 4. 4 Income levels of the respondents 26
Men experience multiple forms of abuse example: Physical violence, intimidation and threats, sexual, emotional, psychological, verbal and financial abuse, property damage and social isolation. They can also experience legal and administrative abuse. The project main aim was to explore domestic violence against men in Kiambu East Sub-County.
The study used a cross-sectional design on domestic violence against men in Kiambu East Sub-County. It was carried out in Kiambu Subcounty Hospital Gender Based Violence Recovery Centre. The study sought to determine the extent of domestic violence against men, the forms of domestic violence and find out the consequences of domestic violence against men in Kiambu Subcounty.
The study was guided by the ecological model developed by Bronfenbrenner (1977) who describes it as an interrelationship among personal, situational and socio-cultural factors that can cause violence. This model has been extended and used by many researchers to conceptualize Intimate Partner Violence and the links between the personal, situational, and socio-cultural factors that combine to cause the violence.
The study findings indicate that domestic violence is understood by the study subjects as acts of raping, beating, pushing, economic deprivation, verbal abuse and coerced sexual intercourse by someone they are quite intimate with. Domestic violence has resulted into the feeling of anxiety, fear, depression, injuries to the victims and economic turmoil for the families entangled in violence. Moreover, male victims of domestic violence expressed losing the ‘community image of masculinity’ hence stigmatized by the peers. This has a negative impact on reporting incidences of domestic violence.
This study concludes that domestic violence though underreported in in Kiambu East Sub-County has assumed several forms cutting across economic, physical, sexual and intimate partner violence with negative effect on the family relations, the children and victims.
There is need by the government and private stakeholders to sensitize the community on the negative effects of domestic violence on men and encourage men as victims to report occurrences for timely interventions and a further study on the quantitative prevalence of domestic violence against men to inform strategic interventions.
DGBV Domestic Gender Based Violence
GBVRC Gender Based Violence Recovery Centre
KIIs Key Informant Interviews
LSK Law Society of Kenya
FIDA Federation of women lawyers- Kenya
IPV Intimate Partner Violence
We must be open to our own blinkers and refuse to simplify the complexities of our findings, even if this means we ask questions that might be uncomfortable (Stanko, 1997, cited in Atmore, 2001:13).
Responding to domestic violence effectively requires an analysis of domestic violence that incorporates gender. Elizabeth Stanko’s words at the start of this proposal encapsulate the tension about this important issue. On the one hand, some argue that there has been a reluctance to address and acknowledge men’s victimization for fear that it may take away from the acknowledgement of the seriousness of violence and abuse experienced by women.
Popular culture has had a great impact on minimizing the problem of domestic violence against men. Upon hearing about the topic of battered men, the public’s first reaction is usually that of incredulity and amusement (Suzanne et al., 1988). Historically, battered husbands have been ignored, ridiculed and chastised. Print media has also made battered men a topic for jokes, a common example being the stereotypical cartoon image of a woman chasing her husband while wielding a rolling pin above her head (Saenger, 1963).
Surveys regarding public attitudes about slapping have changed dramatically for men, but not for women (Murray et al., 1994). Movies and television have continually presented scenes in which women who, upon being subjected to emotionally upsetting circumstances, immediately slap the man who is the cause of violence. The audience’s reaction can range from that of laughter and cheer to even applause. However, were a man to do the same things, the reaction would be quite the opposite.
The media is also instrumental in perpetuating this stereotype, and in effect is detrimental to the recognition of domestic violence against men (Parker, 1999). News headlines regarding domestic violence against men have been phrased in such a way as to be sensational and evoke humour. These societal reactions and media perceptions are in keeping with the unfortunate, stereotypical view society holds of men as being sturdy and women being the weaker, more helpless sex.
A gender-neutral view is not reflected in the social programmes addressing domestic violence. In literature distributed to victims and perpetrators, gender-neutral language is usually absent and the perpetrators are described as “he,” with the victim always being referred to as “her” (Cook, 1997:112). Some domestic violence counsellors honestly believe that continuing such practices is beneficial to combating domestic violence.
Similar beliefs are prevalent in domestic violence treatment programs, as evidenced by the widely used Duluth Model. Its creators have conceptualized domestic violence into a “Power and Control Wheel” diagram that “depicts the primary abusive behaviour experienced by women living with men who batter” (Cook, 1997:126). The authors state that the Duluth Model is meant for battering men and battered women and that it cannot work for the treatment of battering women. Lack of gender neutrality not only perpetuates the belief that domestic violence only affects women, but also results in direct harm to men, in that a man seeking help would feel he is not wanted, and cannot be a victim, if the language does not acknowledge his existence.
Due to gender stereotypes regarding domestic violence against men, social ridicule is the fear that confronts male spousal abuse victims (Doug, 2000). Men perceive society as expecting them to be the strong, dominant party in their intimate relationships, and therefore are less willing to report incidents of domestic violence (Steinmetz and Lucca, 1999). Men are less likely to call law enforcement, even when there is an injury, because they feel shame about disclosing family violence, especially since the police adhere to traditional gender role expectations. Hence, the stereotypical male feels shame and inadequacy when he realizes that he cannot keep his wife under control (Murray, 1999).
The impact of movement against domestic violence is also less apparent and less likely to come to the attention of others outside of law enforcement when a man is abused (Raeside, 1993). For example, it is assumed that a man with a bruised or black eye was involved in a fight with another man; he was injured during employment, or was playing a contact sport. Society’s disbelief and the humiliation directed towards abused men makes disclosure even more difficult. Since the general public refuses to confront the issue of domestic violence against men, one would assume that in the professional realm of shelters and counselling, there would be more recognition of this problem; unfortunately, this is not the case.
Another reason for abuse against men not being recognized in the area of domestic violence is that unlike the numerous support groups available for women, there are hardly any men’s groups or more importantly, movements representing the issues affecting such men (Beaupre, 1997). Also, many therapists and clinicians are resistant in believing that women are abusers and hence rarely ask questions of their male clients about the possibility of domestic violence (Macchietto, 1992). Gender feminists, compared to equity feminists “are primarily, if not exclusively interested in showcasing the maltreatment of females by males in society and are not particularly interested in showcasing the maltreatment of males by females, especially in the area of spousal abuse and child abuse” (Sommers, 1999). Because gender feminists focus their attention on the oppression and victimization of women, it is very difficult for them to acknowledge domestic violence against men, especially since the importance of providing services to abused women would possibly be de-emphasized (Sommers, 1999).
The troubling aspect of the domestic violence movement is that it has become a feminist political movement more than an agency for helping all victims of domestic violence equally and with the same concern. Although feminists have indeed helped many women, they have done so at the expense of men who are also victims of abuse.
Advocates against domestic violence continually point out that silence regarding domestic violence only increases the probability that this social problem will intensify, yet these same advocates have acted to ensure that there will not be equal recognition for all victims (Margi, 1995). Domestic abuse of women has been in the public eye for many years. Its nature and extent, shelters for abused women have been set up, legislation and police charging policies have evolved in response to the growing appreciation of the extent of the problem. The extent of the comparable issue of domestic abuse of men is not as well known and understood by the general public. An emerging question raised within the field is, “What about the men who are also victims of domestic violence”? This study therefore sought to explore domestic gender based violence against men in Kiambu east district. To answer to the foregoing objective, the study was guided by the following questions:
The overall objective was to explore domestic violence against men in Kiambu East Sub-County.
