INTRODUCTION
“I OBJECT TO VIOLENCE BECAUSE WHEN IT APPEARS TO DO GOOD, THE GOOD IS ONLY TEMPORARY; THE EVIL IT DOES IS PERMANENT.”
-By Mahatma Gandhi (Indian Lawyer)
This quote means Violence- is not the answer for every act. Even if it appears to be for a just cause in the short run, it will only uplift more violent acts in the future. Although there are the situations in which violence may seem like the only solution, people can find alternative responses to get their arguments and points across.
The term ‘Violence’ means the behavior involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something or we can say the strength of emotion or of a destructive natural force (Oxford Dictionary).Violence against men can become a serious issue as men assaulted by their partners are often ignored by police, no laws to protect them. Emotional abuse, verbally abuse, Threats and Intimidation and many more – These men’s are not only dealing with the violence and emotional pain but also the fear, depression, and anxiety and loss of reputation and a job a lot more than this action.
Sometimes women file a package of false cases against husband like false section 498A under IPC, section -125 under CRPC and also misuse of Domestic violence and Anti – Rape laws. General biased laws like Dowry, Domestic Violence etc., have become always profitable business for girls and their families. Overall, violence is almost never the right answer because it brings in more violence, affects younger generations in negative ways because there are always alternative responses. Learning to act and respond in non-violent ways can not only ease a conflict but even save lives.
SOCIOCULTURAL AND LEGAL ASPECTS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST MEN
Research on violence has increased the understanding of factors that make some populations are vulnerable to victimization. It has been inspected that there can be some risk factors which creates violence against men which can be less income, education up to middle class, nuclear family setup and in the influence of alcohols or drugs.
The four IPV types (Friend, Cleary, Thatcher, & Gottman, 2011) raise threats to the validity of scales of dating violence by reducing all manifestations to situational violence (inadequate definition of construct) and ignoring the influence of gender and culture in violence symbolization (a lack of equivalence within the answering process).
TYPES OF VIOLENCE
Violence against men can be recognized in many of the countries that affect men’s life in many different ways which can be physically, mentally, emotionally, and psychologically, and is a violation of basic human rights. The most common spousal violence was found to be emotional followed by physical violence. There are many types of violence which are as follows-
PHYSICAL ABUSE
Physical abuse is done only when the person has any intention to do so. This is an intentional act causing injury or trauma to another person by the way of bodily contact. Physical abuse means any non-accidental act or behavior causing injury, trauma, or other physical suffering or bodily harm.
VERBAL ABUSE
Verbal abuse is the act of forcefully criticizing, insulting, or denouncing another person. It can be in the form of emotional or mental abuse. Verbal abuse could be a maladaptive mechanism that anyone can display occasionally, like during times of high stress or physical discomfort. For a few people, it’s a pattern of behaviors used intentionally to regulate or manipulate others or to urge revenge.
SEXUAL ABUSE
The great reluctance of the many men and boys to report sexual violence makes it very difficult to accurately assess its scope. Nevertheless, within the last decade, sexualized violence against men and boys – including rape, sexual torture, mutilation of the genitals, sexual humiliation, sexual enslavement, forced incest and made rape .
FINANCIAL ABUSE
It is the financial abuse, which is the illegal or unauthorized use of a person’s property, money, pension book or other valuables (including changing the person’s will to name the abuser as heir), often fraudulently obtaining power of attorney, followed by deprivation of money or other property, or by eviction from own home.
OBSERVATIONS AND FACET OF VIOLENCE
First, what types of behavior does the general public believes constitute force, and under what conditions are such behaviors considered excusable or justifiable? Second, how do people account for violence? Third, at what point does the general public believe that force or abuse ceases to be a non-public matter and becomes a social issue that warrants some style of public intervention — and of what should such interventions consist? Relatedly, how knowledgeable are people about contemporary legal responses to violence? Finally, given the range of public beliefs on these questions, to what, if anything, should variation in opinions be attributed?
The findings lead us to the subsequent substantive observations:
- Women’s views differ from men’s views on many of those issues; and although these differences are modest, taken together they suggest that violence is a difficulty of greater salience and concern to women than to men. Importantly, this gender difference doesn’t appear to be owing to differences in victimization experiences.
- Second, older respondents, as predicted, hold more traditional attitudes about partner violence: they use the term “domestic violence” more sparingly, estimate its prevalence more conservatively, are more inclined answerable women, and are consistently less likely than younger respondents to endorse legal, welfare work, or community responses.
- Third, these findings suggest that when other variables are controlled, racial minorities’ views about violence don’t seem to be significantly different from those of whites. However, the beliefs and normative opinions of racial groups don’t otherwise differ.
- Fourth, to the extent that socioeconomic status is related to beliefs (as captured in our limited measures), it’s education, not income, that influences attitudes, and this influence is manifested mostly in opinions about what should be done about violence. Better educated respondents were more likely to favor victim-oriented and community-based responses, and more likely to recommend a mix of responses, than were those that had ended their education in high school.
INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE (IPV)
Male victims of IPV may face socio-cultural issues such as judgment by male peers, fear of coming out as LGBTQ, or having their masculinity questioned ( Lupri, Eugene; Grandin, Elaine (2004)“Intimate partner abuse against men”(PDF)) . IPV against men is generally less recognized by society than IPV against women. For some men, admitting they are the victim of female perpetrated IPV could feel like admitting that they do not follow the established social role for men, and may be an admission they are unwilling, or unable, to make.
