What is your doctoral thesis about?

Hanna Bornäs. Foto: Private.

- My doctoral thesis investigates young men’s violence against female partners in their youth and their experiences of violent relationships. My study furthermore covers the young men’s relationships to their families and friends, and how violence tends to become reproduced if experienced early in life. The research I have conducted is based on interviews with men who have been violent in their youth, and I focus on their own understandings and emotional experiences of violence. I have also highlighted the young men’s ideas of being a heterosexual man and understandings and experiences of sexual coercion in youth.

What was the reason you chose this topic to your research?

- I am interested in relations, gender and sexuality but also when and for what reasons a relationship can become destructive. I have found that research on violence in youth intimate relationships is sparse. I was also curious to investigate the particular circumstances of violence in youth relationships. It is extremely important to understand the roots of violence in order to create awareness, counteract and prevent violence early on.

Can you conclude the most important findings in your research?

Coverimage: Niklas Asker

- The results of my research is generally in line with previous studies; men who use violence (physical, physiological and/or sexual) have often been subjected to violence themselves at an early age. Several of the interviewees had been abused by their parents, and violent relationships to male peers were also common. I understand the violence as a breakdown in mutual recognition. Without the ability to recognize the other, the young men’s relationships are often characterized by masculine dominance and they show difficulties in recognizing their own vulnerabilities and weaknesses, as well as their partners will and subjectivity.
- Another frequent experience among the men interviewed was something they called “nagging sex”. Nagging or pressurized sex is about pursuing sex even when the partner indicates a “no”. In such situations the young men cannot stand to be rejected. Generally, the young men only afterwards understood their behaviour in these situations as problematic, and as a form of sexual violence. Some men said that they in their youth believed they were entitled to sex in a heterosexual relationship. Only after being confronted by their ex-partner and after campaigns such as #metoo, the men’s experiences of these situations radically changed.

What is your background and relation to your research topic?

- I have in my profession as a clinical psychologist met patients who have been subjected to violence and others who have been violent and aggressive. Previously, I have studied related topics such as young adults’ experiences of depression as well as gender, sexuality, vulnerability and self-injurious behaviour. As a psychologist I am also since a long time interested in the feminist psychoanalytic theories that I have engaged with in the thesis.
Was there something that surprised you in the study?
- I was surprised by the frequency of experiences of pressurized sex among the interviewees. Some of them participated in this study solely due to such experiences. I think it is a sign of how the changing public discussion on sex and consent thoroughly affects young people. Continuing discussions on sex, power and respecting others’ boundaries can hopefully lead to positive changes in sexual behaviour, away from violence and coercion.

What consequences do you think your theses can bring to society and women in particular?

- I hope there will be a greater attention to the violence young people experience in their relationships and more resources to prevent such violence at an early stage. It is important to understand that young men who use violent often have been subjected to violence themselves. We need to make sure children who are affected can get help and support to prevent the reproduction of violence and break this vicious circle. Furthermore, I hope my research can lead to a nuanced discussion regarding sexual violence and coercion. I also hope that my focus on recognition and intersubjectivity can enhance a nuanced discussion on mutuality and responsibility in sexual situations. There is a risk we focus too much on how individuals can improve their ability to verbally communicate their boundaries. This is of course important, but we might miss the embodied and relational aspects of sexual relationships, which might make knowing and expressing one’s will difficult, especially when the other is not sensitive to the subtle cues or capable of emotionally attuned communication.

More about Hanna Bornäs.

Download Hanna Bornäs doctoral thesis - Subjects of Violence: On Gender and Recognition in Young Men’s Violence Against Women.