“
I shan't quote a whole load of statistics here but for those interested, ManKind offers a really useful resource on this doubly hidden problem
”
I'm in no way doubting that men are daily victims of domestic abuse but I'm concerned by the statistics and general information presented on Mankind's website. I don't think the figures it uses or the 1 in 6 figure is accurate and representative.
The site says "i
n the last year, nearly as many men as women were victims of severe force in a relationship." but doesn't make clear that overall half as many men as women are physically abused and doesn't mention that men are more likely to be abused for shorter periods of time and that the abuse is most likely to start when the relationship ended. It also quotes heavily from a studybased on the BCJS (so it's not using very different sources) Regarding the statistic given on Mankind's page on male murders, it doesn't state how many were the abusive spouse being murdered by their victim. It's got a real agenda.
The Home office state
here:
“
One in four women and one in six men will be a victim of domestic violence in their lifetime with women at greater risk of repeat victimisation and serious injury.
89% of those suffering four or more incidents are women.
”
The study that mankind quotes heavily throughout the website says clearly that
women are more likely to suffer multiple victimisation and are
more likely to be sexually assaulted and raped. It states
Sixty-five per cent of male victims experienced only one type of intimate violence since the age of 16, with partner abuse (nonsexual)
only (27%) or stalking only (26%) being the most likely experience. Yet it doesn't present that information at all, it leads you to a different conclusion.
The statistics of 1 in 4 and 1 in 6 also state "in their lifetime" and doesn't specify how many have suffered it as a child growing up in an abusive household and how many have suffered it as an adult with an abusive partner. When you look into the specific breakdowns
found here you see that men are equally or nearly equally as likely to suffer certain types of abuse
from family as women are. However the figures for partner abuse show men are
significantly less likely to suffer abuse at the hands of their partner. Remember this is all using the same sources that Mankind used, just presenting bits that Mankind haven't showed people. It also doesn't acknowledge that men are less likely to be caring for kids than women are which is a crucial point especially in relation to the advice Wendy has linked to.
It's crucial to remember that domestic abuse isn't just about violent partners it's about violent homes and families. Sadly parents abuse their children every day. It's very dangerous to play numbers games with male v female domestic abuse because as I've shown it's not just about how many people report being abused like this, there's far more issues going on than that. The issue as a whole is woefully underfunded (people may have read
this article showing that the UK gives more to one donkey charity than it does to all the leading DA charities combined) and there need to be more provisions overall. There is an absolute need for more funding for male support services and housing as well as an understanding that abuse is abuse and it's wrong whether the victim is male or female. I don't object to that at all but I do object to the way that website has represented information.
So according to mankind's own sources men are abused
LESS and for
SHORTER PERIODS OF TIME and are
LESS likely to be the victim of sexual violence, seriously injured, abused by a partner and
LESS likely to suffer multiple victimisation. But the site doesn't give you all this information at all, it's biased and slants it.