Search

Leaving an abusive relationship is a difficult process for all survivors. For men, this can be particularly challenging due to the current knowledge and support for survivors being heavily influenced by a feminist discourse, despite a growing body of research that examines men’s experiences. This raises concerns about how men make sense of abuse, where they seek support for injuries and psychological distress, and what services are available to them to help them move on from abuse. Narrative interviews with 12 midlife and older men (aged 45–65 years) who had experienced intimate partner violence from a female were conducted with the aim to explore their journey of leaving abuse. The men’s stories revealed themes of how they made sense of what was happening to them (legitimacy as a survivor and self-help), their experiences of service readiness to respond to male victimization (discrimination from police, legal system set up to support women, and service readiness for males), and how men can leave abuse (post-separation abuse and support from friends and family). Implications of the findings demonstrate that many services are still not equipped to support male survivors. The men in our study found it difficult to comprehend their experience as abuse and this is negatively reinforced by ineffective services and stereotypical beliefs about abuse. However, informal support through friends and family is a powerful tool in supporting men to leave abusive relationships. More work is needed to increase awareness of male survivors and ensure that services, including legal systems, are inclusive.

Survivors of intimate partner violence are exposed to prolonged and repeated trauma due to the methods of control associated with abuse but do not always seek help from trauma-focused service provision. Despite links between complex posttraumatic stress disorder and partner violence, research has not explored how symptoms may be presented within the stories of abuse and the clinical implications of this. The aim was to explore the narratives of intimate partner violence and uncover how aspects of complex posttraumatic stress disorder may be present.The stories from 13 women with a mean age of 52.3 years were explored using thematic analysis.Across the survivors' stories, four themes with associated subthemes were uncovered: (a) difficulties in affect regulation, (b) belief systems that erode self-determination, (c) managing the threat response, and (d) difficulties in sustaining relationships. The findings suggest underlying symptoms of complex trauma were present. Presentations of symptoms associated with complex posttraumatic stress disorder demonstrate a need for therapeutic practitioners to be more aware of the prevalence of this for those who have experienced relational abuse and the implications for therapeutic interventions and engagement.Exploring traumatic experiences from the perspectives of survivors is an important way of understanding the impacts on and consequences for the survivor and their adjustment beyond abuse, moving from a symptomatic lens to an approach of trauma journey exploration. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

This chapter synthesises Daisy's personal experience as a lesbian with leadership experience in addition to the literature and research that has explored the issues of lesbians as leaders. Daisy explores the conscious choices that lesbians make about how much they hide or share their sexual orientation within the workplace and beyond, and the implications for those who are in a leadership position, in whatever capacity this leadership role may exist. This is framed within the context of living in a heteronormative world where prejudice is both implicit and explicit. The influences of personal support on career success, the impact of discrimination and prejudice and the transformation approach to leadership are discussed. Gaps in the evidence base for lesbians in leadership are highlighted and suggestions for how lesbians can support themselves and be supported by others to develop as leaders are explored. This chapter promotes the impact of discrimination towards lesbians within the workplace and highlights the uniqueness of lesbians as leaders in the hope that more lesbians will feel empowered to work towards leadership. It also highlights the paucity of research that exists within this area, with the intention of encouraging further discussions and positive action.

Purpose:This paper explores experiences of intimate partner violence and support that was received among midlife and older male survivors. The objectives were to identify risk factors, barriers to help seeking and to promote the need for trauma focused care and inclusivity in service provision.Methods:Although 12 mid-life to older men from across the UK were interviewed individually about their experiences of surviving female perpetrated intimate partner violence, this paper focuses upon the experiences of one participant. A narrative method was used to analyse the data.Results/Finding:The narrative analysis of one participant is presented and implications discussed. Male survivors are often disbelieved by professionals and automatically assumed to be the perpetrator of IPV. This is echoed in limited service provision which increases the risk of homelessness, mental health problems and isolation.Conclusions:Counselling Psychologists will benefit from considering their own biases, including questions about IPV in all assessments that they undertake and educating service providers about the need for support.