Male victims of female-perpetrated intimate partner violence, help-seeking, and reporting behaviors: A qualitative study
Open accessAbstract
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global social health problem. Societal perceptions of IPV as a predominantly female issue have led to the development of research perspectives, frameworks, measures, and methodologies unable to capture the full scope of male victimization. Research has also been hampered by a reluctance from men to identify as victims, and many do not relate to commonly used terminology of IPV, such as domestic violence. The current study used qualitative methods to explore men's experiences of female-perpetrated IPV in Australia, defined as "boundary crossings." The sample comprised 258 men recruited using a snowball approach through social media platforms and via a monthly newsletter of an online men's health support site. The online survey containing open-ended questions focused on three areas: type of IPV experienced, help-seeking, and reporting behavior. Men reported experience of a range of physical, sexual, verbal, coercive controlling, and manipulative behaviors. Male victims noted how disclosure of abuse to family and friends was variously met with shock, support, and minimization. Participants also reported secondary abusive experiences, with police and other support services responding with ridicule, doubt, indifference, and victim arrest. The use of the term boundary crossing rather than IPV, which is commonly associated with male-against-female violence, appeared to be a useful tool for eliciting information from men who have experienced abuse.
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Men may fail to report IPV due to self and societal stigma, retaliation concerns, and fear of not being believed.
“They may fail to report due to self and societal stigma, retaliation concerns, and fear of not being believed (Walker et al., 2020; Bates, 2020a; Taylor et al., 2022).”
From Experiences and Impacts of Intimate Partner Violence Against Men in Northern Ireland: Qualitative Findings from the Male Experiences of Intimate Partner Violence Study (2026) · cites this paper as Walker et al., 2020
The true prevalence of IPV in Northern Ireland men remains unknown.
“Thus, the PSNI have reported that 32% of all DV victims in 2021 were male (Police Service of Northern Ireland, 2022a), and as these statistics only cover reported crimes and as men are significantly less likely to report (Dutton & White, 2013; Walker et al., 2020), the true prevalence of IPV in NI men remains unknown.”
From Experiences and Impacts of Intimate Partner Violence Against Men in Northern Ireland: Qualitative Findings from the Male Experiences of Intimate Partner Violence Study (2026) · cites this paper as Walker et al., 2020
Lack of disclosure in men can be driven by the fear that their experiences would be minimised/ignored/not believed, or they themselves would be accused of perpetrating abuse.
“Lack of disclosure in men can be driven by the fear that their experiences would be minimised/ignored/not believed, or they themselves would be accused of perpetrating abuse (Walker et al., 2020; Bates, 2020a; Taylor et al., 2022).”
From Experiences and Impacts of Intimate Partner Violence Against Men in Northern Ireland: Qualitative Findings from the Male Experiences of Intimate Partner Violence Study (2026) · cites this paper as Walker et al., 2020
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Tie, L., & Zheng, Y. (2023) · Journal of Interpersonal Violence · doi:10.1177/08862605231172477 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Ending the stigma of male domestic violence and abuse victims: A mixed-methods study
Ambrozewicz, P., Hammond, C., & Fido, D. (2024) · Journal of Criminal Justice · doi:10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2024.102222 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Lysova, A. V., Hanson, K., & Hines, D. A. (2023) · Journal of Aggression Maltreatment & Trauma · doi:10.1080/10926771.2023.2186300 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
(Un)Acknowledgment of Men as Victims of Intimate Partner Violence
Machado, A., Santos, A., & de Matos, M. A. V. (2023) · Violence and Victims · doi:10.1891/vv-2022-0022 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Help‐seeking behavior of male victims of intimate partner violence in Japan
Morishita, J., Yasuda, M., & Suda, S. (2024) · Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences Reports · doi:10.1002/pcn5.70013 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“The internal barriers are a failure to perceive the abuse; 17,18 a sense that one must maintain familial relationships, spare children from developing a negative image of their mother, and get along with their partners without the help of a third party; 18,19 the internalization of male gender…”
BackgroundDiscourses Around Male IPV Related Systemic Biases on Reddit
Sivagurunathan, M., Walton, D. M., Packham, T., Booth, R. G., & MacDermid, J. C. (2021) · Journal of Interpersonal Violence · doi:10.1177/08862605211030015 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“Men may be less likely to seek help due to the shame and stigma associated with male IPV victimization (Machado et al., 2016; Park et al., 2020; Walker et al., 2020).”