The specific objectives were:
The study has yielded findings that will be important in informing the intervention policies and approaches at the gender based violence recovery centers towards focusing on the plight of men seeking care. In particular, the findings will inform policy advocate bodies such as the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA-K) to put into focus barriers that male survivors of domestic violence face in the process of seeking care and justice.
The findings of the study will be an important source of literature for scholars interested in documenting the consequences of domestic violence on the family structure and the couple relations.
This study was carried out in Kiambu East Sub-County.and focused on the extent, forms of domestic violence against men and the consequences of such violence on the survivors and their families. However, the study has used a small sample size which may limit the generalizability of the findings to depict the picture of domestic violence across the country. In the study, triangulation of data collection tools was undertaken to ensure rich data is collected to answer to the study objectives. The findings obtained from the research provide information that future scholars can build upon.
Domestic violence: an array of sexual, physical and psychological violence committed against male members of the family. This might also include incidences of threat of such acts at home.
Men: male victims of domestic violence within households.
Consequences: the socio-economic consequences of domestic violence.
Gender-based violence (GBV): Any act of gender-based violence that results in or is likely to result in physical, sexual and psychological harm, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty whether occurring in public or private life. Violence inflicted on one based on one’s gender.
GBV survivors: People who have been victims of gender-based violence in the past.
Care: Psychotherapy, psychosocial and medical care for GBV survivors.
Intimate partner violence: Actual or threatened physical or gender-based violence or psychological and emotional abuse directed towards a spouse, ex-spouse, current or former boyfriend or girlfriend, or current or former dating partner.
This chapter presents a review of the literature related to the study topic. The review is done along the following topics: extent of domestic violence against men and the nature of violence against men. The section finally presents the theoretical framework and assumptions that will guide the study.
Although men are hit by their wives, figures on husband abuse vary too widely to determine the exact extent or seriousness of the problem (Stark & Flitcraft, 1998, cited in Atmore 2001: 48). Workers in the field have reported increasing numbers of men approaching services for support in dealing with abuse from a partner. However, evidence concerning victimization rates remains largely anecdotal and is not represented in formal research data. One of the reasons for this is that men are sometimes not the targets of data collection efforts. Second, in some surveys, the incidence of domestic violence against men has been very low, precluding statistical analysis. For example, in one of the most comprehensive Australian studies on the incidences of domestic violence, Ferrante et al. (1996) conducted a telephone survey of Perth residents over 18 years of age. The survey asked both men and women a series of questions about robbery, personal attack, threats of force and sexual assault. The sample comprised 1,511 males, three of whom reported single incidents of domestic violence against them. However, the researchers were dubious about the recalling of these events and stated, ‘there is evidence that two of the men may have been witness to an incident or involved in an incident with someone else’s partner’ (Ferrante et al., 1996: 63). The small number of incidents precluded further analysis.
A further problem for researching the incidence of violence perpetrated against men is that it can be difficult to differentiate men who are perpetrating violence from male victims. For example, Gadd et al. (2002) conducted in-depth interviews with 22 men who had disclosed experiences of threats or force by a partner in a 2000 Scottish Crime Survey. In some cases, the men’s depictions of themselves as victims of domestic violence were not compatible with details of the abuse that they had described. The researchers consequently categorized the men into four groups: primary instigators (n = 1), equal combatants (n = 4), retaliators (n = 8) and non-retaliatory victims (n = 9). The researchers reported that: ‘…our suspicion was that at least half of the partners of the men who had experienced some form of abuse or threat would also have been able to offer accounts of repeat domestic violence perpetrated against themselves…Differentiating perpetrators from victims in these cases is an irreconcilably contentious task’ (Gadd et al., 2002: 44). Nevertheless, for half the sample, the researchers found the men’s account of victimization ‘…less controvertible… Some of the interviewees had experienced genuinely harrowing forms of abuse’ (Gadd et al., 2002: 45).
Claims are often made about the inaccuracy of data on the incidence of men as victims of domestic violence. It is commonly argued that men’s under-reporting of violence is due to barriers such as embarrassment. It is documented that female victims’ under-report their victimization and the evidence is that men tend to over-estimate their partner’s violence. Women under-estimate their partner’s violence by normalizing or excusing it (Flood, 2003:4). Men also tend to under-estimate their own violence while women tend to overestimate theirs (Kimmel, 2001:10-11). Currie (1998) also found that men upgraded women’s violent behaviour while women discounted or downplayed their male partners’ violence. Nevertheless, female violence towards a male partner is an area that requires further attention.
There is no doubt that some men subjected to domestic violence from a partner will experience serious abuse that is life threatening and likely to have a long-lasting impact. However, research collected to date indicates very different experiences of victimization reported by men and women within a domestic violence context. Bagshaw and Chung (2000: 11) conducted a review of the available literature and found the following differences:
• Males reported that they were not living in an ongoing state of fear from the perpetrator;
• Males did not have prior experiences of violent relationships; and,
• Males rarely experienced post-separation violence and, in the one reported case, it was far less severe that in male-to-female violence.
Male respondents of the 2000 Scottish Crime Survey, in general, were less likely to have been repeat victims of assault, to have been seriously injured, and to report feeling fearful in their own homes. These factors, coupled with the embarrassment many male victims felt, helped to explain the infrequency with which male victims of domestic abuse came to the attention of the Scottish Police (Gadd et al., 2002:6).
As is the case with women experiencing domestic violence, it is important to understand the context of their experiences. For example, the interaction of other factors such as sexual preference, cultural background, or class is relevant, especially in their relationship to male notions of masculinity. Atmore (2000: 12) cites a recent study conducted in Victoria by Amanda Barclay who interviewed 14 workers from a range of victim services in Melbourne about their views of the experiences and needs of male victims of violence by their female partners.
The case studies identified by Barclay highlight that men’s experiences are broad and not primarily limited to forms of physical abuse. This is understandable, as men’s physical size and strength is often greater than that of their female partners. This may also explain why men often report that they do not generally live in fear of their partners. Men’s descriptions about their abuse identified within the Barclay study tended to centre on issues such as financial dependence on a partner, limiting access to resources, tactics of isolation, preventing access to children, and being exposed to irrational and threatening behaviour when their partner was not compliant with medication.
The South Australian study (Bagshaw et al., 2000), referred to earlier, also collected qualitative data about men’s experiences. Men reported a range of physical abuse including direct assaults, being spat at, scratched, hair pulled, pots thrown, being rushed at, kicked, choked and threatened with a knife. They did not report sexual assaults from their partners but, rather, emotional taunts that had an effect on their sexual performance. Further verbal and emotional abuse included putdowns, accusations of infidelity, ‘bitchy’ comments, and name-calling. Few of the respondents reported that they experienced social abuse (Bagshaw et al., 2000b:54-55).
