Authors : Somsouk Sananikone, Dusadee Ayuwat and Nilubol Rujiraprasert
Abstract: This study tried to identify and depict the characteristics of the male perpetrators of domestic violence.This study was based on the personal experiences of the perpetrators and their perceptions of domestic violence within their local socio-cultural context. Research area was in a rural village in Sangthong district of Laos which reportedly has a high prevalence of domestic violence according to existing studies. The selected village is considered as an ethnic community with >890% of its total population belonged to the Khmu ethnicity. This study relied on the qualitative methodology; the in-depth interview was conducted with 23 key informants and seven male perpetrators and their wives or victims selected by snowball techniques in one village within the Sangthong district. The results were based on the descriptive contents analysis technique. There are three key findings from this particular study based on the content analysis technique. First, the study found and confirmed that men viewed violence between husband and wife as a non-issue and is to be expected during the lifetime of their marriage. Second, the socio-cultural legitimization of violence in society at large and the gender-based perception of violence in the family, both have a strong probable influence on the ongoing problem of domestic violence. And third, this study also found that all four forms of violence: physical, emotional, sexual and economical existed in various frequencies through the in-depth interview of the subjects.
Somsouk Sananikone, Dusadee Ayuwat and Nilubol Rujiraprasert, 2016. Characteristics of Male Perpetrators: Based on the Qualitative Study of Personal Experiences and Perceptions in Lao PDR. The Social Sciences, 11: 5450-5460.