A Qualitative Study of the Male Victims’ Experiences With the Criminal Justice Response to Intimate Partner Abuse in Four English-Speaking Countries
Abstract
The criminal justice system plays a pivotal role in addressing the safety of victims of intimate partner abuse (IPA). Over the past 40 years, most changes in the criminal justice response to IPA have been made with the intention of improving support to abused women and their children. However, a growing body of research shows there are many men who are victims of IPA. This qualitative study explored the help-seeking experiences of 38 abused men within the criminal justice system in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Twelve online focus groups (three in each country) were conducted and themes were identified inductively at a semantic level. Thematic analysis identified that most of their experiences were negative and reflected the gender paradigm embedded in the criminal justice response. This study offers insights into the relevance of a gender-inclusive criminal justice response in addressing IPA.
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“These findings echo other studies that noted the importance of getting the right person and the role of “luck” in relation to the criminal justice response in cases of IPA (Saxton et al., 2018).”
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“…engaged in legal and administrative abuse, including making false allegations (Theme 3), and these cases are similar to the findings in other qualitative studies (Cook, 2009; Lysova et al., 2020; Morgan & Wells, 2016; Tilbrook et al., 2010) and also quantitative studies (Hines et al., 2015).”
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- Authors
- Lysova, A., Hanson, K., Hines, D. A., Dixon, L., Douglas, E. M., & Celi, E. M.
- Affiliations
- Simon Fraser University (CA)
- George Mason University (US)
- Victoria University of Wellington (NZ)
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute (US)
- Practicing Psychologist
- Corresponding author
- Lysova, Alexandra
- Venue
- Criminal Justice and Behavior
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2020-06-05
- Volume
- 47
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 1264-1281
- ISSN
- 0093-8548 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-3594
- OpenAlex
- W3033358387
- Semantic Scholar
- 976c28a78a6476fb8f6a1f569e40ed2ff84cc4d3
- Cited by
- 46
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 2
- FWCI
- 3.46
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Criminal Justice and Behavior (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Intimate Partner and Family Violence
- Social Sciences › Law › Criminal Justice and Penology
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies
- Keywords
- intimate partner violence, male victims, criminal justice response, help-seeking experiences, gender paradigms, victim support, cross-national comparison, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, United States
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