Further analysis of men’s experiences of abuse is required, especially in instances where men are also identified as the aggressor in the abusive relationship. James et al. (2002) report on the perceptions of 24 men attending domestic violence men’s programmes conducted by Relationships Australia. The study involved men who were attending programmes to deal with violence and abuse they had inflicted on a partner. Within the study, men reported incidents where their partners had abused them in some way – usually emotionally – taken advantage of them or saw themselves suffering more than their partner. The authors’ commented that, despite this position adopted by the male partner, the men ‘seemed emotionally resilient and were asymptomatic’ (James et al., 2002:11).
In the 1999 Statistics Canada surveyed 11,607 men aged 15 years and older. It reported that of those men who had a current or former partner during the previous five-year period, 7% experienced some type of spousal abuse on at least one occasion, compared with 8% of their female counterparts (Canadian Centre for Justice, 2000:9). Like all previous studies of intimate partner abuse, the GSS findings indicate that abuse was not an isolated event: 54% of these male victims had experienced spousal violence more than once in the preceding period. In fact, 13% of them had experienced it more than 10 times (Canadian Centre for Justice, 2000:14).
It is unknown whether the rate of spousal abuse against men is changing because comparable data for male victimization had not been gathered by Statistics Canada before 1999. Available data indicate that spousal homicide victimization rates for men generally declined between 1974 and 2000 (Canadian Centre for Justice, 2000:11). Interestingly, on the other hand, the number of spousal assaults against men reported to the police was higher in 2000 than in 1995. This increase might reflect a variety of potential factors: greater willingness on the part of victims to report to the police; changes in the reporting practices of the police; and/or changes in legislation, policing or enforcement practices (Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, 2002: 8).
A Canadian survey conducted in 1987 asked 528 women, aged 18 years or older and married or living in common-law relationships, whether they had physically abused their intimate partners during the previous 12 months. Of the total sample of women, 23.3% reported that they had physically abused their intimate partners at least once in the previous year (Lupri, 1992).
Also carried out in 1987 was an Alberta telephone survey of 356 men and 351 women who were married or cohabiting. Of the men, 12.3% reported they had sustained abuse from their female partners in the 12 months preceding the survey; similarly, 12.5% of the women reported that they had inflicted abuse on their male partners (Kwong et al., 1999).
In the 1999 GSS findings, abused men were more likely than abused women to report having had something thrown at them or having been slapped, kicked, and bitten or hit. In the 1987 Canadian survey, similar proportions of women and men reported inflicting both minor and severe physical abuse on their partners. According to the 1999 GSS, however, abused women were more likely than abused men to report experiencing severe forms of violence, such as being beaten, sexually assaulted, choked, or threatened by a gun or knife or having had such a weapon used against them during the previous five years (Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, 2002: 8).
Psychological or emotional abuse includes various forms of demeaning and controlling behaviour. The 1999 GSS measured emotional abuse through seven different items ranging from limiting contact with outsiders to limiting access to financial information. About one out of five men (18%) and women (19%) reported having experienced some form of emotionally abusive behaviour in their current or previous intimate relationships during the past five years. Men and women (11% and 9% respectively) were equally likely to report experiencing two controlling forms of behaviour (“he/she is jealous and doesn’t want you to talk to other men/women,” and “he/she demands to know who you are with and where you are at all times”) (O’Leary, 1999).
In addition to appreciating the emotional turmoil and pain created by psychological abuse, it is important to realize that it can escalate to or coincide with physical abuse. According to the 1999 GSS, five-year rates of violence in current relationships were 10 times higher among men who reported emotional abuse than those who did not. Earlier research also shows that psychological abuse and physical abuse are highly correlated, although longitudinal data are needed to establish whether there is any causal direction (Strauss & Sweet, 1992).
Abuse produces direct physical and/or psychological consequences for the victim. According to the 1999 GSS, 13% of male victims of partner abuse reported physical injury and 3% required medical attention (Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, 2000: 14.).A recent meta-analysis (quantitative review) of more than 80 studies of physical abuse between heterosexual partners found that 35% of victims injured by an intimate partner and 39% of those requiring medical treatment were men (Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, 2002: 15.).
According to the 1999 GSS, 29% of abused men reported being upset, confused or frustrated as a result of the abuse they had experienced, 26% reported anger, and 21% reported feelings of hurt or disappointment (Brinkerhoff, 1992). Other studies have found that both perpetrators and victims of physical and psychological abuse report lower levels of self-esteem than do non-victims, and men’s psychological well-being has been found to suffer as a consequence of abuse (Grandin et al., 1998). Recent narrative analyses also shed light on abused men’s emotional hurt. Whereas women must struggle against abusive men and against social customs, attitudes and structures that disempower them, men who are abused by their intimate female partners struggle with the maintenance of a masculine ideal (Dobash and Dobash, 1978).
An in-depth narrative study examined the experiences and effects of physical abuse for 12 married men, aged 25 to 47. The men sustained injuries such as multiple bruises and abrasions, dislocated ribs, injured genitalia, minor head trauma, numerous lacerations, and internal injuries. Weapons used by the wives included clothe hangers, steak knives, scissors, screwdrivers, cellular phones, fingernails, metal pots and pans, rolling pins, keys and other thrown objects. This study provided some insight into the respondents’ feelings about their situations and the effect those situations had on their self-identity.
Having been abused by a woman, the men felt that they had failed to achieve culturally defined masculine characteristics, such as independence, strength, toughness and self-reliance. As a result, the men felt emasculated and marginalized, and tended not to express their fears, ask for help, or even discuss details of their violent experiences (Migliaccio, 2001). During the interviews, the abused men repeatedly expressed shame and embarrassment. The men indicated that their disclosures of abuse were often met with reactions of disbelief, surprise and skepticism from the staff of domestic abuse shelters, legal-based institutions and hospitals, as well as friends and neighbours. These reactions may cause male victims to feel even more abused.
While these findings are not generalizable, they do point to the need for research if we are to understand the contextual factors that shape the motives, meaning and consequences of physical and psychological abuse for men (Grandin, 1995). Such intimate partner abuse can also have indirect consequences, negatively affecting other family members. According to the 1999 GSS, 25% of male victims of spousal abuse reported that children had heard or seen the abuse committed against them (Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, 2000: 17). There is a growing body of research on the long-term effects on children of growing up in an abusive home, including the following: behavioural effects such as aggression and delinquency, and psychological effects such as anxiety, depression and low self-esteem; and greater likelihood that, as adults, they will become involved in abusive marital relationships (Wolak and Finkelhor, 1998).
The indirect consequences can reach out even further and be seen in terms of economic costs to society as a whole. Three studies have shown that woman abuse alone costs billions of dollars in Canada each year. No comparable estimates have been made for male abuse. However, there are clear indications that its cost to our society’s productivity is significant – 11% of male spousal violence victims have reported that they had to take time off work as a result of physical abuse between intimates (Kerr and Mclean, 1996).
This study will be guided by the ecological framework developed by Bronfenbrenner (1977), who describes it as an inter-relationship among personal, situational and socio-cultural factors that can cause violence. This model has been extended and used by many researchers to conceptualize IPV and the links between the personal, situational, and socio-cultural factors that combine to cause the violence. This study adopts the ecological framework utilized by Heise et al. (1998) and Krug et al. (2002). In this model, IPV results from the interaction of factors at different levels of the social environment conceptualized as four circles in the figure below.
