The Father, the Son, and the Abuser: The Portrayal of Male Victims of Intimate Partner Homicide in the News Media

• Published date: 01 August 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/10887679211047445
• Author: Kenzie Hanson,Alexandra Lysova
• Date: 01 August 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/10887679211047445

Homicide Studies

2023, Vol. 27(3) 361 –383

© 2021 SAGE Publications

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DOI: 10.1177/10887679211047445

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Article

The Father, the Son, and the

Abuser: The Portrayal of Male

Victims of Intimate Partner

Homicide in the News Media

Kenzie Hanson1 and Alexandra Lysova1

Abstract

Media research on intimate partner homicide (IPH) has primarily focused on male

perpetrators and female victims. This study analyzed 203 English-language news

articles of IPH involving male victims and female perpetrators for the year 2019.

Using thematic analysis, we identified two main themes: doubting the victim (who

is the victim?) and victim recognition (“he didn’t deserve this”). The findings suggest

that male victims of female perpetrated IPH tend to be blamed for their victimization

and represented as non-ideal and illegitimate victims in the news media.

Keywords

intimate partner, victim/offender relationship, male victims, media representation,

qualitative analysis, female perpetrators

Intimate partner homicide (IPH) is a serious public health and criminal issue in many

countries worldwide. With the significance of media in covering and disseminating

news and information, a recent development in IPH research has been on victims’

portrayal in the news media (Easteal et al., 2019; Fairbairn & Dawson, 2013; Gillespie

et al., 2013). Literature indicates that media portrayals of crime have significant

impacts on how the public and policy-makers perceive the origin of the crime and who

is to blame, also influencing potential calls to action against the crime, its perpetra-

tors, and support for victims (Beale, 2006; Springer & Harwood, 2015). While sev-

eral media mechanisms, such as victim-blaming and perpetrator-excusing tactics, are

1Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada

Corresponding Author:

Alexandra Lysova, School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University, Saywell Hall, Office 10213, 8888

University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada.

Email: alysova@sfu.ca

1047445HSXXXX10.1177/10887679211047445Homicide StudiesHanson and Lysova

research-article2021

362 Homicide Studies 27(3)

prevalent in male perpetrated IPH news articles, few studies explored media mecha-

nisms of female perpetrated IPH with male victims (Richards et al., 2011; Taylor,

2009). It could potentially be attributed to the prevalent focus of IPH research on male

perpetrated violence against women (Campbell, 1992; Stöckl et al., 2013). At the same

time, studies in this area identified a range of complex motivations relating to female

perpetrated IPH, including self-defense, power and control, anger, history of violence,

and retaliation (Jurik & Winn, 1990; Smith et al., 1998). Also, some recent scholarship

has drawn attention to male victims’ deaths by female perpetrators focusing on men’s

experiences of abuse and helpseeking behavior (Hope et al., 2021; Lysova & Salas,

2020). This study examines the nature of news coverage of male victims of female

perpetrated IPH, that is, what characterizations of the victims the news media trans-

mits to the public. Our study highlights the importance of the news media in shaping

public attitudes, beliefs, and policy decisions by identifying these representations.

Perspectives on Female Perpetrated IPH of Men

IPH is homicide perpetrated by a current or former intimate partner and accounts for

13.5% of homicides worldwide. Global statistics show intimate partners commit

38.6% of female homicides and 6.3% of male homicides (Stöckl et al., 2013). Gender

differences are the most noticeable aspects relating to the prevalence of IPH, where

females are statistically more likely to be victims, and males are more likely to be the

perpetrators (Beattie et al., 2018). These statistics necessitate continuing efforts to

prioritize female victims in IPH research and prevention (Campbell et al., 2016). At

the same time, about one in five individuals killed by an intimate partner are men

(Burczycka, 2019; Velopulos et al., 2019). For example, there were 196 male victims

of IPH in Canada between 2008 and 2018 killed primarily by their female intimate

partners (Burczycka, 2019).

Several theoretical perspectives help explain female perpetrated IPH of men. The

first perspective focuses on women’s lethal actions that were self-defensive, following

significant victimization at the hands of their male partners (Campbell, 1992; Walker,

1989). For example, Suonpää and Savolainen (2019) found in a sample of 1,494 IPHs

that violent precipitation motivated female killings of their male intimate partners far

more than male killings of their female partners. According to Statistics Canada, male

victims had a higher rate of first initiating the violence that led to their deaths than

female victims (29% vs. 6%) (Government of Canada, 2015). Although some studies

of a non-lethal context suggested that female partners may initiate a significant amount

of intimate partner violence (IPV) (Cook, 2009; Douglas & Hines, 2011; Muftić et al.,

2007), overall, data consistently indicate that female perpetrators experience high

rates of physical abuse by a male victim before IPH (Caman et al., 2016; Campbell

et al., 2016; Weizmann-Henelius et al., 2012).

Second, a related approach—a situational perspective—focuses on an entire violent

event as a set of variables centered on the role of both partners in the commission of a

crime (Suonpää & Savolainen, 2019; Swatt & He, 2006; Wilkinson & Hamerschlag,

2005). Given that several studies found that couples experience IPV bidirectionally,