The Pregnancy Put the Screws On: Discourses of Professionals Working With Men Inclined to Violence
Kerstin Edin*,
Ulf Hogberg,
Lars Dahlgren,
Ann Lalos
Umeå University
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: kerstin.edin{at}epiph.umu.se.
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Abstract |
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Qualitative research interviews were conducted with professionals working with men inclined to violence. The aim was to explore professional discourses about intimate partner violence with special reference to gender and to the partner’s period of pregnancy. Three major findings are presented. Firstly, the professionals had a rather fixed understanding of opposite gender positions as well as a split picture of the violent man as both weak and tough, thus violence may result from poor self-confidence combined with a desire for power and control and the fear of losing it. Secondly, the pregnancy was identified as a stressor that, together with other circumstances, could trigger violence. Thirdly, the topic of pregnancy and other relational topics were typically omitted from the conversations with men inclined to violence. This study discusses inconsistencies that might counteract the professionals’ intentions of building an alternative masculinity in men inclined to violence.
