Three out of 10 husbands are victims of domestic violence at the hands of their own wives.
That’s the revelation of a recent study conducted by the University of Mindanao Institute of Popular Opinion (UM IPO) and UM College of Criminal Justice Education which showed that 30 percent of husbands have actually experienced domestic violence from their partners.
The nationwide study titled “Shifting the Focus: Exploring Spousal Abuse Against Husbands by their Wives,” sought to explore the extent of spousal abuse committed by wives against their husbands. Emotional abuse ranked as the top experience suffered by husbands.
Based on the study, three of 10 (or 33.1%) Filipino men reported that they have experienced any form of domestic violence from their wives.
This translates to one in every three Filipino husbands experiencing domestic violence, which the study noted to be an increase from 12 to 15 in every 100 couples reported in the study in 2018 wherein a total of 1,703 participants in different provinces of the Philippines were recruited online to participate in the study.
The study assessed six types of domestic abuse/violence namely physical, psychological, emotional, sexual, financial, and technological.
The survey revealed that the most common occurrence is that of emotional abuse followed by financial abuse, physical abuse, psychological abuse, and technological abuse.
Sexual abuse is the least occurring form of domestic abuse. Most forms of these abuses come in combinations such as verbally and physically assaulting husbands, being aggressive, shaming husbands on social media, demanding money, and taunting/insulting their husbands in a fit of rage.
“We found out that three in every 10 Filipino men reported that they have been abused. It may be physical abuse, psychological abuse, or sexual abuse. Although in the results least ang sexual abuse at ang top most abuse na naranasan ng mga husbands ay emotional abuse,” said Dr. Joel B. Tan, IPO specialist, during the Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Davao on Monday.
The researchers noted that this increasing trend of domestic violence wherein wives are the perpetrators is quite alarming, given that all of the husbands who experienced them did not report the same to authorities or do something about it.
“Because in a patriarchal society, its something na hindi napag-uusapan, na madalas ang babae at kabataan ang binibigyan ng protection at karapatan sa batas. Kailangan din ilagay sa table yung discussion about, what about men? What about husbands? Are they exempted from violence? Are they exempted from domestic violence?” Tan said.
According to the survey, the top reasons for spousal abuse by their wives stem from partners reacting to frustration or stress, partners having dominant behavior, and partners having attention-seeking behavior.
In terms of the extent of domestic violence experienced by husbands in the mentioned types of abuses, the survey revealed that the extent is generally low, which means that while there are specific abuses noted in their marriage, they are considered rare only and happen only in specific circumstances.
