The evaluation of male victims of criminal offences of domestic violence in
the American and Slovenian legal systems is subject to legislative norms that
are not based on gender discrimination. Nevertheless, the implementation of
norms in cases where the victims are men, corresponds with peculiar problems,
which have a foundation in the historical and social perception of men. In the
United States as well as in Slovenia, non-governmental organisations play an
important role in the prevention of domestic violence. Statistically, men report
crimes of domestic violence less often, but research demonstrates that there is
a significant percentage of victims of domestic violence who are male, as well
as the long-term physical and psychological consequences they suffer. In Slovenia,
the field of domestic violence is mainly governed by the Criminal Code
(Kazenski zakonik – KZ-1) and the Domestic Violence Prevention Act (Zakon
o preprečevanju nasilja v družini – ZPND). In the American system, the Violence
against Woman Act (VAWA) is the most important legal act at the federal
level in the field of domestic violence, while at the level of individual federal
states, the field is governed by various other acts. Hence, women are more
often victims of domestic violence which has its consequences on the debates
on legislative guidelines and the nature of preventive and support programmes
intended for victims of domestic violence. In Slovenia as well as in the United
States, for example, currently no programmes exist that are focused on men as
victims of domestic violence. Therefore, the question arises of how to educate
men and empower them towards reporting violence more often.
Key words: domestic violence, male victims, gender neutral legislation, empowering
men, VAWA.