Two-in-five victims of domestic violence are men

Contradicting widespread assumptions, about two in five of all victims of domestic violence are men. Men assaulted by their partners are often ignored by police, see their attacker go free and have fewer places of refuge, according to a study by campaign group Parity.

Parity's report Domestic Violence: The Male Perspective shows the number of men attacked by wives or girlfriends is much higher than thought. It says: "Domestic violence is often seen as a female victim/male perpetrator problem, but the evidence demonstrates that this is a false picture."

Data from Home Office statistical bulletins and the British Crime Survey show that men made up about 40% of domestic violence victims each year between 2004-05 and 2008-09, the last year for which figures are available. In 2006-07 men made up 43.4% of all those who had suffered partner abuse in the previous year, which rose to 45.5% in 2007-08 but fell to 37.7% in 2008-09.

Similar or slightly larger numbers of men were subjected to severe force in an incident with their partner, according to the same documents. The figure stood at 48.6% in 2006-07, 48.3% the next year and 37.5% in 2008-09, Home Office statistics show.

Read the rest of this item from The Guardian here

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