By: Corbett Gildersleve, News Writer
Content warning: mentions of physical and sexual abuse, intimate partner violence, substance abuse, and suicide.
A new study co-authored by Dr. Alexandra Lysova and Dr. Eugene Emeka Dim was published on February 28 in the Journal of Family Violence, examining how men surviving intimate partner violence (IPV) deal with their abuse. Lysova, an SFU criminology professor, and Dim, a University of Victoria assistant professor in sociology, highlighted that men in Canada were significantly less likely to receive support due to stigma, a lack of dedicated services, and poor coping strategies. The Peak reached out to Dr. Lysova and CJ Rowe, director at SFU’s Sexual Violence Support & Prevention Office, for an interview, but could not conduct an interview by press time.
This study reviewed previous studies conducted on the topic, drew data from the 2014 General Social Survey (GSS) victimization survey, and analyzed 2016 interviews with 16 men who experienced IPV. Although the interviews occurred almost 10 years ago, the researchers found that “there have been no significant changes in societal attitudes or support systems” toward men who experienced IPV in Canada. The men who were interviewed were over the age of 18 and had experienced IPV in their married, common-law, or dating relationships.
The study states, “Previous studies utilizing the GSS 2014 data found that men were significantly more likely than women to report experiences of physical and/or sexual IPV (2.9% of men and 1.8% of women in current relationships).” However, the 2025 study highlights that men were significantly less likely to seek support than women, revealing several disparities, as found through several statistics. For one, the study found women “are more likely to confide in their families (56.3%)” compared to men (27.8%).
“When men survivors wanted to seek support through counselling or other services, some were not immediately available to them, or they were expensive.”
The interviews showed that the men’s coping strategies fell into four areas: “denial of abuse and/or withdrawal, diversion to work or other activities, maintaining the relationship, and seeking help after the abusive relationship ended.”
One respondent said, “I wasn’t (coping). I was just existing. I guess I was dissociating; that would be my best guess. I still don’t remember those memories; it’s a bad time of my life. Obviously, I tried to repress it.” Another respondent who focused on other activities said, “I hide . . . work more, play video games, do home projects, and other activities.” Others tried to focus on saving their relationship through seeking couples counselling, Alcoholics Anonymous support groups, or focusing on helping the abuser instead of themselves. One man said, “I thought I could be a hero . . . I focused solely on trying to help her, instead of trying to help me. Alcoholics Anonymous group helps you look at the alcoholic person from a different perspective. I loved my wife and I believed that she would change.” Only after the relationships ended, some found support through counsellors or groups: “I’m going to the male support center every week for meetings,” one noted.
When men wanted to seek support through counselling or other services, some were not immediately available to them, or they were expensive. From the 2014 GSS victimization survey, a substantial percentage of respondents had incomes below $40,000, with (at the time) counselling sessions costing $50–220 per session. One of the 16 interviewees said that after their breakup, they sought out suicide prevention support and shelters, but “every helpline was for women and children.” One man noted, “So, the message for me was, don’t call this number . . . Even shelters in Toronto are all named for women and children.” Fortunately, he was able to find support through his job benefits — something that not all men survivors have. The study concluded that a “nuanced understanding” of the factors affecting men “is crucial for developing policies, practices, and interventions that comprehensively meet” their needs.
For more information, the study is available here. If you or someone you know has experienced physical and/or sexual abuse, you can contact the SFU Sexual Violence Support and Prevention Office, call 778-782-7233, or email [email protected]. They support anyone in the SFU community and are open to all gender identities and sexual orientations. Additionally, the BC Society for Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse provides individual and group therapy sessions as well as victim services at 604-682-6482 or [email protected] (Vancouver), and 672-963-9931 or [email protected] (Surrey).
