Norms and shame must be broken down so that men exposed to violence can get help

“The role of the victim is incompatible with society’s expectations of how a man should be. These expectations mean that social services, the police, and healthcare sometimes fail to detect when men are subjected to violence in intimate relationships. We also see that men may refrain from seeking help because they fear being ridiculed or not believed,” says investigator Maria Björsson.

On behalf of the government, we have mapped the prevalence of men’s exposure to violence in close relationships and analysed what measures are needed from society. The report shows that when professionals who meet male victims understand that the men are seeking help for being subjected to violence, they generally receive the support and protection they need.

“There have been cases where men have not been believed or have been accused of being the perpetrators themselves, but there is no data on how common this is. A good example is the Support Line for Men, run by the National Centre for Women’s Peace, which states that they take every caller seriously,” says Maria Björsson.

Support exists, but can be improved

Men generally have access to the same types of support available to women exposed to intimate partner violence, such as counselling, shelters, and medical care. Examples of services aimed at men include:

• The support line for men, run by the National Centre for Women’s Peace, for boys and men who are victims of intimate partner violence or sexual abuse.
• The National Centre for Women’s Peace also operates The support line for trans people and Right to choose, for those exposed to honour-related violence and oppression. 
• Manscentrum
• Mansjouren
• The clinic for young men in Gothenburg
• killar.se.

“We see that support can be improved. Sometimes staff lack sufficient knowledge about intimate partner violence. Men also need better help to talk about their emotions and manage their mental health. We therefore propose measures to ensure that teachers, social workers, and other professionals gain more knowledge about intimate partner violence, including how it affects boys and men,” says Maria Björsson.

In the report, we emphasise that men’s situations differ and that it is important to understand the context in which violence against men in close relationships occurs. For example, men in same-sex relationships are subjected to high levels of sexual and physical violence, while men in heterosexual relationships are mainly exposed to psychological violence. When boys and men are victims of honour-related violence and oppression, it can be difficult to detect, as they are often also involved in perpetrating violence. Research generally shows that men who are victims of violence often also use violence in their relationships.

“It is important to understand the link between violence and harmful norms around masculinity in order to prevent violence effectively,” says Maria Björsson.

Recommendations to combat intimate partner violence    

• Develop systematic screening for violence, for example within school health services and in the enlistment process for military service.

• Systematically ask both parents about experiences of violence (both victimisation and perpetration) during maternity and child healthcare visits.

• Introduce social and emotional skills training in preschool so that boys and girls learn to build the foundations for healthy and secure relationships.

• Include gender equality, with a focus on ending men’s violence against women and intimate partner violence, in school education on sexuality, consent, and relationships.

• Develop training for social service professionals who meet male and female victims of violence.

• Create parenting support programmes that include knowledge on violence prevention and honour-related violence and oppression.

• Commission the National Board of Health and Welfare to map and analyse the need for shelters for boys and men.

• Produce and disseminate materials containing knowledge about boys’ and men’s exposure to violence.