Intimate Partner Violence Against Men in Accra, Ghana

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant social and public health problem. Globally, IPV has primarily been conceptualised as an issue of male-perpetrated violence against female intimate partners. However, evidence shows that women also perpetrate this form of violence against their male partners. The phenomenon of IPV is widely recognised in both developed and developing countries globally with a socially accepted narrative of being male perpetrated. However, IPV perpetrated against men is largely overlooked and this is observed in the number of studies conducted on the topic. The Ghanaian context depicts a patriarchal system where boys are socialised to have power and control by being providers and women to be in subordinate positions, minimum attention is paid to the experiences of men as victims of IPV. In Ghana, there is a dearth of studies on IPV against women but limited studies with a focus on the lived experiences of male victims of IPV in the Greater Accra region of Ghana. The objectives of this study was to explore the types of intimate partner violence against men, identify causes of intimate partner violence against men, to explore the consequences of IPV against men and to examine the help-seeking and non-help-seeking experiences of men as victims of IPV. The study used the qualitative approach, using a phenomenological research design. Criterion purposive sampling was adopted in recruiting the male victims and key stakeholders in Greater Accra. An in-depth interview was conducted with twenty (20) IPV male victims and three (3) stakeholders. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data was analysed thematically using Atlas.ti version 7.0 software. The study found that the types of IPV experienced by men are psychological, economic, physical, and sexual IPV. It further revealed that the causes of IPV against men emanate from a complex set of concepts which are themed as economic causes, social causes, extramarital affairs, household orderliness and non-performance of marriage rites. The love for money, poverty and unemployment constituted the economic causes while the social causes were influence from extended family and friends, addiction to social media and misunderstanding. The experiences of male victims with consequences are personal consequences, interpersonal consequences, consequences on children in the relationship and retaliation. The personal level was the most dominant, with divorce and separation, substance abuse, fear of women, and consequences on their emotional and mental state which also constituted of depression, suicidal ideation, trauma, crying, and being hurt and disturbed. The victims' experiences of avenues for help-seeking were family members, friends, religious leaders, counselling and the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service. The male victim’s experiences with these avenues are a salvage of marriage as a positive result and bias against men, not getting results, postponement of cases and not feeling satisfied as negative results of help-seeking. These findings add to the body of knowledge on IPV against men in Ghana and enhance the development of avenues of support for male victims. It is therefore recommended that personnel mandated to support victims of IPV be equipped with the requisite knowledge skills and attitudes in handling male victims of IPV taking into consideration the cultural context of patriarchy. Adult Education practitioners need to acquire the requisite training to educate the adult population on the vulnerabilities of both males and females. This can be achieved by inculcating topics such as vulnerability of adults, conflict resolution methods indicators of abuse and triggers of IPV for both males and females in the Adult Education curriculum design implementation and evaluation. It is also recommended that institutions on the societal level, community, interpersonal and individual levels be trained on identifying and appropriately supporting male victims of IPV.