Reciprocity and exchange: Perspectives of male victims of family violence

Those interested in understanding personal and family violence will quickly identify the topic as highly politicized and controversial, particularly in the context of gender. Domestic violence tends to be conceptualized as a gendered crime-one that is mainly perpetrated against women and, to a lesser extent, children. This notion ignores research that women perpetrate violence against partners and children at similar rates to men. This chapter explores the gender debate and the biases and stereotypes that work against male victims of partner violence. In particular, it presents analyses of a set of narratives from the perspective of male victims. An understanding of the dynamic and interactive nature of family violence and its sociopolitical influences can reveal why men so often fail to report partner violence. Only when such aggression is conceptualized as a family issue rather than a gendered one will we adequately address the needs of those affected by it.