Domestic Violence can recognize by the following-
- Insults you or puts you down and calls your name
- Prevents you from visiting work or school
- Stops you from seeing members of the family or friends
- Tries to manage how you spend money, where you go or what you wear
- Acts jealous or possessive or constantly accuses you of being unfaithful
- Gets angry when drinking alcohol or using drugs
- Tries to manage whether you’ll be able to see a health care provider
- Threatens you with violence or a weapon
- Hits, kicks, shoves, slaps, chokes or otherwise hurts you, your children or your pets
- Forces you to own sex or engage in sexual acts against your will
- Blames you for his or her violent behavior or tells you that you just deserve it
- Threatens to inform friends, family, colleagues or community members your sexual orientation or identity
Over the years a variety of various terms are used when bearing on this violence in these studies: wife abuse, wife battering, family violence, violence, gender-based abuse, intimate partner violence.
MEDIA FEATURE
Domestic violence against men isn’t often mentioned within the media, or generally talked about, but there are many male victims and that they have to be heard, taken seriously and to be believed, and not be ridiculed or told to “man up”. The govt. also must fund counseling, services and shelters for male victims of violence, even as they are doing for ladies.
There are some of the myths about abuse and why are men not believed:
Myth #1: the planet tells us that men can’t be victims of abuse.
- We know that 1 in 10 men have experienced rape, physical violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner and yet, we also hear from our male contacts that they’re simply not believed or taken seriously when reporting the abuse to members of the family, friends or enforcement. On average, 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence or
Stalking by an intimate partner, so violence can and does happen to men too!
Myth #2: The media tells us men are just the perpetrators of violence, but never the victims.
- In “Contribution of Media to the Normalization and Perpetuation of force,” we see that force has become so pervasive in our society because of media exposure that we’ve become desensitized and even acquainted with it. Consistent with this study, “chronic and repeated exposure to violence is believed to cause changes in affective, cognitive, and behavioral processes.” So, what happens when this repeated exposure only portrays men as perpetrators and not victims? You get the concept.
Myth #3: Men aren’t real men if they can’t take it.
- We hear from male contacts that reach bent on The Hotline daily that they feel emasculated and like less of a person when undergoing situations of abuse at the hands of their spouses or partners. Feeling angry, scared or sad are normal emotions for all people when managing abuse no matter sex or sexual orientation and that they don’t must “take it” to prove their masculinity.
Myth #4: Men don’t have access to the identical resources as women.
- While there seem to be more resources for ladies than men when it involves managing force, we still make strides toward this issue. In Oct. 2017, the Associated Press reported that a shelter exclusively for men was the second of its kind to open its doors within the state of Texas. They suggest more resources have become available to men as society’s views on abuse and violence affecting men also are changing.
Myth #5: Men who are gay or bisexual will bring shame to the LGBTQ+ community if they report being victims of abuse.
- It’s already hard enough managing abuse after you are a individual, except for gay or trans men this could be even harder, as we hear from some LGBTQ+ contacts that reporting abuse in a very same-sex or trans-relationship will bring “shame” to their community because it’ll create more stereotypes, misinformation and also because a number of them feel this can be a problem that ought to be restricted only behind closed doors. To combat these myths, here are a few ideas to help men affected by abuse and domestic violence:
Believe victims and survivors.
- One of the foremost important and compassionate things that we are able to do to support male victims of abuse and force is to easily believe. It’s worth repeating: don’t judge, don’t criticize and listen to the hook line and sinker the victim’s experience. It’s already hard enough to succeed in out for help once you are a person, so if you discover that a male victim wants to share their experience with you, don’t be so quick to evaluate or assume that they’re not telling the reality( ivory).
Document the abuse.
- This is a good thanks to not only keep track of true but also to materialize the abuse, as we mentioned before, many of us believe that if they don’t discuss it’s like it’s not really happening. Documenting the abuse can help in two ways: It may be cathartic thanks to accommodate negative emotions and it’s going to also help the victim to get legal aid presently. Remember, if you opt to document your experience, ensure your abuser can’t get access to your documents or pictures, so he/she can’t destroy the evidence so that you simply can remain safe while you work out the following steps in your relationship.
Find a web.
- Perhaps there’s a decent friend or a coworker you’ll disclose to when talking about what you’re experiencing. Having a powerful web might be the key to induce through difficult times. You don’t need to share everything that’s happening to you, but just the fact that there’s someone there to concentrate on what you’re hunting is often beneficial for your emotional well-being.
Take a proactive approach to your own safety.
- Keeping your mental, emotional and physical sanity under control are great ways to stay grounded during and after a situation of abuse. Perhaps you wish to play video games, read comics or lift weights. Engage in activities that cause you to feel happy and good about yourself. Avoid self-destructive behaviors such as binge-drinking, using drugs or anything which will have negative consequences for your health or the health of these around you.
CONCLUSION
The study concludes that men also are victims of violence at different social levels. Most of the time, they’re neglected or perhaps accused of being violent, instead of being the topic of violence. But many other times, they exploit this edge to their advantage and commit various horrendous acts of violence against men which aren’t limited to physical acts alone, but also include sexual, psychological, and emotional abuse. It is therefore suggested that violence should be treated as a gender problem, instead of a female or male problem.
Violence against men is a problem around the world. It affects men of all races, ethnic groups, classes and nationalities. It is a life threatening problem for individual women and a serious problem for societies. Violence affects the lives of millions of women worldwide in all socio-economic and educational classes. All are violations of the most fundamental human rights.
Men are physically and mentally harassed by their spouses and in-laws. Hence, their problems must be recognized as a social and public health issue, and appropriate strategies and interventions should be implemented. They too need help in crisis and family violence, especially by their spouses. Even the laws and legislation must include force against men as a punishable offense. Men and ladies are the pillars of society and a family. Hence, laws are needed to supply protection to both from spousal violence.
-Anisha Jaiswal
