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CPS acknowledges male victims of domestic violence

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The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has acknowledged male victims of domestic violence for the first time, with the publication of new guidance.

This declares unequivocally that male victims of abuse and violence by their partners deserve specific consideration by the authorities, as is already the case for LGBT or ethnic minority victims. It acknowledges the unique challenges faced by abused men, such as the risk of disbelief or ridicule. Case studies cited by the CPS for prosecutors will address these pressures and the unhelpful stereotypes that have hindered the recognition of abused men and boys in the past, such as the widespread misconception that forced marriage amongst ethnic minority communities only affects young women.

More men’s groups will be included in the scrutiny of future CPS policies and in public statements,  to help address attitudes which hinder the acknowledgement of male victims in the past.

The occasionally controversial director of public prosecutions, Alison Saunders, explained:

“The way society views masculinity can make it very difficult for men and boys who are the victims of sexual and domestic offences to come forward. This ‘public statement’ formalises the CPS commitment to male victims and recognises that stereotypes of masculinity and femininity can, and do, feed sexist and homophobic assumptions. These can deter male victims from reporting abuse and pursuing a prosecution.”

Writing on his blog Heteronormative Patriarchy for Men, social affairs journalist Ally Fogg described the statement as “the single greatest step forward for male victims in the justice system that this country has ever seen.” But, he added, the CPS’ open acknowledgement that this was the first statement it had ever made on male victims was also a matter for “horror”.

An annual report published by the CPS summarising the latest statistics on violence and abuse has been criticised in previous years for presenting the data as though it concerned only woman and girls. Last year’s edition added a new subheading reading ‘(INCLUSIVE OF DATA ON MEN AND BOYS)’, and also included a breakdown by gender of the victims of different types of violence for the first time. This showed, amongst other revelations, that one in six victims of domestic violence are actually male, despite the classification of the data as ‘against women and girls’.

The blog team at Stowe is a group of writers based across our family law offices who share their advice on the wellbeing and emotional aspects of divorce or separation from personal experience. As well as pieces from our family law solicitors, guest contributors also regularly contribute to share their knowledge.

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Comments(23)

  1. Mr T says:

    Hahahahahahaahahahahaaha!!!!!!!!!!!

    They literally just prosecuted me for “harassment”, my ex has a “Women’s Aid domestic abuse support worker” not sure why since there is absolutely no evidence. For sending one single text about co-parenting because the family courts awarded a non-molestation order to my abuser and obsessed alienator based on a couple of none abusive text messages offering help.

    Win CPS win! hands down!

    • Paul says:

      Hi Mr T. I have some experince with this. I overturned my harassment charge at the crown court. If you think you have grounds put an appeal in. Police/magistrates court dont have a clue what harassment is. Its a very specific crime which must follow a course of conduct. Crown court will look at it proparly.
      Ask Cameron for my email. I will have a look at the details see if I can sort that one out for you. No idea with nonmols but they are COMPLETLY abusing harassment law.
      Id be happy to assist.

      • Mr T says:

        Thanks Paul I’m already there.

        This sort of thing should never happen the above needs implementing across the board. The CPS are just one cog in the wheel. When the police laugh and dismiss you at the outset (based on the CPS advice to dismiss claims initially) and have “screening processes” specifically for men there are many things that need sorting out.

        Female abusers are having a field day with the police & courts automatically on their side and are using that as the perfect “legal” mechanism for yet more continued abuse via proxy. That’s AFTER they’ve had their family destroyed and have been alienated from their children.

        Disgusting state of affairs something needs to change, quickly!!

        Not sure how you’d get my details Paul?

        • Paul says:

          Only way id get yer details is if you got my email off Cameron an got in touch an sent them on.
          In my case I went to the house to see my kids. She claimed harassment. How can she claim harassment against her when I have no intention of speaking to her ? Just wanted to speak to my kids. Makes ZERO sense.
          I called the house to try to speak to the kids a few times. She never picked up the phone. She discribed these too the police as harassing phone calls. The police without checking any facts just wrote on the notice I had been making harassing phone calls.
          Even though she did not even pick the phone up. Its just nuts ?
          They said this was harassment because i would expect her to pick up the phone.
          If I phoned the school to speak to my son an daughter i would expect the receptionist to answer the phone the put the kids on. I would not expect a harassment charge from the school.
          If you point this out to the police they say its unwanted contact. Which is no evidence of either harassment or any breach of law.
          Its fxxking nuts whats going on with policing in this country.
          The only ABUSE that I have seen taking place is the police and courts royally ABUSING harassment law. Its abserd.
          Harassment is a crime of intent. You cant harass someone incidentally. Its abserd. Unless they can prove you set out to ‘intentionally’ distress your ex on more than one occassion. Over a short period of time. Have a look at the dates between stated incidents. Many harassment charges are dropped because they occured too far appart.
          There was only ever really one incident which in no way constitutes a course of conduct.

          • Mr T says:

            Sounds almost identical. Abusing harassment laws. Slight nuances to mine you’ve not got in terms of hidden false allegations but still almost identical. Oh and that I’ve actually been prosecuted too due to her delusional lies.

      • Seriously says:

        Hi Paul , I’ll e mail you later today. You kindly asked me to get your details from Cameron , I did but I’ve just been too busy defending myself , and so never got round to it . Will later .

  2. Stitchedup says:

    Is this a chuffing joke!!??!! Who the hell writes something as non sensical as “CPS publishes its first public statement on the needs of male victims of violence against women and girls” !!??!! So does this only cover male victims that identify themselves as a woman or girl??? What complete and utter bollocks!! They just can’t let go of the feminist mantra can they?? Yet more evidence of bias in our justice system!!!

