Victims in the shadows: male gender in the face of domestic violence in Huaraz, Peru

Abstract

Intrafamilial violence has historically been seen as a problem in which the woman is always the victim and the man the aggressor, based on gender stereotypes linked to machismo. It is assumed that, being strong and dominant, the male subordinates the female to his yoke. This is nothing more than a stereotyped conception. Within this framework, legislators and the government have enacted laws to protect women; however, this has brought with it the problem of the shadow victims, i.e., males. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to analyze the problem of men as victims of violence and to determine whether they have adequate access to justice and, on that basis, to propose possible solutions. For this purpose, descriptive research with a qualitative approach was carried out based on the analysis of judicial files, specialized literature and an interview with close questions of lawyers. The results show that the state agencies in charge of imparting justice have internalized gender stereotypes that exclude the possibility of recognizing men as victims of domestic violence. This situation leads to men not reporting for fear that their complaints will not be accepted, that they will be humiliated or mocked, and that there is a lack of effective protection for the male gender. In addition, violence against them is justified and there is fear of losing custody of their children in case of separation.