HEALTH SCIENCE The male crucifix of sexual, physical and emotional abuse instituted by females on males

By

Arnold K. Somerville

A Dissertation Proposal

Nova Southeastern University

Professor Charles C. Lewis

Health Science

Winter 2012

ABSTRACT

This research report will examine the informational and social indifference to issues that address male victims of domestic violence (DV) and intimate terrorism (IT) (Johnson, 2006) perpetrated by intimate female partners, with possible physical and psychological effects, compared to non abused males. Scholastic discourse enunciates a social, judicial and stereotypic chiasm in acknowledging and reporting female to male violence dispportionately. Domestic violence” refers to the victimization of a person with whom the abuser has or has had an intimate, romantic or spousal relationship” (Burnett et al, 2011). Method: Literature review of Google Scholar, Questa, scholarly journals, publications and pertinent peer-review internet articles using such terms as Intimate Partner Violence, Domestic Violence, Spousal Abuse and Female Perpetrators. The contents of this paper will assess: elucidations for female to male conflicts extending to male victimization and how this phenomenon can be discriminated from aggression by males toward females; rational why the preponderance of published data on domestic violence under-reports male battering in most current empirical studies; the criminal justice system response to requested assistance from battered men versus battered women; long term effects of and the social responsibility to provide equal assistance and support for male victims. The consummation of this report extends several judicial policy recommendations directed at overhauling both the social and judicial mechanisms charged with addressing this pertinent social disease.



Table of Contents

ABSTRACT2

Background of the Research Study5

Aims & objectives of this research6

Significance of the Research Study7

Rationale of the Research Study8

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW10

Structural inequalities10

Problem Statement11

Males' Domestic Abuse Stereotype11

Statistical Notes13

Abuse Experiences13

Risk Factors15

Impact and Reactions16

Physical16

Psychological17

Behavioral and Lifestyle17

Frequency Of Abuse19

Unforeseen Outcome20

Demographics20

Female to Male Conflicts21

Male accounts of domestic violence22

Intimate Terrorism24

Statistical Data25

Differential Perspective26

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY28

Aid and Support28

Study Participants and Materials29

Strengths30

Weakness30

Ethics30

Dual Hypothesis and Study30

Recommendations32

Conclusions32

References34

Appendix36

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Research Study

Although psychological, sociological, cultural, religious, personal, and even the inherited characteristics of perpetrators have been extensively and exhaustively investigated and evaluated by empowered scholars and practitioners, statistical data and injury reports testify to the growing crime rates. Moreover, crucial issues of the gender aspect of violence and offenders appear to be underestimated and, therefore, should be re-examined (Jackson, 2007; Hamel & Nicholls, 2007; Renzetti & Edleson, 2008; Cook, 2009; Schlafly, 2011). “Data on abusive women has been ignored or deliberately suppressed” (Hamel & Nicholls, 2007, p. xli).

The Department of Justice definition of domestic violence:

“The United States Department of Justice, or DOJ, defines domestic violence as a pattern of abuse in a relationship that one partner uses to control another partner. The National Violence against Women Survey, published in 2001, found that 22.1 percent of surveyed women and 7.4 percent of surveyed men reported being assaulted by a partner in their lifetime. Although women are more likely to be abused, domestic violence can affect anyone of any age, race or economic class” (DOJ, 2010).

By analysing over 200 relevant quantitative and qualitative surveys concerning female offenders and abused men, Cook (2009) ...