Inverting Assumptions: Domestic Abuse Without 'Male Power'

225 Pages·2016·1.84 MB·English

Inverting Assumptions: Domestic Abuse Without ‘Male Power’?

A thesis submitted to The University of Manchester for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
in the faculty of Humanities

2016

Stephanie Alger

The School of Law
Contents

Abstract ................................................................................................................... 7
Declaration .............................................................................................................. 8
Copyright statement ................................................................................................ 9
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................... 10
Chapter 1 .............................................................................................................. 11
Introduction ........................................................................................................... 11
Chapter 2 .............................................................................................................. 21
Literature review ................................................................................................... 21
The relevance of gender and power to understanding abusive relationships .... 22
Are the rates of victimisation for men and women similar? ................................ 26
Are men and women ‘hurt’ similarly by domestic abuse? .................................. 31
Is male victimisation more ‘hidden’ than female victimisation? .......................... 34
Gay men’s victimisation .................................................................................. 35
Are there enough support services for men experiencing abuse? ..................... 36
Exploring women’s involvement in crime ........................................................... 37
Exploring women’s perpetration of domestic abuse .......................................... 41
Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 48
Chapter 3 .............................................................................................................. 52
Methodology ......................................................................................................... 52
Preparatory stages and ethical dilemmas .......................................................... 52
The interview participants .................................................................................. 54
The interview process ........................................................................................ 55
Ensuring informed consent ................................................................................ 56
Disclosures that may ‘rebut’ confidentiality ........................................................ 57
Safeguards regarding risks to the participants ................................................... 57
Safeguards regarding risks to the researcher .................................................... 59
Payment to participants ..................................................................................... 59
Data security ...................................................................................................... 60
The Free Association Narrative Interview (FANI) .............................................. 61
My application .................................................................................................... 64

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Psycho-discursive analysis ................................................................................ 65
Psychosocial analysis ........................................................................................ 67
Reflections ......................................................................................................... 67
Extract 1 ......................................................................................................... 68
Extract 2 ......................................................................................................... 70
Chapter 4 .............................................................................................................. 73
Reconstructing Victimisation: Male Victims’ Stories .............................................. 73
Introduction ........................................................................................................ 73
Masculinity and violence .................................................................................... 76
Negotiated masculinities .................................................................................... 77
Men’s stories ..................................................................................................... 78
Enduring pain ................................................................................................. 79
Chivalry .......................................................................................................... 82
Managing ‘crazy women’ ................................................................................ 86
Physical competence and accountable/dangerous men ................................ 90
The ‘new man’ and ‘hands on’ fathering ......................................................... 93
Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 98
Chapter 5 ............................................................................................................ 100
A Psychosocial Understanding of Three Male Victims: ....................................... 100
Jim, Ean and Gary .............................................................................................. 100
Introduction ...................................................................................................... 100
A psychosocial approach ................................................................................. 101
Jim’s pen portrait ............................................................................................. 103
Jim’s experiences growing up ...................................................................... 104
Jim’s adult experiences of domestic abuse .................................................. 108
Analysis ........................................................................................................... 111
The working class man ................................................................................. 112
The macho stud ............................................................................................ 113
The ‘funny’ side of abuse.............................................................................. 114
The abused ‘big bloke’ ................................................................................. 114
Ean’s pen portrait ............................................................................................ 115
Ean’s experiences growing up ...................................................................... 116

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Ean’s adult experiences of domestic abuse ................................................. 118
Analysis ........................................................................................................... 121
A ‘blemish free’ upbringing ........................................................................... 121
A ‘terrified’ child ............................................................................................ 121
Protecting a ‘psychologically sick’ woman .................................................... 122
Gary’s pen portrait ........................................................................................... 123
Gary’s experiences growing up .................................................................... 124
Gary’s adult experiences of domestic abuse ................................................ 125
Analysis ........................................................................................................... 130
The traditional and loving parents ................................................................ 130
The disbelieved victim .................................................................................. 131
The abused patient ....................................................................................... 132
Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 133
Chapter 6 ............................................................................................................ 135
Limited Discursive Options: Female Perpetrators’ Stories .................................. 135
Women’s violence............................................................................................ 136
Women’s stories .............................................................................................. 138
Victimised and damaged .............................................................................. 139
Resilient and protective ................................................................................ 144
Vengeful and seeking reprisal ...................................................................... 151
Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 154
Chapter 7 ............................................................................................................ 157
A psychosocial understanding of three female perpetrators: .............................. 157
Jane, Marie and Alina ......................................................................................... 157
Jane’s experiences growing up .................................................................... 158
Jane’s adult experiences of domestic abuse ................................................ 161
Analysis ........................................................................................................... 166
My path to killing ........................................................................................... 166
‘A lovely life’ .................................................................................................. 167
Marie’s Pen Portrait ......................................................................................... 168
Marie’s experiences growing up ................................................................... 169
Marie’s adult experiences of domestic abuse ............................................... 170

