The feminization of social welfare: Implications of cultural tradition vis-à-vis male victims of domestic violence

Abstract

As pertains to feminization of social welfare, the inability to acknowledge male victims of domestic violence is attributed less to personal preference and more to cultural traditions of the Western patriarch. Yet, according to scholarly literature, men in the U.S. are equally as likely to be the victims of domestic violence by women as are women by men. Solutions to cultural tradition aimed at eliminating male victims of domestic violence must necessarily begin with acknowledgement of the characteristic warning signs and symptoms. Moving beyond the feminization of social welfare as pertains to domestic violence can be accomplished by the recognition that cultural tradition should not be the sole determinant of services. An effective tool is application of more objective policy models which better locate the role of culture in the perception and attention to all victims in need. © Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 2012.