Figure 2. 01 Ecological Model of Factors associated with IPV
According to this model, no single factor alone can explain why some people are at a high risk of IPV while others are not or why it is more common in some contexts than in others. Rather, violence results from the interaction of a number of factors; the model illustrates how an individual’s exposure to violence is influenced by factors at the individual, relational, community and societal levels (Krug et al., 2002; Heise et al., 1998).
Individual level encompasses biological factors, beliefs and attitudes, and personal history factors that influence an individual’s reaction to violence. The factors include being male, personality traits, attitudes and beliefs about violence, witnessing violence, violence history and experiences, marital violence in the home, having an absent or rejecting father, being abused as a child and the frequent use of alcohol and drugs.
Relationship level reflects how an individual’s close social relationships influence the risk of violence. Factors include patriarchal family structure (e.g., male control of wealth and decision-making in the family), marital conflict and inter-family conflict due to the extended family culture.
Community level relates to the settings of social relationships, such as neighbourhoods, workplaces and schools, and characteristics of those environments that contribute to or protect against violence. They include poverty, unemployment, and low socio-economic status, male peer groups which condone and legitimize men’s violence, social norms restricting women and women’s isolation and lack of social support.
Societal level factors refer to those underlying conditions of society that either encourage or inhibit violence, which include the overarching values, attitudes and beliefs of the culture that impact the other three levels. The factors include male dominance (notions of masculinity linked to dominance, honour, and aggression), stereotypic/rigid gender role beliefs, sense of male entitlement, norms granting men control over female behavior, acceptance of violence as a way to resolve conflict (acceptance of physical punishment of women and cultural attitudes that excuse violence as a way to resolve interpersonal disputes) and religion and its interpretation. Society tendency to blame victims of violence is part of cultural script that accepts IPV towards women and influences an individual’s likelihood to perpetrate or tolerate violence.
The theory looks at the situational, personal and socio-cultural factors that cause violence. A combination of these factors can be used to explain the high prevalence of violence against men in Kiambu East Sub-County. The framework in its various levels illustrate the possible types of violence that can be perpetrated, for example, at individual level, there is an array of physical , sexual including marital conflict that are feasible. Socio-economic violence is found to be manifest at community and society levels given the tolerating attitudes in which the recipients of violence are thought to provoke the same, hence, the theory explains various types of violence experienced in Kiambu East Sub-County. The theory also outlines consequences of violence at different levels such as the disruption of family units, health consequences and multiple socio-economic sufferings endured by the violence victims. This is important in addressing the objective on the consequences of violence.
This chapter describes the study site, study design, study population, sample and sampling design, data collection methods and analysis. The chapter finally presented the ethical considerations that guided the study.
Kiambu East Sub-County (figure 3.2) is located in central Kenya. It has a population of 1,623,282 (Male – 49%, Female – 51%). Age Distribution is as follows: 0-14 years (34.5 %), 15-64 years (61.9 %), 65 and above years (3.6%). Number of Households: 469,244.Poverty level is 25%. The main economic activities/industries include: Farming, Food Processing, and Manufacturing (Leather), Mining (Carbacid), Textile (Cotton), Motor Vehicle Assembly, Wholesale and Retail trade.
The health facilities operational in the area include: District Hospitals (4), Sub-County Hospitals (3), Dispensaries (108), Health Centres (29), Medical Clinics (170), Nursing Homes (9), Maternity Homes (1), Others (22) . Notable Hospitals include Kiambu Subcounty Hospital, Thika Subcounty Hospital, and Immaculate Heart of Mary Hospital. This study was carried out at the Gender Based Violence Recovery Centre (GBVRC) at Kiambu Subcounty Hospital. The hospital is the oldest and the largest public facility in Kiambu County. It has 600 beds, 30 wards and 10 out-patient clinics. The GBVRC offers psychotherapy and social services to the survivors besides the court and medical services and receives an average of 10 survivors a day.
Figure 3. 1: Map of Kiambu East Sub-County. Source MoPDN(2008)
This was a cross-sectional descriptive study that utilized qualitative research methods in understanding violence against men. The study employed individual in-depth interviews, case narratives and key informant interviews in data collection. The collected data have been analyzed thematically and verbatim amplifying the informants’ voices used alongside the main themes.
The study population included all male gender-based violence survivors at Kiambu Subcounty Hospital Gender-Based Violence Recovery Centre. The unit of analysis was the individual gender based violence survivor.
A sample of 30 male gender-based violence survivors were selected for the study. This sample was deemed adequate given the qualitative nature of the study that yielded rich data to answer the study objectives.
Convenience sampling was used to select the sample population from gender based violence survivors at Kiambu GBVR centre. The sampling procedure was used to select 30 male DGBV survivors who are psychosocially and medically stable to give informed consent and they were engaged as informants in in-depth interviews. Purposive sampling was used to identify 6 DGBV survivors as informants to give case narratives as well as 3 Kiambu GBVR staff, one government official from gender ministry, one lobbyist and one legal expert who were engaged in key informant interviews.
Thirty individual in-depth interviews were conducted amongst 30 gender-based violence survivors who had reported to Kiambu GBVRC. It was the main data collection method for this study and was important in providing the individual lived experience of domestic violence thereby helping in achieving a wholistic understanding of the interviewee’s situation. The interviews were conducted using an interview schedule (Appendix, 2) containing open-ended questions so as to provide room for thorough probing to elicit detailed information.
These were conducted with the hospital staff working under GBV recovery centre, one legal expert drawn from Law Society of Kenya (LSK), one lobbyist from a civil society and a government official from the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Services and police. The key informants were significant in providing data on factors perpetuating domestic gender based violence in different settings, the policies in place to curb gender-based violence across different settings of occurrence. All the key informants were purposively drawn for the study. A key informant interview schedule (Appendix, 3) was used to collect the data.
A narrative is understood as a spoken or written text, giving an account of an event or action or a series of events chronologically connected. These was used to source information from 6 male DGBV survivors who were willing to share their life experiences with the forms of violence met on them, the health consequences of violence on the survivors and the effect on the family relations. A case narrative schedule (Appendix, 4) was used to collect data.
Secondary information collection review was undertaken in order to provide contextualized background information on historical and contemporary issues on gender based violence. Information was drawn from existing scholarly articles, government documents, working papers and websites. The process was elaborately used in informing the discussions.
Quantitative data obtained from key informant interviews, case narratives and in-depth interviews was analyzed thematically. A descriptive approach was involved where direct quotations and selected comments from informants was used to explain the key messages in the themes.