BackgroundViolence Against Men and Its Effects Within the Workplace: A Literature Review
Garro, M., Bonfanti, R. C., Argento, A., & Ruggieri, S. A. (2024) · Social Sciences · doi:10.3390/socsci13120636 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Macassa, G., Wijk, K., Rashid, M., Hiswåls, A.-S., Daca, C. S. L., & Soares, J. J. F. (2023) · Medicina · doi:10.3390/medicina59020235 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Help-Seeking Behavior and Domestic Violence
Dufour, G. K., Gerhardt, E., McArthur, J. L., & Ternes, M. (2023) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-85493-5_741-1 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Stewart, M. A., & Haselschwerdt, M. L. (2025) · Journal of Family Theory & Review · doi:10.1111/jftr.12619 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Isangha, S. O. (2024) · Journal of Family Studies · doi:10.1080/13229400.2024.2366306 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“…et al., 2019), fear of false accusation (Bates, 2019a, 2019b; Machado et al., 2020), fear for the safety of their children (Wallace et al., 2019), fear of being disbelieved and thought of as weak (Cook, 2009; Walker et al., 2020) among other impacts (Bates, 2019b, 2020; Machado et al., 2020).”
Brodie, Z. P., Hawkins, R. D., Maclean, C., & McKinlay, J. (2022) · Journal of Social and Personal Relationships · doi:10.1177/02654075221147203 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
“While men who are victims of domestic abuse are considerably less likely to report to police for several reasons (e.g., fear of not being believed, shame and embarrassment due to gender norms faced by men; Walker et al., 2020), research examining engagement with the targeted domestic abuse charity Respect Men’s Advice…”
BackgroundKeçeci, B., & Ümmet, D. (2025) · Humanities and Social Sciences Communications · doi:10.1057/s41599-025-04375-0 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“…on intimate partner violence experienced in romantic relationships of university students, only quantitative studies (Straus 2004a; Straus 2004b; Price et al. 1999) or it seems that qualitative studies are aimed only at the experiences of women or men (Ismail et al. 2007; Walker et al. 2020).”
Karystianis, G., Kita, S., Lerigo, F., Sheridan, L. P., & Butler, T. G. (2024) · Crime Science · doi:10.1186/s40163-024-00228-4 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
“It is known that male victims involved in DV are reluctant to disclose abuse for reasons including social stigma, ridicule and a misun-derstanding of what constitutes DV (Carmo et al., 2011; Drijber et al., 2013; Dutton & White, 2013; Thureau et al., 2015; Walker et al., 2020).”
BackgroundInfluentialHashemi, L., Fadeeva, A., Khan, N., & McManus, S. (2025) · Women s Health · doi:10.1177/17455057251326419 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“65 68 Additionally, recall or social desirability biases could have affected self-reported measures of IPV exposure in both men and women.”
Kwon, M., & You, S. (2023) · Child Abuse & Neglect · doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106233 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Cinini, S. F., & Mkhize, S. M. (2023) · IntechOpen eBooks · doi:10.5772/intechopen.1001888 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Young People’s Understanding of Coercive Control in Northern Ireland
Lagdon, S., Klencakova, L. E., Schubotz, D., Shannon, C., Tully, M., Armour, C., & Jordan, J. (2023) · Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma · doi:10.1007/s40653-022-00508-8 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“This is concerning given the increased risk of intimate partner violence among women and girls (WHO, 2021) as well as lower reporting and help seeking among male victims (Walker et al., 2020).”
BackgroundCunha, O. S., Caridade, S., Machado, A., & Peixoto, M. M. (2023) · European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research · doi:10.1007/s10610-023-09565-7 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“However, studies with community samples find that men also experience significant levels of IPV (e.g., Archer, 2000; Douglas & Hines, 2011; Lysova et al., 2019; Machado & Matos, 2014; Walker et al., 2020).”