4
Analysis ........................................................................................................... 174
My path to aggression .................................................................................. 174
‘Everyone deserves a second chance’ ......................................................... 175
Alina’s pen portrait ........................................................................................... 177
Alina’s experiences growing up .................................................................... 177
Alina’s adult experiences of domestic abuse ................................................ 178
Analysis ........................................................................................................... 181
My path to violence ...................................................................................... 181
The ‘racist’ .................................................................................................... 182
Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 184
Chapter 8 ............................................................................................................ 186
Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 186
What does this research tell us about the relevance of gender? ..................... 192
Differential experiences ................................................................................ 192
Differential impact and fear ........................................................................... 193
Gendered perspectives on loss .................................................................... 194
Is there domestic violence without ‘male power’? ............................................ 195
Policy implications ........................................................................................... 197
References.......................................................................................................... 199

Word count: 74,135

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Appendices

Appendix A Recruitment poster aimed at male victims ..................................... 217
Appendix B Recruitment poster aimed at female perpetrators .......................... 218
Appendix C Research participation form ........................................................... 219
Appendix D Consent form ................................................................................. 223
Appendix E Table of men’s accounts of abuse in childhood by type ................. 224
Appendix F Table of women’s accounts of abuse in childhood by type ............ 225

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Abstract
Inverting Assumptions: Domestic Abuse Without ‘Male Power’? A thesis submitted
to The University of Manchester for the degree of PhD, by Stephanie Alger, 2016.
Over the last two decades male victims of domestic abuse have received much
media and political attention. A polarised debate emerged. At one pole there are
those campaigning for the rights of ‘battered’ men to be acknowledged, believing
gender to be irrelevant in the aetiology of domestic abuse. At the other pole there
are feminists, maintaining that gender is relevant, as domestic abuse is an
expression of patriarchy and therefore overwhelmingly perpetrated by men against
women.
Through a consideration of both male victims’ and female perpetrators’ accounts
this research considers the relevance of gender and power, in abusive
relationships, where it is the man who is the victim. With a view to establishing
whether there is domestic violence without ‘male power’, the thesis asks: In what
ways are abused men’s and female perpetrators’ accounts shaped by gender?
And what is the relationship between masculinity/femininity and abuse for abused
men and female perpetrators? Adopting the Free Association Narrative Interview
method (FANI) I interviewed ten men presenting as victims and ten women
presenting as perpetrators, accessed via support services and probation referral
centres. Both psycho-discursive and psychosocial analysis was carried out on the
interview data.
Psycho-discursive analysis revealed how the men re-configured what would
otherwise be emasculating disclosures of victimisation, as self-sacrificing heroism.
The women’s accounts were constrained by the limited ways that women’s
aggression is spoken about. Placing their perpetration firmly within the context of
their own victimisation, they ‘struggled’ to recount their experiences in ways that
did not contravene expectations of womanhood. Psychosocial analysis allowed for
the exploration of individuals’ defences, revealing closely guarded fears, anxieties,
insecurities, motivations, and desires. Underscoring men’s accounts of self-
sacrifice and heroism and women’s constrained accounts of aggression were
guarded vulnerabilities. However, such complexity was lost in the gender specific
ways that male victims and female perpetrators positioned themselves within the
‘story’ of domestic abuse. Ultimately, the patterned configurations of power
illuminated cannot adequately be explained by the concept of patriarchy, but
instead the multiple ways that gender is intersected with other structural
hierarchies, as well as individual biography, to create context specific
configurations of power.
It is argued that that policymakers, service providers, academics and academic
commentators alike must transcend the polarised debate. Only through an
understanding no longer founded on oversimplifications, can we embrace the
complexity of abusive relationships and in turn establish support that appropriately
meets the needs of the male victims and the female perpetrators. This does not
mean abandoning analyses of the role of gender and power in domestic abuse,
but recognising the complex ways in which they present themselves in both the
enactment of violence and in its telling in the aftermath of conflict.

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Declaration

No portion of the work referred to in the thesis has been submitted in support of an
application for another degree or qualification of this or any other university or
other institute of learning.

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Copyright statement

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank all the participants and domestic abuse support services for
making this research possible. A huge ‘thank you’ goes to my fantastic husband,
kids and extended family, for all the support that they have given me whilst
carrying out this research. I would also like to thank my super supervisors
Professor David Gadd and Dr Jo Deakin, as without their guidance I would not
have made it this far.

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