Before the interviews were conducted, a statement of consent (Appendix, 1) was read to all subjects in the study and they were asked for their informed consent to participate. Explanations were given to all the informants concerning confidentiality. The study ensured confidentiality and privacy by using codes and pseudonyms instead of the real names of the informants. Confidentiality and privacy was maintained throughout the data collection, analysis and dissemination stages. Due to the sensitive nature of this study, informants were given a brief introduction of the study topic and expectations in a consent form, of which they were to sign to show their willingness to participate in the study. Informants were also informed of their right to disqualify themselves or withdraw at any stage of the study. Furthermore, ethical clearance was sought from Ministry of Higher Education through National Council for Science and Technology (NACOSTI) and the Kenyatta National Hospital/ University of Nairobi Ethical Review Committee before embarking on fieldwork.
This chapter presents the findings on domestic violence against men in Kiambu Sub-County. The chapter starts with presentation of the demographic characteristics of the informants and then discusses the rest of the findings.
In this study, half (50%) of the respondents in this study were aged between 31 and 45, 30% were aged between 18 and 30, while those aged 46 years and above comprised 20% as summarized in figure 4.1 below. By implication, most male survivors of domestic violence can be said to be in their mid-life ages in Kiambu Sub-County. Domestic abuse is seen to affect this middle-aged group downwards to the age of 18 years. Males affected within the bracket of 18-30 years were also established to be recently married.
Figure 4. 1 Age groups of the respondents
Analysis of marital status of the informants revealed that 10% were cohabiting or in unofficial unions, 70% were married and 20% were separated but still staying in the same household as summarized in figure 4.2 below. Marital status was an important variable in this study because the presence or absence of a spouse is an important determinant of the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator of domestic violence.
Figure 4. 2 Marital status of the respondents
On education, the findings indicated that most (70%) of the respondents had completed primary school, 25% had completed secondary education and 5% had post-secondary schooling as summarized in figure 4.3 below. Thus, none of the respondents had informal education background. Educational level defines the survivors’ knowledge of the care seeking procedures and the authorities that one should inform.
Figure 4. 3 Educational levels of the respondents
On income levels, 62% of the respondents earned below KES 5,000 a month, 30% reported earning between 5001 and 7, 000 while the remaining 20% reporting earning 7001 and above as summarized in figure 4.4 below. Income level is an important variable since it determines the form of abuse perpetrated on the victim and the victim’s ability to seek post-abuse care in the process.
Figure 4. 4 Income levels of the respondents
The study sought to know the frequency with which the survivors of domestic violence at the GBVRC centre had been exposed to violence. This was important in diagnosing the cycle of domestic violence and whether the occurrence was a one-time event or a continuous manifestation in the households. Most of the survivors at the GBVRC reported that they had been exposed to violent behaviours and treatment on a number of times. The findings revealed that only when violence proved to be life threatening did the informants opt to seek for care at the hospital. The tendency not to report incidences of domestic violence by men is enshrined in the strong patriarchal leaning of the society in Kiambu East Sub-County where men are supposed to identify with images of aggressive and dominant masculinity. The informants observed that it was difficult to quantify the extent of domestic violence since certain incidences were regarded as mere disagreements between married couples only as in the quote below:
“I was denied my conjugal rights several times when I complained it extended to regulated meals in the house, I thought this would end when I started helping with domestic work, soon it grew to occasional slaps and banging of doors every time I asked something from her…the trend continued till the day she poured hot water on my back that landed me in the hospital…”. (An interview with 34 year old survivor).
Domestic violence against men in kiambu Sub-County is underreported and hardly given the research attention it deserves. This is due to the nature and sphere of violence that is usually closed to the public and the prevalent notion that men cannot be humiliated and/or violated in their own homes. In the study, the informants were of the opinion many of their male colleagues had chosen to go quiet on violent experiences from their female partners in order to avoid community ridicule irrespective of the potential danger it posed to the people’s lives.
“Violence against men in the household is much abound within kiambu East district, the problem is that men have refused to talk about it let alone report the incidences to local authorities…sometimes when they seek care, they report that they were involved in fights with male friends…it is because the societal expectations have built on men a trait that it is ‘womanly’ and ‘feminine’ to go public that you are being frustrated by a woman in the house. (An interview with 40 year old survivor).
Studies on domestic violence within the area have focused much on women as the victims rather than the men-folk. In a similar pattern, violence against men is said to have been a retaliatory tactic employed by women who have been subjected to abuse by their husbands hence more often recorded at different levels as self-protection. The local administration specifically the chiefs are blamed to have undervalued the reports from men raising concerns over violent behaviour from their female spouses and branded cowards.
“even if you gather courage to report to the chief in the area about frequent verbal and physical attacks from your wife, the common response is that you need to take charge as a man and avoid bringing outsiders into your domestic affairs, this attitude contributes largely to underreporting of violence against men in the district…”. (An interview with 29 year old survivor).
In the study, key informants pointed out mixed causes for underreporting the extent of domestic violence against men in kiambu east Sub-County. A cultural belief about the image of ‘a real man’ who is naturally heads the household and cannot be questioned neither subjected to cruelty is still prevalent. Those abused have been classified as ‘female-males’ who can no longer provide for the family. Similarly, the key informants reinstated the propositions by the informants that domestic violence is overly privatized and seems to get to the public only when men are critically injured or through the children’s report about the home reality. There was also an observation from the key informants that the extent of reported domestic violence against men depends largely on what the survivors define as an abuse and within which time span they choose to report the same as in the quote below.
“There is a lot of silence around domestic violence against men…the cultural definition of a man as being strong naturally situates the men into denial of such occurrence…it is deemed as a household conflict that should not be exposed to ‘outsiders’, some of the survivors only think that domestic violence has to be physical to qualify the definition of violence… these and other personal considerations of image protection largely affects the reporting on extent of domestic violence”. (An interview with a staff at Kiambu GBV recovery centre).
From the findings, the study established that the extent of domestic violence in Kiambu East Sub-County is underexplored and unquantified requiring an independent investigation. However, the study was able to establish that domestic violence occurrence in the private sphere and strong patriarchal leaning of the society which see men as the final authorities in the households had largely contributed to lack of interest in the prevalence of violence against men. Moreover, in incidences where such occurrences were reported in the media, it had always attracted ridicule rather than the attention that would bring an amicable solution to it.
The study sought to know from the subjects the various forms of domestic violence that they had experienced within their homes. However, this question was preceded by the subjects’ understating of domestic violence in its entirety. The latter was necessary in gauging the subjects’ knowledge on various forms of gender-based violence besides the one that they had undergone. Most subjects in this study defined domestic violence as an act of raping, beating, pushing, and coerced sexual intercourse by someone they are intimate with and/or reside with.
Other informants were of the opinion that denying someone room to take part in the family decisions making process as well as the over-control of economic resource utilization was another aspect of domestic violence. From the opinions of the study informants, it was clear that there is not a single binding definition of domestic violence, however, the very characteristics that define violence between couples of opposite gender and occurring within the household sphere underlined their perception of domestic violence. Similarly, previous experiences with home-based abuses also informed the very definitions that the informants gave in the interviews. A sample of their responses is given below:
(It) domestic violence refers to rape or even in the home when your spouse wants to have relations (have sexual intercourse) but you are not interested he will do it by force…when you as a man force yourself on your wife it is considered that you have violated her (26-year-old newly married survivor).
