SOCIAL REPRESENTATION OF DATING VIOLENCE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE MALE AS A VICTIM

UNVEILING OTHER SIDES OF THE PROBLEM

Abstract

Dating violence from the perspective of the male as a victim is a less studied phenomenon due to the personal, social, and cultural barriers that surround its recognition. The objective was to identify the social representations of dating violence in heterosexual couples where the male is the victim. It is a qualitative study from the interpretative phenomenological approach. The sample consisted of 16 university men between the ages of 18 and 26. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, transcribed, and imported into ATLAS.ti v8 software. The results corroborate that male can recognize and identify the characteristic signs of verbal, physical and psychological violence in peers within dating relationships, however, they do not
recognize themselves as victims. A framework of social, cultural, and personal factors hinders this process and, in turn, generate conditions of stigma and re-victimization due to the fear of losing their partner, not being treated as victims and the affectation of their masculinity. Duration and commitment of the relationship are aspects that can lead to the normalization of violent behaviors, understanding them as a normative crisis of the couple and avoiding the complaint. These results recognize the need to develop studies and initiatives aimed at intervening in this phenomenon at the individual and social level, focused
on offering alternatives in which male victims can recognize themselves, denounce and overcome violent relational dynamics.