Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p>This paper addresses the critical intersection of gender-based violence, institutional erasure, and forensic psychological practice by examining male intimate partner violence (IPV) victimisation within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. Historically dominated by Eurocentric, binary gender paradigms, mainstream discourse often frames domestic violence exclusively through a female-victim-male-perpetrator lens. Consequently, the distinct trauma profiles and clinical needs of male IPV victims remain structural, institutional, and unvoiced. To dismantle this systemic neglect, this paper deploys a decolonial Bosadi framework. Originating from African womanist epistemologies, the Bosadi paradigm is repurposed here as an analytical lens to critique oppressive patriarchal configurations that simultaneously subordinate women and muzzle subaltern male vulnerability. Through a critical conceptual analysis of judicial and forensic assessment frameworks in selected SADC states, this study interrogates the mechanisms of "judicial silence", the systemic failure of legal, law-enforcement, and mental health institutions to recognise, document, and remediate male IPV trauma. By unmuting this subaltern trauma, the paper exposes how coloniality continues to police gender performances, victim credibility, and forensic outcomes in post-colonial African states. Ultimately, this decolonial Bosadi interrogation challenges the Euro-modern legal status quo, advocating for evidence-based, culturally informed diagnostic and therapeutic practices alongside an inclusive African jurisprudence that restores dignity to all subaltern victims of domestic terror.</p>