Domestic violence is being denied food because you have not made a financial contribution in purchasing the family meal…this occurs on the days your contributions have slowed down thus you are treated as a weakling without the basis to hold a family obligation of providing for your children (36 year-old survivor).
Sometimes the women would just slam the door in your face or attempt to beat you up in your sleep, it is a common occurrence when dialogue fails to work between the couples, I was hit by a blunt object for my refusal to buy her a new dress during one of the sister’s wedding and that caused an internal bleeding one side of me head, I cannot remember how many items she had shouted at me before that fateful day that she hurled a knife that ripped my face (48-year-old survivor).
The three case definitions cited above affirm experiential definition of domestic violence against men with women seen as the perpetrators putting a caveat on incidences where male children have also perpetrated violence against their fathers in fight over property as documented in other literature. In the definitions, it was established that economic and psychological forms of gender-based violence are manifested by the survivors being denied money and freedom silence coupled with occasional slamming of the doors by the abusers. From the three accounts, the abusers are seen to be known to the survivors thus dismissing the notion of safety of women at home.
The key informants were in concurrence with fact that one’s understanding of domestic violence is shaped by experiences that they had undergone. The various forms of violence tend to orient the informants’ categorization of domestic violence.
“Understanding of violence is largely experience-informed…largely; there is no single definition of domestic violence that shies away from gender based violence, only that the sphere of occurrence is so enclosed within the home arena and it is more often between persons that are closely related either through marriage or by blood…in the context of men, we may want to add the point that they are seen more as recipients of the violence as in this study…”. (An interview with LSK representative).
Forms of domestic violence reported in the study ranged from sexual, economic, psychological and physical violence. The informants reported having suffered a degree of conjugal harassment and denial from their spouses, isolation and humiliation before children on the survivors’ inability to pay school fees or make other household provisions, occasional battering and use of crude weapons by women to cause damage on their husbands. In the study, physical violence was predominantly suffered by the survivors. It should be understood that the violence forms mentioned in the study did not take part in isolation but tended to be on a mixed basis. A sample of responses pointing to the forms of domestic violence suffered is given below.
“It started out as uncalled for arguments over dinner tables about my inability to provide for the family when I lost my job, I got frustrated because it used to take place before our two children, one time she told me that I should begin sleeping on the couch or look for another house but I resisted that…I was constantly reminded of being a burden and the night we fought, she threw a burning stove at me and that is when I got admitted…”(An interview 45 year old survivor).
“I was accused by my wife of cheating on her with other village women because I used to get back home quite late in the nights, she had on several days warned of unspecified consequences if I continued with the trend despite my explanations of the true reflections of my delays…one day while asleep, she took a hot knife and pressed it on my stomach, I got serious injuries and I had to be hospitalized”. (An interview with 36 year old survivor).
“our fights began when she would not allow me to have any sexual union with her, she blamed for being lazy and unfulfilling, psychologically I was a bit embarrassed, she would leave the bedroom to sleep in the living room, at one point she came to sleep and when I touched her, she pulled a sharp object that missed my private parts by an inch but caused me a lot of pain”. (An interview with 30 year old survivor).
The cases of domestic violence sampled above serve to indicate that various forms are suffered by survivors in kiambu East Sub-County. More importantly, they showcase the fact that the cycle of violence is always long with occasional warnings by the perpetrators but the inability of the survivors to take preventive measures has always resulted into near fatal outcomes as illustrated in the examples above.
The key informants in the study were of the opinion that forms of violence depends on the socio-economic status of the abuser and the survivor. In essence, economic violence was seen to take place where the abuser had more financial muscle and might than the survivor, physical violence where men fall prey was seen to be factor of retaliation after long period of psychological violence. The cultural silence surrounding issues of sexual violence has meant it becomes the least reported form of domestic violence. Similarly, the key informants observed that various types of violence tend to be reinforcing thus they are suffered in a more collective manner as in the quote below.
“Sometimes you may not just want to treat a survivor from the physical injuries but we do a lot of cross-referencing in order to solve the psycho-social facets of violence, a person may be visibly subjected to physical abuse but the root causes could be in social and economic standings in the household…” (An interview with GBVRC staff).
In conclusion, domestic violence against men in kiambu East Sub-County assumes many forms. It cuts across the physical, economic and psychological violence. The most identified form of violence is the physical form that more often involve large-scale battering. The informants in the study seem to delay reporting any other forms of violence till they are physically violated. The net effect of this has been the cumulative psychological pain suffered over a long period of time in the hands of the survivors. Economic violence is largely reported in cases where male survivors were either unable to provide for their families’ upkeep or lost their jobs and began depending on their spouses for upkeep. The concept largely draws from the societal construct of manhood images of family provision.
The study sought to know how domestic violence has affected the male survivors. This was assessed across the physical, psychological and socio-economic consequences of the violence. In the study, the informants observed that they had suffered bruises and abrasions, dislocated ribs, injured genitalia, minor head trauma, numerous lacerations, and internal injuries as in the quotes below.
“I was admitted here with dislocated ribs and a stinging pain based on the hot iron she had used on me, I feel a lot of pain from one side of my stomach and I do not think I will view her same again after I recover”. (33 year old survivor).
“There is a pain around my genitalia since that day she attacked me, am not so sure I will be able to recover fully but this is going to be a permanent scar in my life…(29 year old survivor).
The findings of the study therefore provided some insight into the respondents’ feelings about their situations and the effect those situations had on their self-identity. In the event that the males had been abused by women, the men felt that they had failed to achieve culturally defined masculine characteristics, such as independence, strength, toughness and self-reliance. During the interviews, the abused men repeatedly expressed shame and embarrassment. The men indicated that their disclosures of abuse were often met with reactions of disbelief, surprise and skepticism from the staff of domestic abuse shelters, legal-based institutions and hospitals, as well as friends and neighbours. These reactions may cause male victims to feel even more abused as in the quote below.
“I feel so bad about my image amongst other men in the society; they perceive me as weakling and a man unable to contain a woman, this keeps me feel rejected and relegated to the group of men without power…it is even embarrassing when women ridicule you…”. (An interview with 28 year-old survivor).
The study established that domestic violence against men has negative impact on the relations with their family members. Children who saw the male survivors being humiliated rejected as well as created ‘a mock-effect’ kind of relationship with their fathers who in return expressed being psychologically being depressed. Moreover, the post-violence experiences naturally affect the intimate relations between the spouses and in certain cases threaten divorce or separation as in the quote below.
“I do not thing I have any respect from children, they have been principle witnesses to abuses met on me by their mother, sometimes, they even discuss the affairs with their friends, it is a shame you would not want to live with as a man in the community…after my recovery, my family will help me to send her back to their place, she has proven to be so evil”. (An interview with 35 year-old survivor).
The finding in the quote above indicates a negative effect of domestic violence at the intimate level of a family. In the study, key informants observed such domestic squabbles have a long negative effect on the children who may in future turn to be abusive based on what they had witnessed in their childhood as in the quote below.
“Domestic violence can negatively impact on the children…they may grow up to accept violence as a means of resolving disputes and in turn become abusers when they grow up…”(An interview with ministry of gender official).
