Prevalence of intimate partner violence victimization and bidirectionality among men: an international study of European Union and English-speaking Western countries

While intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization among men has been documented for decades, few international studies use consistent methodologies to assess prevalence and bidirectionality across countries. Existing research often excludes men or limits measurement to physical IPV, leaving gaps in understanding the full scope of male IPV victimization and bidirectionality. This study assessed the prevalence and bidirectionality of multiple forms of IPV experienced by men across 14 Western English-speaking and European Union countries/regions. We also examined seven forms of IPV. A total of 6,694 men participated in an online survey through Prolific, a crowdsourcing platform for academic research. The Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2), along with validated measures of coercive control and legal/administrative abuse, were used to assess IPV perpetration and victimization. IPV victimization rates among men were substantial and exceeded perpetration rates in nearly all forms of IPV across most countries. Bidirectionality was the most common pattern for physical IPV, severe psychological IPV, coercive control, and injuries. Unidirectional victimization was especially common for legal/administrative abuse, while unidirectional perpetration and bidirectionality were most common for sexual IPV. Cross-national differences emerged, with Poland showing consistently high rates of multiple forms of IPV victimization, and Portugal and France reporting low rates. These findings challenge the common narrative that frames men predominantly as perpetrators, and highlight the importance of including men in IPV research and assessing both victimization and perpetration among all genders.