Article content

By JUSTIN TROTTIER

Three Canadian sociologists have released a ground-breaking report in the journal Partner Abuse that fundamentally contradicts conventional wisdom on domestic violence.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or TROTTIER: Where's the support for male victims of domestic violence? Back to video

These researchers accessed raw data from the 2014 General Social Survey, a massive population survey regularly conducted by Statistics Canada to assess the extent of social problems in the country. What they found undermines the gender paradigm that portrays domestic violence as exclusively a manifestation of male domination over women.

On the contrary, men were found to be as likely as women to experience domestic abuse. Even more surprising, men were just as likely to suffer severe forms of violence like being hit or kicked. And most significant of all, men and women were found to suffer similar long-term mental health effects, including PTSD.

Consistent with expectations, women were more likely to be physically injured when severe violence did occur. Yet men are not immune to harm, with men accounting for one third of those suffering injury.