Domestic violence was established to have an effect on the economic stability of the family at any given occurrence. Physical violence resulting into multiple injuries consumes a lot of family savings in the hospital treatment while the psychological violence takes a long process to heal through counseling which turns out to be expensive. In conclusion, domestic violence has the potential to rip off families by breeding hatred between married couples, negatively impact on the household’ productivity and increase overall health expenditures in terms of treatment and seeking legal dispute resolution mechanisms which always turn out to be long and expensive.
From the case narratives, the prevalence, forms and consequences of domestic violence could clearly be deduced as in the quote below:
“Last month (August. 2012) I came back home as usual, my wife looked a bit reserved and unhappy, I thought it was the result of the argument we had that morning about the frequent female callers on my line even when am off-work, I tried talking to her but she would not give me any audience, she kept telling me to say my last prayer that I was still alive because of what was about to befall me, I could not relate it to anything serious because that was not the first time she was threatening to kill me…soon I realized that our two children were not in the house or anywhere close, I asked about their whereabouts but she told me they had been taken to their grandmother…I immediately realized something was a miss in the house and pressed her to clear the air…her response was swift and calculated, she stood up and pulled a panga from below her seat, I was lucky to have been caught off my shoulders as tried to grab the weapon from her…I got help from the neighbours who were attracted by the commotion…they arrested her and am yet to testify against her in a court of law since she was charged with attempted murder, I have been here for two weeks after amputation but I have no idea where our children are…my family went up in flames of violence just because my wife suspected some woman was following me on phone for a relationship…”. (An interview with 43 year old survivor).
From case narrative, the victim is seen to have suffered psycho-social trauma and the physically life threatening effects of domestic violence. The case gives an insight into how the long term verbal abuse and exchanges turned fatal and brooked up the family in one single day. It demonstrates what kind of violence men undergo in the community and how family level violence has spill-over effect into the society.
This chapter discusses the findings in relation to the study objectives. Following the discussions, conclusions are drawn and recommendations made.
The study has established an underreporting of domestic violence against men in Kiambu East Sub-County. This has been observed by experts as lack of concerted efforts by gender based violence advocates top focus on the plight of men as victims rather than perpetrators of violence against the females. Moreover, statistics cumulated over time have come to favour the notion that women receive more violence at the domestic level than their male counterparts. For example, in a previous study by Canadian Centre for Justice (2000), it was reported that of those men who had a current or former partner during the previous five-year period, 7% experienced some type of spousal abuse on at least one occasion, compared with 8% of their female counterparts. While the study showcases almost a parity in the margins, it goes ahead to portray women as the unfortunate recipients of the abuse explaining the lack of interest in men as victims of domestic violence.
In the study, the unhealthy images of manhood, embarrassment and the prevalent picture of the man as the head, the final authority and decision maker in the household was established to be a barring factor in reporting the prevalence of domestic violence against men. The findings revealed that only when violence proved to be life threatening did the respondents opt to seek care at the hospital. The tendency not to report incidences of domestic violence by men is enshrined in the strong patriarchal leaning of the society in Kiambu East Sub-County where men are supposed to identify with images of aggressive and dominant masculinity. These findings compare well with the works of Gadd et al. (2002) where male respondents of the 2000 Scottish Crime Survey, in general, were less likely to have been repeat victims of assault, to have been seriously injured, and to report feeling fearful in their own homes. The study concludes that these factors, coupled with the embarrassment many male victims felt, helped to explain the infrequency with which male victims of domestic abuse came to the attention of the Scottish Police.
In the study, all men reported being victims rather than being on the offensive side. However a close interrogation of the verbatim in the study reveals a reactive and counteractive pattern which also points to men as aggressors. This makes it difficult to distinguish the men who suffered as perpetrators and those who were purely victims of offensive attacks from their spouses. In the previous survey by Gadd et al (2002), they conclude that the men’s depictions of themselves as victims of domestic violence were not compatible with details of the abuse they had described. As is the case with women experiencing domestic violence, it is important to understand the context of their experiences. For example, the interaction of other factors such as sexual preference, cultural background, or class is relevant, especially in their relationship to male notions of masculinity. Atmore (2000: 12) cites a recent study conducted in Victoria by Amanda Barclay who interviewed 14 workers from a range of victim services in Melbourne about their views of the experiences and needs of male victims of violence by their female partners.
The study therefore concludes that the prevalence of domestic violence against men in Kiambu East Sub-County suffers the statistical quantification and research detailing that should reveal the prevalence rates. Furthermore, the cultural aspects stigmatizing men from reporting incidences of domestic violence to the local authorities remain a major obstacle in documenting the prevalence of domestic violence against men. Further analysis of men’s experiences of abuse is required, especially in instances where men are also identified as the aggressor in the abusive relationship. From the previous studies by James et al. (2002) report on the perceptions of 24 men attending domestic violence men’s programmes conducted by Relationships Australia. The study involved men who were attending programmes to deal with violence and abuse they had inflicted on a partner. Within the study, men reported incidents where their partners had abused them in some way – usually emotionally – taken advantage of them or saw themselves suffering more than their partner. The authors’ commented that, despite this position adopted by the male partner, the men ‘seemed emotionally resilient and were asymptomatic’ (James et al., 2002:11).
In the study, most subjects in this study defined domestic violence as an act of raping, beating, pushing, and coerced sexual intercourse by someone they are intimate with and/or reside with. Similarly, informants in the study were of the opinion that denying someone a room to take part in the family decisions making process as well as the over-control of economic resource utilization was another aspect of domestic violence. The findings reinforce the earlier conclusions reached by Bagshaw et al. (2000) where men reported a range of physical abuse including direct assaults, being spat at, scratched, hair pulled, pots thrown, being rushed at, kicked, choked and threatened with a knife. They did not report sexual assaults from their partners but, rather, emotional taunts that had an effect on their sexual performance. Further verbal and emotional abuse included putdowns, accusations of infidelity, ‘bitchy’ comments, and name-calling. Few of the respondents reported that they experienced social abuse.
The study respondents reported being physically abused by their spouses through the use of crude weapons meant to inflict harm on the victims. The informants who had reported to the GBVRC centre reported having had broken ribs and pains inflicted on their bodies by their partners in the study. The findings therefore concur with the 1999 GSS; Statistics Canada surveyed 11,607 men aged 15 years and older. It reported that of those men who had a current or former partner during the previous five-year period, 7% experienced some type of spousal abuse on at least one occasion, compared with 8% of their female counterparts (Canadian Centre for Justice, 2000:9). Like all previous studies of intimate partner abuse, the GSS findings indicate that abuse was not an isolated event: 54% of these male victims had experienced spousal violence more than once in the preceding period. In fact, 13% of them had experienced it more than 10 times (Canadian Centre for Justice, 2000:14).
The study informants reported being emotionally stressed and lacking the original masculine identity and image within the community after being abused. The very fear of losing out their family members and the loved ones was established to further have negative psychological effect on the victims of violence in the study. In addition to appreciating the emotional turmoil and pain created by psychological abuse, it is important to realize that it can escalate to or coincide with physical abuse. In a previous survey by Strauss & Sweet (1992) five-year rates of violence in current relationships were 10 times higher among men who reported emotional abuse than those who did not. Earlier research also shows that psychological abuse and physical abuse are highly correlated, although longitudinal data are needed to establish whether there is any causal direction.
