Topic: Violence and abuse

Sexual violations in close relationships – perpetrator perspectives

Despite increased public attention to sexual violence in past decades, there are still gaps in what is known about sexual violence in Norway. This holds especially true for sexual violations in close relationships, or between acquaintances. 

 
2015 This project has been completed 2023

Project Manager

Project Member

Main objective

This project’s main objective is to acquire new knowledge on sexual violence in close or acquaintance relationships by mainly focusing on the perpetrators’ perspective and description of the act(s) of violence. Many sexual violations occur between people who have an established relationship prior to the occurrence of violence. For this reason, ensuring well-founded knowledge of this specific type of violence and the individuals who commit it is essential.

Subsidiary objectives

This project will include qualitative interviews with a number of men who have committed this type of sexual violence. Interpretation and comprehension, both of the violations and of the perpetrators’ sense-making of themselves following the abuse, will be central analytical tenets. Thus, we will be able to shed light on how these men interpret their own actions. We will examine self-conceptualization, interpretation of acts of sexual violence, situational factors, background factors, life situation and conditions, and motivations, rationalizations and justifications in men who have committed this type of sexual violence.

Method

This project will primarily use qualitative methods. The majority of the data will be comprised of semi-structured one-on-one interviews.

Further information

This project is part of the Violence in Close Relationships research programme at the Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies (2014-2019).

 

Publications

Kruse, A. E. (2020). The Why, the Who and the Wherefore. Explanations, self-change and social friction in men’s narratives of sexual violations. Universitetet i Oslo. (Dissertation).

Kruse, A. E. (2016). Forskningsfronten: Hvor mange er for mange. Morgenbladet.