Jabali, O. M. (2024) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117269 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Police officers’ discourses about male victims of intimate partner violence in Portugal
Machado, A., Campos, M. A. M. R. E., & de Matos, M. A. V. (2021) · International journal of law, crime and justice · doi:10.1016/j.ijlcj.2021.100493 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Machine Learning for Identifying Abusive Content in Text Data
Nayak, R., & Baek, H. S. (2022) · Learning and analytics in intelligent systems · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-93052-3_9 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Harman, J. J., & Kruk, E. (2022) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/med-psych/9780197564028.003.0010 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Shields, M. E., Tonmyr, L., Pollock, N. J., González, A., Hovdestad, W., Tanaka, M. N., & MacMillan, H. L. (2024) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kwae305 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“9,34,39,41,45 Individuals experiencing IPV often feel reluctant to disclose abusive experiences to police or health care providers due to embarrassment or fears of disbelief; 43,50,51 trust in these groups may act as a protective factor.”
Hines, D. A., & Lysova, A. (2024) · Partner Abuse · doi:10.1891/pa-2023-0018 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
South Asians and the Role of Bystanders in Domestic Violence Prevention: Results from a Pilot Study.
Rai, A., Perkins, N. H., Moon, A.-Y., & Farzam, F. (2024) · Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work · doi:10.1080/26408066.2024.2354465 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Psychometric Test Review of the Abusive Behaviour Inventory (ABI)
Heron, R. L., McAndrew, G., Parsonson, K. L., & Browne, K. (2023) · Social Sciences · doi:10.3390/socsci12070400 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
The Role of Identity and Gender Beliefs in Self-Identification of Abuse for Male Victims of IPV
Vail, S. L., Spencer, C. M., Moore, M. M., & Keilholtz, B. M. (2024) · Journal of Interpersonal Violence · doi:10.1177/08862605241270037 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“Not recognizing their IPV victimization is a factor as to why men have not disclosed the abuse to others (Walker et al., 2020).”
Wang, Y., Pan, X., Ying, H., & Yu, T. (2024) · Journal of Interpersonal Violence · doi:10.1177/08862605241301788 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Male Victims of Domestic Violence
Machado, A. (2023) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-85493-5_1077-1 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Reis, E. S., Moleiro, C., & Arriaga, P. (2023) · Violence and Victims · doi:10.1891/vv-2022-0036 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Waila, J. M., Mitiro, D. O., Wilson, M. L., Horstick, O., & Musyimi, C. W. (2024) · Journal of Interpersonal Violence · doi:10.1177/08862605241299451 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“This can explain why some women boldly peddle false accusations against their hus-bands, a form of abuse documented by other scholars because they know they will be believed (Bates, 2020a; Carmo et al., 2011; Scott-Storey et al., 2023; Walker et al., 2020).”
Hosain, M. S. (2025) · The Family Journal · doi:10.1177/10664807251333756 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Harries, T., Walker, A., Lyall, K., Drutschinin, K., Costa, B. M., Curtis, A., & Mayshak, R. (2025) · Journal of Family Violence · doi:10.1007/s10896-025-00903-3 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Self-citationBlanz, M., & Jänsch, J. (2025) · Open Journal of Applied Sciences · doi:10.4236/ojapps.2025.157130 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
The Significance of the Church’s Role in Domestic Violence Cases Among Roma Women
Kleindienst, P., Ljubotina, P., Racz, A., & Rončević, B. (2025) · Societies · doi:10.3390/soc15090235 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Generalists or specialists? Unpacking crime trajectories of intimate partner violence offenders
Rodríguez-Menés, J., Pavlopoulos, D., Rovira, M., & van Damme, M. (2025) · Journal of Criminal Justice · doi:10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102584 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Predicting male domestic violence using explainable ensemble learning and exploratory data analysis
Jahin, M. A., Naife, S. A., Lima, F. T. J., Mridha, M. F., & Hossen, M. J. (2025) · Discover Applied Sciences · doi:10.1007/s42452-025-07825-1 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“Existing literature from countries such as Nigeria and Australia has examined the emerging trend of DV against men by employing qualitative and quantitative methodologies to uncover its prevalence, causes, and effects.”
