Violence in the couple: what do men have to say?

The purpose of the article is to provide preliminary data concerning men’s points of view, drawn from a pilot study conducted in Geneva in an association, Vires, that is engaged in prevention and treatment of violence in the context of couples and the family, with particular attention for men who have committed violent actions in the family, but that also take care of those men who spontaneously come to "Vires" asking for help. The study is conducted in collaboration with the chair of Developmental and Educational Psychology of the Faculty of Educational Sciences of the University of Roma Tre and is the prosecution of a former collaboration experience with the "Centro Antiviolenza" in Rome. Four men, who accepted to collaborate, were interviewed with a qualitative interview lasting 2-3 hours. The interviews were registered and transcribed. It was then possible to evidence a series of conflictual themes and problematic points that constituted the background for the violent behaviors of subjects. It was also observed that in the couples of the study, not only the male partner but also the woman were exhibiting anger, rage, aggressive behaviors, mostly at a verbal level, but also at a physical level. Another significant element emerging from the interviews was the importance of having been exposed to violent parental behaviors during infancy.

Keywords: Domestic violence, Association Vires in Geneva, dynamics of marital conflicts, comunication problems

Meret Amann-Gainotti, Violenze nella coppia coniugale: cosa hanno da dire gli uomini? in "RIVISTA DI SESSUOLOGIA CLINICA" 2/2010, pp 67-82, DOI: 10.3280/RSC2010-002005