UK Edition
Growing number of men reporting domestic violence to police, ONS figures reveal
Record numbers of men are reporting domestic abuse by their partners to police - as the proportion of women victims turning to police has fallen, official figures have revealed.
The proportion of male victims who told police about their domestic abuse increased from 10.4% in 2014-15 to 14.7% this year as charities said more men were shaking off the stigma of talking about their suffering.
However, the figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed it coincided with a sharp drop in the proportion of women victims reporting their abuse to police, down from 25.8% to 18.4% over the same period.
Campaigners suggested one reason could be increasing delays in over-stretched police forces being able to send officers promptly to domestic abuse incidents, giving the perpetrators more time to bully their victims into not making a complaint.
Just over one in 25 men (4.2%) of men said they had suffered domestic abuse - which includes violence, a similar level to the previous year. The proportion of women who experienced domestic abuse rose slightly from 7.5% to 7.9%.
However, the number of recorded domestic abuse offences of both sexes saw a big rise to almost 600,000, an increase of 23% in a year, although the ONS believed “improved recording” methods could have played a part.
Mark Brooks, chairman of the Mankind Initiative for male victims of abuse, attributed it to men’s willingness to open up to friends and family about their suffering.
“More men are finding the courage to go to the police, often supported by family, friends and work colleagues,” he said.
“The police have thankfullly also moved a long way from the stereotypical view of domestic abuse that it was only a crime affecting women. They are far more inclusive in their approach.
“The challenge still remains in ensuring men are actually referred to local domestic abuse services and that they are well funded to cope."
According to the charity, a third of domestic violence victims are male yet only 0.8% refuge beds are reserved for them.
While there are more than 3,600 beds in safe houses for women, there are only 20 for men in the whole of England. There are no refuge beds for men in London, said the charity. Research suggests one in six men experience domestic abuse but only one in 20 report it to police.
Steven Allan, Trustee and Secretary of Men's Aid, said: “Generally speaking, abuse directed against men is getting more noticed but there is still a bias against men. When you see a stock image depicting domestic violence, it's always of a woman cowering from a man.
“We still have an inequality in the funding of domestic abuse charities. The resources available to tackling abuse against men are very small. We're on our knees as a charity - we just don't have the resources."
The ONS data shows the proportion of complaints resulting in a charge are also falling, down from 18.2% of crime reports to 14.7% this year. It is estimated as many as 50% of those abused withdraw complaints against their partners, with figures for 2016 suggesting 160,000 victims.
Katie Ghose, Chief Executive of Women’s Aid, said it was shocking that police made only 38 arrests per 100 domestic abuse-related crimes recorded.
"This is a major concern. We know from our work with survivors that it often takes a woman a lot of courage to report domestic abuse to the police and it is rarely the first incident of domestic abuse that she has experienced,” she said.
“This failure by the police to consistently protect survivors is a major concern and is likely to damage the survivor’s trust in the police.”
Delays in police responses to domestic abuse incidents were highlighted by the chief inspector of constabulary, which Ms Ghose warned compromised the chances of an effective investigation but also poses serious concern for survivors’ safety and access to justice.
She said the “significant decrease” in the proportion of women victims reporting to police meant domestic abuse services had to pick up the pieces. “Yet in recent years, they have been faced with a funding crisis which has meant that some services have been forced to close or reduce their support provision,” she said.