InfluentialContributing Factors to Reporting Intimate Partner Violence as a Clinical Concern
Hoss, L., Smith, D. B., Soloski, K. L., Wagner, K., & Allen, E. (2023) · Contemporary Family Therapy · doi:10.1007/s10591-023-09684-7 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“…(Heron & Eisma, 2021), fear of retaliation (Heron et al., 2022; Straus & Kaufman-Kantor, 1994), fear of being met with disbelief or minimization (Walker et al., 2020), blaming their partner(s) for the abuse (Chan, 2009), financial dependence (Szinovacz & Egley, 1995), normalizing the abuse…”
Chipalo, E. (2023) · Texila international journal of public health · doi:10.21522/tijph.2013.11.04.art030 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Murphy, A., & Groves, A. (2024) · Journal of Interpersonal Violence · doi:10.1177/08862605241239446 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“Despite growing interest in female-perpetrated sexual violence, significant gaps remain in critical criminological literature on the harms, impacts, and responses to female sex offenders and their male victim-survivors (Cortoni et al., 2017; Loxton & Groves, 2021; Walker et al., 2020).”
BackgroundInfluentialMuchemwa, M., Phiri, M., & Aladejebi, O. (2024) · Journal of Social and Personal Relationships · doi:10.1177/02654075241301441 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
The contributory factors leading to intimate partner violence against male victims in South Africa
Rakgwata, P. A., Munzhelele, D., & Mphephu, P. (2024) · International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478) · doi:10.20525/ijrbs.v13i9.3768 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“Intimate partner violence (IPV) is acknowledged as a global social and public health issue that is typified by a partner's destructive behaviour, whether they are present or past (Walker, Lyall, Silva, Craigie, Mayshak, Costa, Hyder, & Bentley, 2020).”
Shields, M. E., Tonmyr, L., Pollock, N. J., González, A., McKinnon, B., Joshi, D., Crompton, L., & MacMillan, H. L. (2025) · Preventive Medicine Reports · doi:10.1016/j.pmedr.2025.103011 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“Like other studies (Dokkedahl et al., 2022; Spencer et al., 2024; Walker et al., 2020), we found a strong association between PTSD and non-physical IPV, particularly for frequent non-physical IPV.”
Kgatle, M. O., & Mafa, P. (2021) · Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews · doi:10.18510/hssr.2021.9511 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Shadik, J. A., Garlington, S. B., Cales, M. A., & Turner, E. (2022) · Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment · doi:10.1080/10911359.2022.2142348 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“…of males experiencing IPV has reported contradictory findings with some studies reporting males are more likely to experience psychological abuse than physical abuse and others reporting males are most likely to experience a combination of emotional and physical abuse (Walker et al., 2020).”
BackgroundBates, E. A., Taylor, J. C., Hope, K. A., & Smith, J. L. (2024) · Partner Abuse · doi:10.1891/pa-2023-0025 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
MacNeil, E., Cox, J., Stewart, H., & Russell, B. (2025) · Partner Abuse · doi:10.1891/pa-2024-0048 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Public Perceptions of Intimate Partner Violence: A Qualitative Story Completion Task
Sheehan, K., Watson, L., & McKnight, C. (2025) · Journal of Family Violence · doi:10.1007/s10896-025-00906-0 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Post-Separation Experience of Male Victims of Intimate Partner Violence in Southern Nigeria
Isangha, S. O., Tam, H.-L., Chuang, S. S., Akintunde, T. Y., Choi, A. W., Cudjoe, E., & Umar, R. D. (2025) · Journal of Aggression Maltreatment & Trauma · doi:10.1080/10926771.2025.2521074 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“Current research primarily focuses on the pre-separation experiences, impacts, and help-seeking behaviors of male victims Joseph-Edwards and Wallace (2020); Tsang et al. (2021); Walker et al. (2020).”
