Comparing the demographic characteristics, and reported abuse type, contexts and outcomes of help-seeking heterosexual male and female victims of domestic violence: part I – Who presents to specialist services?

Hine, Ben ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9732-4631, Bates, Elizabeth, Mackay, Jennifer and Graham-Kevan, Nicola (2022) Comparing the demographic characteristics, and reported abuse type, contexts and outcomes of help-seeking heterosexual male and female victims of domestic violence: part I – Who presents to specialist services? Partner Abuse: New Directions in Research, Intervention, and Policy, 13 (1). pp. 20-60. ISSN 1946-6560

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Abstract

Despite longstanding investigation into the experiences and needs of female victims of domestic violence and abuse (DVA), and a burgeoning literature on abused men, information on service engagement by both of these groups is limited, particularly in direct comparison. This is in part due to a lack of large-scale quantitative data on victim needs upon presentation to services. The current study presents the first of a two-part examination of data collected from specialist DVA services in the UK supporting predominantly high-risk clients between 2007 and 2017. Case data from a total of 34,815 clients (858 men and 33,957 women) was assessed across five key areas: demographic characteristics, routes of referral into service, context of abuse, reported abuse type, and outcomes and risk factors of abuse. Clients tended to be white, with men being older on average. Men and women had similar referral routes, but men were more likely to have a disability of some kind and women were more likely to have children living/visiting the home. Men were more likely to report physical abuse than women, whilst women were more likely to report sexual abuse and harassment/stalking. There were no significant differences in the frequency of reporting jealous/controlling behaviours. Results also showed that women were more likely to have attempted to leave, and to call the police, with men more likely to suffer from alcohol/drug problems and reporting poorer physical health. However, it should be noted that almost all such differences had small effect sizes, suggesting greater similarity between male and female clients than difference. Results are discussed in the context of the importance of recognising both the shared and unique risk factors of client groups upon presentation to services.

Item Type: Article
Identifier: 10.1891/pa-2021-0009
Additional Information: © 2022 Springer Publishing Company. This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: [Hine, B. et al. (2022) ‘Comparing the Demographic Characteristics, and Reported Abuse Type, Contexts and Outcomes of Help-Seeking Heterosexual Male and Female Victims of Domestic Violence: Part I – Who Presents to Specialist Services?’, Partner Abuse, 13(1), pp. 20–60. doi:10.1891/PA-2021-0009.], which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1891/pa-2021-0009
Keywords: domestic violence, help-seeking, service engagement, service provision, gender inclusivity
Subjects: Psychology
Related URLs:
Depositing User: Ben Hine
Date Deposited: 08 Jun 2021 08:37
Last Modified: 06 Feb 2024 16:05
URI: https://repository.uwl.ac.uk/id/eprint/7943

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