Male victims of domestic abuse
Domestic abuse is very common. Statistics indicate that significant numbers of men experience domestic abuse at some point in their lives.
Male victims, like female victims, may live with domestic violence for years before they tell anyone or seek help.
The popular image of domestic abuse is that men perpetrate abuse against female victims. This perception creates an additional barrier for a man who is a victim of abuse, either recognising it or feeling able to report it.
Many men initially find it incredibly difficult to talk about their experience of domestic abuse. Some feel that the very fact that they have suffered abuse somehow weakens them in their own, or other people's eyes.
They fear the ridicule, or disbelief, of friends, colleagues and outside agencies. And worry they might fit the old stereotype of the 'hen-pecked', or bullied, husband or partner.
They may feel that they should be able to shrug off verbal, emotional, and sometimes, physical violence from a partner and that to talk about this, or ask for help, makes them less of a man. A 'real' man should be stoical, self-sufficient and able to cope in all situations.
For a man in a same sex relationship there are additional barriers of having to 'out' themselves and fearing that their situation will not be recognised and services not available for them.
The domestic abuse services in Derbyshire are available for anyone. Support in the community is available for men who are victims of domestic abuse, and for their children. Derbyshire also has refuge accommodation for men who need to flee domestic abuse, which may be in a dispersed property. Derbyshire also has one of the few communal refuges for men in the country.
To get help, contact Derbyshire Domestic Abuse Helpline on: