Emotional intimate partner violence experienced by men in same-sex relationships

Abstract

Intimate partner violence research has focused almost exclusively on physical and sexual intimate partner violence in opposite-sex relationships, paying little attention to the intimate partner violence experienced by men in same-sex relationships. Emerging research focusing on intimate partner violence among male-male couples has focused largely on physical and sexual violence, with little consideration of the unique forms of emotional violence experienced by gay men. Ten focus group discussions with gay and bisexual men (n=64) were conducted to examine perceived typologies, antecedents, and experiences of emotional violence that occur between male partners. Participants described emotional violence as the most threatening form of intimate partner violence, driven largely by factors including power differentials, gender roles, and internalised homophobia. Results indicate that gay and bisexual men perceive emotional intimate partner violence to be commonplace. A better understanding of emotional violence within male-male relationships is vital to inform intimate partner violence prevention efforts and the more accurate measurement of intimate partner violence for gay men.

A Scoping Review of Intimate Partner Violence as It Relates to the Experiences of Gay and Bisexual Men

“…Physical violence featured strongly in studies on IPV. It is the most commonly measured form of violence for gay and bisexual men (Longobardi & Badenes-Ribera, 2017; Woodyatt & Stephenson, 2016). A telephone survey conducted by Bartholomew et al (2008b) found that over half (55%) of 284 gay and bisexual men reported physical violence with strong associations to sustaining injuries.…”

“…Disclosing one’s sexual orientation to the wider society is commonly referred to as “coming out,” which incorporates a long and personal process of accepting a sexual orientation, deciding to share this with others, and forming a positive sexual identity (Higgins et al, 2016). Outing an individual’s sexual orientation and forcing them to disclose their sexual status to family, friends, and colleagues without their consent (Kelley et al, 2014) is seen as a form of social control (Michael, 2006) and can more broadly be conceptualized as a form of psychological abuse (Woodyatt & Stephenson, 2016).…”

“…Dickerson-Amaya and Coston’s (2019) study included bisexual, gay, and heterosexual men and reported victimization prevalence rates of IPV as 79%, 83%, and 62%, respectively, for these three cohorts, highlighting the added vulnerability of gay and bisexual men to IPV. Several studies have documented that gay and bisexual men experience rates of violence equivalent to or higher than heterosexual women (Finneran & Stephenson, 2013, 2014a; Frierson, 2014; Goldenberg et al, 2016; Houston & McKirnan, 2007; Kay & Jeffries, 2010; Pimentel, 2015; Rollè et al, 2018; Woodyatt & Stephenson, 2016).…”

Revisión sistemática sobre características metodológicas en el estudio de la violencia de pareja en hombres que tienen sexo con hombres

“…Ahora bien, la naturaleza transversal de las pesquisas pudo haberse debido a la dificultad de acceso a esta población; entre otras razones, por la estigmatización del fenómeno dentro de la propia comunidad LGBT (Barrientos et al, 2016). Por otra parte, se observó un incremento en el estudio de los aspectos asociados a la violencia, especialmente en el análisis de los factores que contribuyen a su presencia; en ese sentido, destacaron el abuso de sustancias, la discriminación homofóbica, la homofobia internalizada y el diagnóstico de VIH (Craft & Serovich, 2005;Davis et al, 2016;Duncan et al, 2018;Finneran et al, 2012;Finneran & Stephenson, 2014a, 2014bGreenwood et al, 2002;Oliffe et al, 2014;Semple et al, 2017;Stephenson & Finneran, 2017a;Suárez et al, 2018;Téllez & Walters, 2011;Woodyatt & Stephenson, 2016).…”

Double-Edged Intimate Relationships. When Violence Has a Complicity Between Victim and Executioner

“…Over time violence has been the object of numerous analyses and debates, about its genesis, inside or/and outside the family, distinguishing domestic violence along several main types as physical, sexual, emotional, financial, spiritual, social abuse, and stalking (Woodyatt, & Stephenson, 2016) 2 , but also with a new perspectives e.g. showing the social reactions to intimate partner violence disclosure and associations as normal life between woman and man (Woerner, Wyatt, & Sullivan, 2018).…”