ISSUES
: Domestic Violence
Chapter 2: Tackling domestic abuse
39
Why are there no refuges for male victims
of domestic violence?
A
ccording to a 2005 study,
15% of women and 6% of
men in Ireland suffer some
form of domestic violence. Yet
none of the shelters in the country
provide beds for men:
“There is not one bed for men suffering
from domestic violence,” said Niamh
Farrell of AMEN, the only domestic
violence resource in Ireland for men.
“If there is no bed for men there is no
bed for the children [with the men],”
she said, explaining that fathers or
guardians may not want to leave their
children in the domestic situation.
“You can encourage them to look for
help but in terms of housing, we can’t
do anything to help them with that
because there is no refuge.”
This is ridiculous. Abused men
face the same problems as abused
women. They need to find a safe
place for themselves and sometimes
their children. If no-one provides them
with safe housing, many abused men
end up in homeless shelters and on
the streets. This proves risky because
some shelters will not accept menwith
children, and obviously living on the
streets with a child is a poor option.
That leaves two options: remain in the
abusive situation or leave the situation
yourself, but leave the children with
the abuser.
Both are untenable, yet little is done
to help abused men seeking shelter.
Many abused men assume that they
have access to equal services:
“[They] will ring and assume that there
are the same services for men and
women, they ask ‘where do I go?’, ‘but
there’s one for women, there should
be one for men’. They just think there
should be same services for men as
there are for women.”
There should be. There is no excuse
for not providing men with the
same support given to women. The
argument that women are in greater
need of help falls flat. The majority of
victims of violence are male, yet no
hospital turns away women because
they see more men.
This is not how one runs a support
service. One should provide access
for everyone because one never
knows when it is needed. It is
particularly important in this situation
because so few abused men come
forward. Perhaps we will find that
there are more abused men than we
think if we open the doors to them.
7 July 2014
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The above information is reprinted
with kind permission from Toy
Soldiers. Please visit toysoldier.
wordpress.com
for
further
information.
© Toy Soldiers 2016
How does the Government define domestic violence?
In March 2013, the Home Office introduced an
extended definition of domestic violence and abuse
to be used across government. The definition
includes young people aged 16 to 17 and coercive
or controlling behaviour. It is hoped that extending
the definition in this way will raise awareness that
young people can be victims of domestic violence
and that they will come forward and get the support
they need.
The definition of domestic violence and
abuse is:
Any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling,
coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse
between those aged 16 or over who are or have been
intimate partners or family members regardless of
gender or sexuality. This can encompass, but is not
limited to, the following types of abuse:
• psychological
• physical
• sexual
• financial
• emotional
Controlling behaviour
Controlling behaviour is a range of acts designed
to make a person subordinate and/or dependent
by isolating them from sources of support,
exploiting their resources and capacities for
personal gain, depriving them of the means needed
for independence, resistance and escape and
regulating their everyday behaviour.
Coercive behaviour
Coercive behaviour is an act or a pattern of acts
of assault, threats, humiliation and intimidation or
other abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten
their victim.
Source: Domestic violence in England and Wales, Briefing Paper,
John Woodhouse and Noel Dempsey, House of Commons
Library, 26 February 2016.
Licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0. Visit www.
parliament.uk for further information.
