{"title":"Gender-based violence against men, a southeast Asian qualitative study.","authors":"Sashini Jayaratne, Kumudu Wijewardena","doi":"10.1177/20503121251335145","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background and objectives: </strong>Gender-based violence is a major public health concern. Although, in many instances, violence against women and girls encompasses the entire spectrum of gender-based violence in the public eye, violence against men is a very real threat that is obscure and obliterated within cultural norms. Identification of the legal and cultural barriers men face is a very important step forward toward promoting gender equity. There is a severe paucity of research on gender-based violence against men in Sri Lanka.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A qualitative study was conducted to explore the causes, effects, and help-seeking behaviors of men subjected to gender-based violence in the Colombo district, Sri Lanka. Two focus group discussions and two in-depth interviews were carried out among seventeen purposefully selected victims of gender-based violence and ten key informant interviews were carried out among service providers recruited purposefully in the Colombo district. Transcript analysis was done by using the thematic analysis method.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The study participants of the focus group discussions described themes of preconceived notions about the male sex, gender bias, power play, and masculinity norms as causes leading to gender-based violence. Many participants described their own or a peer's life experience to explain the experiences and consequences of gender-based violence. The key informant interview revealed certain aspects of the support systems which need revision in order to make the services more accessible to men.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study provides evidence regarding the hitherto undiscussed topic of gender-based violence against men in Sri Lanka. The findings highlight the importance of taking into consideration and inclusion of men in the development of policies for gender-based violence in Sri Lanka.</p>","PeriodicalId":21398,"journal":{"name":"SAGE Open Medicine","volume":"13 ","pages":"20503121251335145"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12035209/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"SAGE Open Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20503121251335145","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background and objectives: Gender-based violence is a major public health concern. Although, in many instances, violence against women and girls encompasses the entire spectrum of gender-based violence in the public eye, violence against men is a very real threat that is obscure and obliterated within cultural norms. Identification of the legal and cultural barriers men face is a very important step forward toward promoting gender equity. There is a severe paucity of research on gender-based violence against men in Sri Lanka.
Methods: A qualitative study was conducted to explore the causes, effects, and help-seeking behaviors of men subjected to gender-based violence in the Colombo district, Sri Lanka. Two focus group discussions and two in-depth interviews were carried out among seventeen purposefully selected victims of gender-based violence and ten key informant interviews were carried out among service providers recruited purposefully in the Colombo district. Transcript analysis was done by using the thematic analysis method.
Results: The study participants of the focus group discussions described themes of preconceived notions about the male sex, gender bias, power play, and masculinity norms as causes leading to gender-based violence. Many participants described their own or a peer's life experience to explain the experiences and consequences of gender-based violence. The key informant interview revealed certain aspects of the support systems which need revision in order to make the services more accessible to men.
Conclusion: This study provides evidence regarding the hitherto undiscussed topic of gender-based violence against men in Sri Lanka. The findings highlight the importance of taking into consideration and inclusion of men in the development of policies for gender-based violence in Sri Lanka.