“A Story Not Well Told”: A Theory on the Lived Experiences of Male Victims of Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is woven into the very fabric of all levels of society. Although there is now a growing body of literature on IPV toward men, the experiences of male victimization remain particularly underresearched. More research is needed to contribute to our understanding of men’s experiences. A constructivist grounded theory study was conducted in Aotearoa (New Zealand) in which men’s experiences of IPV victimization in heterosexual relationships were explored. Underpinned by an interpretivist theoretical perspective, constructivist grounded theory (CGT) methodology acknowledges the active role of researchers to generate knowledge from an interpretive stance. The findings highlight the perpetuating cycle of silence and invisibility in societies that uphold hegemonic discourses and underlying assumptions and stereotypes that frame men as perpetrators of IPV and women as its victims. The theoretical framework developed from the findings provides an important and original contribution to the literature on men’s experiences of abuse from their female intimate partners, showing how and why men’s victimization experiences are silenced. The article argues that education is needed to raise awareness of the elements presented in the theoretical framework and to inform the development of policies and practices so that the perpetuating cycle of silence and invisibility does not continue.