Thomas, J., Johns, N. E., Li, A., et al. (2025) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-025-25361-w · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“Studies also show that men tend to be more reluctant to seek help when facing abuse [38, 39], which begs the question of how men choose to cope with IPV, especially when they believe their masculinity is being assailed.”
Russo, L. N., Mezzapelle, J. L., Hines, D. A., Douglas, E. M., Lee, K. A., & Sabina, C. (2026) · Victims & Offenders · doi:10.1080/15564886.2026.2650131 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“Masculine norms that discourage vulnerability and emphasize self-reliance may compound the harm of IPV by influencing how men interpret the abuse and the strategies they adopt in response (Huntley et al., 2019; Walker et al., 2020).”
InfluentialIntimate Partner Violence Toward Men in Estonia
Lassen, B. (2023) · Journal of Aggression Maltreatment & Trauma · doi:10.1080/10926771.2023.2186297 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“Studies show that men disclosing IPV by a female perpetrator often report having been met with a mix of shock, support, and minimization of the experience from friends and family, and ridicule, doubt, indifference from police and other support services (Walker et al., 2020).”
BackgroundThe Role of Defendant Gender and PTSD Diagnosis in a Battered Spouse Case
Adair, R., Reed, K., & Torres, M. F. (2024) · Journal of Interpersonal Violence · doi:10.1177/08862605241257594 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Female-perpetrated Intimate Partner Violence Against Men: Perceptions of Portuguese Police Officers
Santiago, J., Machado, A., & de Matos, M. A. V. (2024) · European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research · doi:10.1007/s10610-024-09602-z · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“Concurrently, scientific literature seems to corroborate statistical findings, gradually demonstrating that a significant number of men can be victims of IPV, perpetrated by their female partners (e.g., Bates, 2020; Hines & Douglas, 2022 ; Walker et al., 2020).”
InfluentialThe Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on Gay Men’s Personal and Working Lives
Mayshak, R., Harries, T., Watson, C., Curtis, A., & Walker, A. (2024) · Journal of Homosexuality · doi:10.1080/00918369.2024.2431264 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“Pervasive societal beliefs that IPV is primarily violence against women, combined with traditional ideas of masculinity which espouse that men must be “strong” has led to a situation where men find it hard to identify or seek help as victims (W. Morgan & Wells, 2016; Walker et al., 2020).”
InfluentialSelf-citationTalbot, S. (2021) · The Atrium (University of Guelph) · Cited by 1 · see citing works
The Johnny Depp and Amber Heard Case in News Media: A Critical Discourse Analysis
Harper, E. I., Gibbons, D., & Bates, E. A. (2023) · Partner Abuse · doi:10.1891/pa-2022-0025 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Behind Closed Doors: Attitudes, Dark Traits, and Perceptions of Intimate Partner Sexual Violence
Brunet, L. M. (2023) · doi:10.22215/etd/2023-15667 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Spikol, E., McGlinchey, E., & Armour, C. (2026) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs16061007 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“In disclosing to the police, a few participants had positive experiences, but a majority reported negative interactions in line with previous research (Lockwood & Prohaska, 2015; Walker et al., 2020; Ewin, 2022).”
Influential
- Authors
- Walker, A., Lyall, K., Silva, D., Craigie, G., Mayshak, R., Costa, B., Hyder, S., & Bentley, A.
- Affiliations
- Deakin University (AU)
- Venue
- Psychology of Men & Masculinities
- Published
- 2020-04
- Volume
- 21
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 213-223
- ISSN
- 1524-9220 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-151X
- OpenAlex
- W2963274824
- Cited by
- 152
- References
- 54
- Citations by year
- 2026: 18 · 2025: 26 · 2024: 31 · 2023: 36 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 5
- FWCI
- 10.02
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- figshare.com
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Psychology of Men & Masculinity (publishedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Intimate Partner and Family Violence
- Social Sciences › Demography › Elder Abuse and Neglect
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies
- Keywords
- intimate partner violence, male victims, help-seeking, reporting behavior, boundary crossing, disclosure of abuse, secondary victimization, men's health
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