Estimation difficulties Determining the rate of intimate partner<unk>  (IPV) against males can be difficult, as<unk>  may be reluctant to report their abuse or seek help. Male victims of IPV may face socio-cultural issues such as judgement by male peers, fear of coming out as LGBTQ, or having their masculinity questioned. IPV against<unk>  is generally less recognized by society than IPV against women. For some<unk> , admitting they are the victim of female perpetrated IPV could feel like admitting that they do not follow the established social role for<unk> , and may be an admission they are unwilling, or unable, to make. On the other hand, many abusive<unk>  readily adopt a victim identity. For example, O. J. Simpson often referred to himself as a "battered husband". In cases like this, reporting IPV victimization may lead to exposing themselves as batterers. Some male victims fear people assuming that the woman is the real victim, and must have been acting in self-defense or retaliating for abuse. Researchers have demonstrated a degree of socio-cultural acceptance of aggression by women against<unk>  as opposed to a general condemnation of aggression by<unk>  against women. Male-on-female IPV has been shown to cause significantly more fear and more severe injuries than female-on-male<unk> . This can lead to<unk>  not considering themselves victims, and/or not realizing the IPV they are experiencing is a crime. Some research has shown that women who assault their male partners are more likely to avoid arrest than<unk>  who assault their female partners, because female perpetrators of IPV tend to be viewed by law enforcement agencies and the courts as victims. As such, some<unk>  fear that if they do report to the police, they will be assumed to be the abuser, and placed under arrest. However, analyses of research indicates that frequently the legal system fails to view women who use IPV against controlling male partners as victims due to gendered high expectations on women to be the "perfect victim" and the culturally pervasive stereotype of the passive, "cowering" battered woman. Statistics indicate that under-reporting is an inherent problem with IPV irrespective of gender. For example, in England and Wales, the 1995 "Home Office Research Study 191", carried out as a supplementary study to the British Crime Survey, reported 6.6 million incidents of IPV in the previous twelve months, compared with the 987,000 incidents found by the Crime Survey. The difference in the two reports was that Study 191 was a questionnaire of a random representative sample of people, while the Crime Survey attained its figures from crime records, i.e. actual reported cases of IPV. Supplementary studies carried out in 2001 and from 2004 onwards have consistently recorded significantly higher rates of IPV (committed against both<unk>  and women) than the standard crime surveys. The 2010–2011 report found that whilst 27% of women who experienced IPV reported it to the police, only 10% of<unk>  did so, and whilst 44% of women reported to some professional organization, only 19% of<unk>  did so. In a 2005 report carried out by the National Crime Council in the Republic of Ireland, it was estimated that 5% of<unk>  who had experienced IPV had reported it to the authorities, compared to 29% of women. Estimates of male victimization In England and Wales, the 1995 "Home Office Research Study 191" surveyed 10,844 people (5,886 women and 4,958<unk>  between the ages of 16 and 59, finding that for the twelve-month period preceding the survey, 4.2% of<unk>  had experienced IPV. Over a lifetime, this figure increased to 14.9% of<unk> . Of the 6.6 million incidents of IPV in 1995, 3.25 million involved male victims, with 1 million incidents resulting in injury. Since 2004, more detailed annual records have been maintained as a supplementary survey attached to the annual Home Office Crime in England and Wales reports. These reports have consistently recorded significantly higher rates of both male and female victims of IPV than the standard crime surveys. In the case of male victims, the figures range from a high of 4.5% in 2007/2008 to a low of 3.1% in 2009/2010. In the Republic of Ireland, a 2005 report carried out by the National Crime Council found that 15% of women and 6% of<unk>  had suffered severe IPV in their lifetime, equating to roughly 213,000 women and 88,000<unk> . In Northern Ireland, police records for 2012 listed 2,525 male victims of domestic<unk> , an increase of 259 cases from 2011. In the United States, the National<unk>  Against Women Survey carried out by the Department of Justice in 2000, surveyed 16,000 people (8,000<unk>  and 8,000 women), and found that 7.4% of<unk>  reported physical assault by a current or former spouse, cohabiting partner, boyfriend/girlfriend, or date in their lifetime. Additionally, 0.9% of<unk>  reported experiencing domestic<unk>  in the past year, equating to 834,732<unk> . In 2000, the Canadian General Social Survey found 7% of<unk>  had experienced IPV from 1994 to 1999, amounting to 549,000<unk> . Another Canadian General Social Survey, in 2005, found 6% of<unk>  had experienced IPV between 2000 and 2005, amounting to 546,000<unk> . Data concerning campus rape, such as from a National Institute of<unk> tal Health and Ms. Magazine study, has found a 1 in 7 sexual assault rate for<unk>  in U.S. colleges. In 2013, the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that from a sample of 16,000 U.S. adults, 26% of homosexual<unk> , 37.3% of bisexual<unk> , and 29% of heterosexual<unk>  had been a victim of IPV, compared to 43.8% of lesbians, 61.1% of bisexual women and 35% of heterosexual women. CDC Director Tom Frieden stated, "This report suggests that lesbians, gay<unk>  and bisexuals in this country suffer a heavy toll of sexual<unk>  and stalking committed by an intimate partner." In New Zealand, the twenty-one year Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, published in 1999, reported that of their sample of 1,037 people, 27% of women and 34% of<unk>  reported being physically abused by a partner, with 37% of women and 22% of<unk>  reporting they had perpetrated IPV. Also in New Zealand, a 2009 report by the Journal of Applied Social Psychology evaluated samples of university students (35 female, 27 male), general population (34 female, 27 male), and incarcerated participants (15 female, 24 male), and found that 16.7% of the male respondents reported physical abuse (12.9% for students and 15.4% for convicts), while 29.5% reported bidirectional (i.e. both partners commit IPV)<unk>  (14.5% for students and 51.3% for convicts). The 2006 International Dating<unk>  Study, which investigated IPV amongst 13,601 students across thirty-two-nations found that "about one-quarter of both male and female students had physically attacked a partner during that year". It reported that 24.4% of males had experienced minor IPV and 7.6% had experienced "severe assault". In 2012, two Swedish studies were released that showed<unk>  experienced IPV at rates similar to women—8% per year in one study and 11% per year in the other. In the United Kingdom, there was a survey that indicated that 9% of males had experienced some form of partner abuse, which amounts to around 1.4 million<unk> , this includes stalking, physical<unk> , and sexual assault. A seminal US study found that IPV victims are often slapped, kicked, punched, grabbed, or choked by their partners. A growing body of international research indicated that<unk>  and women experience IPV in some similar proportions. An example might be a recent survey from Canada's national statistical agency that concluded that "equal proportions of<unk>  and women reported being victims of spousal<unk>  during the preceding 5 years (4% respectively)." The surveys that were<unk> tioned indicated small proportions of<unk>  (less than 20% of victims) will tell the police or a health professional about their victimization. This is perhaps due to well-grounded fears that they will be scorned, ridiculed, or disbelieved by these authorities. A recent research paper by Dr. Elizabeth Bates from the University of Cumbria found that the overarching experience of male IPV victims was that "no one would ever believe me." One victim noted, "I told friends, they laughed while another stated... the police, they laughed." Laughter is a common response to male victims of IPV.
Domestic violence against men
Childhood trauma
Sexual violence
Psychological trauma
Adverse childhood experiences
Psychological abuse
Sexual assault
Outline of domestic violence