"How Many Silences Are There?" Men's Experience of Victimization in Intimate Partner Relationships.

There is a substantive body of research focusing on women's experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV), but a lack of qualitative studies focusing on men's experiences as victims of IPV. This article addresses this gap in the literature by paying particular attention to hegemonic masculinities and men's perceptions of IPV. Men (N = 9) participated in in-depth interviews. Interview data were rigorously subjected to thematic analysis, which revealed five key themes in the men's narratives: fear of IPV, maintaining power and control, victimization as a forbidden narrative, critical understanding of IPV, and breaking the silence. Although the men share similar stories of victimization as women, the way this is influenced by their gendered histories is different. While some men reveal a willingness to disclose their victimization and share similar fear to women victims, others reframe their victim status in a way that sustains their own power and control. The men also draw attention to the contextual realities that frame abuse, including histories of violence against the women who used violence and the realities of communities suffering intergenerational affects of colonized histories. The findings reinforce the importance of in-depth qualitative work toward revealing the context of violence, understanding the impact of fear, victimization, and power/control on men's mental health as well as the outcome of legal and support services and lack thereof. A critical discussion regarding the gendered context of violence, power within relationships, and addressing men's need for support without redefining victimization or taking away from policies and support for women's ongoing victimization concludes the work.

Cycles of silence: First Nations women overcoming social and historical barriers in supportive cancer care.

BACKGROUND: First Nations people with cancer in Canada confront several critical inequities in physical and psychosocial domains. First Nations women are at a particular disadvantage as they are disproportionately affected by social determinants of health, but how they navigate these challenges within their communities is poorly understood. OBJECTIVE: Our study explores survivorship experiences of First Nations women with cancer and their caregivers. Drawing from a larger data set on survivorship, we identify several major barriers to cancer communication and support in First Nations communities. METHODS: Our team conducted a participatory, arts-based study using several data collection methods (interviews, sharing sessions, photovoice, and other creative activities) with 43 participants (24 cancer survivors and 19 caregivers) from four First Nations communities in Canada. RESULTS: Two major themes have emerged out of our data analyses: (1) suffering without support leads to cycles of silence and (2) community-based supports can disrupt these cycles. We identified several social, historical, and institutional barriers to speaking about cancer and finding/providing support; however, communities met the challenge of silence through voluntary and unsolicited provision of support. CONCLUSIONS: Widespread silence around cancer reflects both the limited access First Nations people have to formal, supportive programs and services, as well as the creative ways they provide emotional, social, and financial support within their informal networks. Beyond the support of their communities, they also required institutional provision of care that is culturally safe, addressing the colonial impacts on cancer communication and the disproportionate burdens of disease in First Nations communities.

'We've fallen into the cracks': Aboriginal women's experiences with breast cancer through photovoice.

Despite some recognition that Aboriginal women who have experienced breast cancer may have unique health needs, little research has documented the experiences of Aboriginal women from their perspective. Our main objective was to explore and to begin to make visible Aboriginal women's experiences with breast cancer using the qualitative research technique, photovoice. The research was based in Saskatchewan, Canada and participants were Aboriginal women who had completed breast cancer treatment. Although Aboriginal women cannot be viewed as a homogeneous group, participants indicated two areas of priority for health-care: (i) Aboriginal identity and traditional beliefs, although expressed in diverse ways, are an important dimension of breast cancer experiences and have relevance for health-care; and (ii) there is a need for multidimensional support which addresses larger issues of racism, power and socioeconomic inequality. We draw upon a critical and feminist conception of visuality to interrogate and disrupt the dominant visual terrain (both real and metaphorical) where Aboriginal women are either invisible or visible in disempowering ways. Aboriginal women who have experienced breast cancer must be made visible within health-care in a way that recognizes their experiences situated within the structural context of marginalization through colonial oppression.