The study therefore concludes that informants under the study had undergone emotional, physical and economic abuse; however, all these forms of abuse stood to be mutually reinforcing to cause a lasting pain on the victims at any given time.
The study established that domestic violence has life threatening physical impact on the victims especially where weapons are used to inflict harm. Similarly, the physical injuries attract a lot of economic implications for the victims when they seek medical care which turns to ruin the families’ economic fortunes. These findings compare to the findings of Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics (2000) which concludes that abuse produces direct physical and/or psychological consequences for the victims where 13% of male victims of partner abuse reported physical injury and 3% required medical attention. Moreover, a meta-analysis (quantitative review) of more than 80 studies of physical abuse between heterosexual partners found that 35% of victims injured by an intimate partner and 39% of those requiring medical treatment were men.
The economic costs of domestic violence in the study are not only seen in the medical perspective but also the families’ inability to sustain their daily needs. The indirect consequences can reach out even further and be seen in terms of economic costs to society as a whole. Kerr and Mclean (1996) in comparison of three studies have shown that woman abuse alone costs billions of dollars each year. Similarly, they conclude that 11% of male spousal violence victims have reported that they had to take time off work as a result of physical abuse between intimates (Such intimate partner abuse can also have indirect consequences, negatively affecting other family members.
The children who had witnessed the males being abused in 6the study were reported to have developed a mockery attitude toward their fathers by the in formants. Similarly, the experts observed that children exposed to such violence may develop knowing that it is prudent to resolve conflicts through violent behaviours and therefore may turn out to be violent themselves as adults. Wolak and Finkelhor (1998) point to a growing body of research on the long-term effects on children of growing up in an abusive home, including the following: behavioral effects such as aggression and delinquency, and psychological effects such as anxiety, depression and low self-esteem; and greater likelihood that, as adults, they will become involved in abusive marital relationships.
The study informants expressed degree of anxiety, fear and loss of self-esteem. Study by Grandin et al., (1998) found that both perpetrators and victims of physical and psychological abuse report lower levels of self-esteem than do non-victims, and men’s psychological well-being has been found to suffer as a consequence of abuse.
The male victims in the study reported receiving ridicule from colleagues as being ‘unmanly’ and ‘female-males’ so as to be beaten by their female spouses. The battered husbands reported having been ignored, ridiculed and chastised. In previous studies by Doug (2000), print media was found to have made battered men a topic for jokes, a common example being the stereotypical cartoon image of a woman chasing her husband while wielding a rolling pin above her head. News headlines regarding domestic violence against men have been phrased in such a way as to be sensational and evoke humour.
These societal reactions and media perceptions are in keeping with the unfortunate, stereotypical view society holds of men as being sturdy and women being the weaker, more helpless sex. To this extent, Steinmetz and Lucca (1999) observe that due to gender stereotypes regarding domestic violence against men, social ridicule is the fear that confronts male spousal abuse victims Men perceive society as expecting them to be the strong, dominant party in their intimate relationships, and therefore are less willing to report incidents of domestic violence.
The subjects in this study reported a deep understanding of domestic violence in terms of its defining characteristics. In the study, physical violence, economic violence, sexual violence and were established to be highly prevalent in Kiambu East Sub-County. The study also established that domestic violence took place in both the private spheres, so shrouded in the cultural image of manhood and greatly impacts on men for a long time before it is reported. Moreover, conceptualization of domestic by men survivors who report to Kiambu GBVRC and whom a majority are from rural area is relatively high and commensurate with previous studies that look at violence as a nonconsensual sex, uninvited touches and other forms of sexual harassment.
On the other hand, the study also found low reporting of cases amongst the victims of domestic violence. This was irrespective of the fact that the victims had been subjected to long term socio-psychological torture by their abusers. In this study, several consequences of domestic violence have been identified to range from fractures, broken ribs, burns, depression, anxiety, anger and the socio-economic breakdown of the victims.
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Suzanne K. Steinmetz & Joseph S. Lucca (1988) Husband Battering in Handbook of Family Violence pp.234 Vincent B Van Hasselt, et al. (eds.,)
T.A. Migliaccio, (2001) “Marginalizing the Battered Male,” The Journal of Men’s Studies.
Hello, my name is Christine Chelangat, a masters degree student in Gender and Development at the University of Nairobi. I am conducting a research on violence against men in Kiambu east district. You have been conveniently selected to participate in the study as a survivor seeking care. I want to assure you that all of your answers will be kept strictly in secret. To this extent, I will not keep a record of your name or address or any leading identification documents. You have the right to stop the interview at any time or to skip any questions that you don’t want to answer. There is no right or wrong answers in this research. Some of the topics may be difficult to discuss, but many survivors have found it useful to have the opportunity to talk. Your participation is completely voluntary but your experiences could be very helpful to other survivors in the country. The interview will take approximately 45 minutes to complete. Do you agree to be interviewed?
Please sign here as surety of your consent Sign______________ Date ________________
Thank you for your cooperation.
Hello, my name is Christine Chelangat, a masters degree student in Gender and Development, University of Nairobi. I am conducting a research on domestic violence against men in Kiambu East district. You have been selected to participate in the study. I want to assure you that all of your answers will be kept strictly in secret. I will not keep a record of your name or address. You have the right to stop the interview at any time, or to skip any questions that you don’t want to answer. There is no right or wrong answers in this research. Some of the topics may be difficult to discuss, but many survivors have found it useful to have the opportunity to talk. Your participation is completely voluntary but your experiences could be very helpful to other survivors in the country. The interview will take approximately 45 minutes to complete. Do you agree to be interviewed? Thank you for your cooperation.
Hello, my name is Christine Chelangat, a masters degree student in Gender and Development, University of Nairobi. I am conducting a research on domestic gender based violence against men in Kiambu east district. You have been selected to participate in the study. I want to assure you that all of your answers will be kept strictly in secret. I will not keep a record of your name or address. You have the right to stop the interview at any time, or to skip any questions that you don’t want to answer. There is no right or wrong answers in this research. Some of the topics may be difficult to discuss, but many survivors have found it useful to have the opportunity to talk. Your participation is completely voluntary but your experiences could be very helpful to other survivors in the country. The interview will take approximately 45 minutes to complete. Do you agree to be interviewed? Thank you for your cooperation.
Hello, my name is Christine Chelangat, a masters degree student in Gender and Development, University of Nairobi. I am conducting a research on domestic gender-based violence against men in Kiambu East district. You have been selected to participate in the study. I want to assure you that all of your answers will be kept strictly in secret. I will not keep a record of your name or address. You have the right to stop the interview at any time, or to skip any questions that you don’t want to answer. There is no right or wrong answers in this research. Some of the topics may be difficult to discuss, but many survivors have found it useful to have the opportunity to talk. Your participation is completely voluntary but your experiences could be very helpful to other survivors in the country. The interview takes approximately 45 minutes to complete. Do you agree to be interviewed? Thank you for your cooperation.
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