Of the 8,000 incidents of domestic abuse reported in Ireland in 2013 2,000 of those being abused were men. There has also been an increase in the number of men seeking counselling following abuse.
Amen Support Services, a support and information service for male victims of domestic abuse in Ireland, released their 2013 report. They found that the figures were similar to those of 2012 however the number of face-to-face meetings with men complaining of abuse has risen by 64 percent since 2011.
Amen Support worker Sandra Kelly told the Irish Examiner “We'll have victims who were stabbed, scalded or badly beaten with different objects, that is the usual type of injuries that we would hear about.
"Cigarette burns are another one that we hear about as well."
Service Manager Niamh Farrell told the Irish Times that the callers from 2013 were mainly men aged 40 to 50. She also said many of the calls came from men who were afraid to leave their partners out of fear for their children.
Farrell pointed out that as there are no refuges set up for abused men they have a particular problem leaving an abusive relationship and bringing their children. There is also another major issue when it comes to those men who are not the fathers of their partner’s children.
She added that it’s still the case that men are reluctant to tell friends and family that they are being abused.
The service dealt with just one case of a man in a same-sex relationship. Farrell said there was anecdotal evidence that members of the LGBT community tended to seek help within their own community but emphasized that Amen’s services are available to them.
Some highlights of the report include:
- 2,048 disclosures of physical abuse were made
- 2,859 disclosures of verbal abuse were made
- 2,846 disclosures of psychological abuse were made
- 325 one-to-one sessions with 169 individuals took place
For more information visit Amen.ie. Their confidential helpline number is +353 46 9023718.
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