Bo Wagner Sørensen

“Men in Transition”: The Representation of Men's Violence Against Women in Greenland

Violence against women in Greenland tends to be perceived and explained within a discourse that emphasizes the rapid social change that has occurred since the 1950s. This means that this phenomenon is usually seen as one of many social problems that spring from a society out of balance, caught between tradition and modernity. This article questions the dominant discourse, arguing that rapid social change does not in itself account for mens violence against women and that we need to focus on social agency. It is also suggested that the Arctic tradition could profit from engaging the general body of literature on violence against women.Violence against women in Greenland tends to be perceived and explained within a discourse that emphasizes the rapid social change that has occurred since the 1950s. This means that this phenomenon is usually seen as one of many social problems that spring from a society out of balance, caught between tradition and modernity. This article questions the dominant discourse, arguing that rapid social change does not in itself account for mens violence against women and that we need to focus on social agency. It is also suggested that the Arctic tradition could profit from engaging the general body of literature on violence against women.

A Matter of Mental Health

This chapter deals with the largest and most well-known treatment program for violent men in contemporary Denmark from an anthropological perspective.1 Its main purpose is to look into the word treatment and how it shapes our understanding of both the violent men and the phenomenon of domestic violence. In other words, what is seen as the problem in need of solution? How is the problem represented (Bac-chi 1999; 2009)? In this chapter I am going to highlight and analyze the importance of words and their usage in reference to Danish discourses on treatment programs for abusive men.