  3. Mr T says:

    Let me follow up by saying. I went to the police about her abuse, no less than six times. In the end, I was told the operations call handlers would treat me differently when I called again. This is probably due to the false allegations she’d made.

    So I ask, what use is this from the CPS when the police are a complete joke? One officer said that most of his peers were on prescription medication to which I replied, with all the PTSD you guys experience I’m genuinely not surprised. However, there is no difference between that and what I’ve experienced over the last four and a half years.

  4. Dr Grumpy says:

    This still does nothing to help male victims of DV get access to legal aid. I have tried to get my Drs to write that my health issues were due in a large part to my ex-wifes behaviour with regard to access to our three kids as well as all her allegations of DV at my hands. She even posted such messages on her Facebook page. Because she made allegations of DV against me, which have no supporting evidence, to the police these allegations are now on the Police National database.
    What happened to equality?

  5. JamesB says:

    If I’m going to get my balls blown off for a word, my word is God, not poontang or feminism.

  6. G.A. Balla says:

    As a forensic psychology student and as a victim who has never gained support for what happened I can only welcome the statement the CPS has made. I tend to understand why it took so long and I am not blaming feminists for abused men had no place to turn to when they suffered physical or emotional abuse. The matter of fact is that low enforcement agencies and most of front line workers on this field has had and probably still have the same gender based prejudice what we have as well. Put your hands on your heart and answer honestly: would you believe a guy weighting 90 kilograms and being 2 meters tall if he told you that his way smaller female partner beat him up badly? Would you believe it wasn`t the first time and his reason not reporting it was the same as others have in this situation – eg.: there was no one else there and she was drunk and said sorry the other day -?
    I am asking it if you knew the evidences including the injuries were clearly against the statement of the perpetrator.
    I am still worried that based on “women are weaker”, “women are smaller”, “men can protect themselves” thoughts would come to your mind.

    The more important questions to be raised by the statement of the CPS:
    Would this allow men whose cases has been dismissed by the police and the CPS to ask for a review after 3 years?
    Would it help fathers whose credibility has been challenged at the Family Courts – based on the police disclosure – and therefore their words has not been considered to be factual by any level of social services nor by the judge could go back and ask for the cases to be reheard and give them a chance to get their children back or at least have shared custody?
    Would it help us to get some charities work and help male victims as well?
    Can this really happen that we start educating law enforcement agencies how to support men who turn to them instead of ridicule them?
    Would it mean that finally funding will be available to treat men as well for CPTSD instead of PD by acknowledging they can be victims as well?

    Would we finally stand up unite with all the others whom are saying domestic violence perpetrators should be prosecuted and help people find relief regardless of their size and gender?

    • Mr T says:

      The problem is with the law of probability. It allows female abusers to continue their campaign of abuse long after the relationship ends. This is on top of probably abandoning and destroying the family, which in itself is a social crime in itself but there is simply no acknowledgment or consequence for this in fact if anything they get rewarded financially for this.

      Women are not weaker. It’s a different type of abuse. I said this to the police repeatedly. As a man, I would prefer to have been physically beaten because the bruises go after a while. The psychological wounds don’t or do with lots of time \ therapy (although sadly in these cases it’s usually a physical and emotional “double whammy”).

      As for charities I phone and took action with every possible option I was given. None of them really had any support. Men’s Aid is probably the best so far and even then it’s massively underfunded and understaffed. Sadly quite the opposite of the million pound funded female only staffed Women’s Aid who is actually a big part of the problem than the solution. Which obviously is People Aid same funding serves anyone just like Men’s Aid.

      • Dr Grumpy says:

        Women can be physically abusive my ex was but then accused me of it! Are we split it became more psychological and emotional stopping me seeing the kids telling lies under oath hiding money and the courts just accept their word as men must be guilty there is no advocate for abused males only abused females get the support and sympathy

  7. JamesB says:

    Actually, I would settle for ‘fairness’.

    The law is uncertain and unfair. I will give an example, for further education funding help the Government take into account the adults income who live with the children, whether or not they are related to the children, yet for child maintenance they do not and if another man is bringing them up as his own and the natural parent isn’t seeing them is not a factor in the formula also.

    A woman with a lawyer applying for another court date and adjournment will get date moved unilaterally, a man, with or without a lawyer will not be able to get a court date moved or adjourned due to business. Burden of evidence for non mol against and occupation order for a woman massively lower than for a man. I could go on all days with these.

    If police get called, they go to the woman then ask her her story then arrest the man without asking him his side, positive intervention rubbish. Answer is to sue the police for wrongful arrest when they do that. Another example is how Gingerbread and women’s aid write the divorce and csa/cmec/cmoptions/cms law, indeed these types of lobbyists have too much power, establishment doesn’t seem to run the country by the people for the people we need better politics which is fairer.

  8. JamesB says:

    The assaults then me getting arrested for ex assaulting me stopped when, I started either taking a witness anytime handovers occur or started recording with my phone handovers. The assaults while together, I had this in two relationships in my life. The answer is to leave, this becomes a problem when you dont want to leave your children, you can’t get the woman thrown out as the women can.

    We need easier divorce as the UB route I found unpalatable when I looked into and when it had to happen before one of us killed the other six months later, the UB route my ex took was horrible and too rushed and a nightmare. Scottish system is better.

    I got the punches and name calling and scratches and denial of sex and stuff, has to be an easier way to leave someone then UB petition, easier still not to marry.

    I think some women need to sort themselves out, when they realise relationships can be hard they went on the men perhaps in the way men traditionally vented on women, like adultery, the closer we get to equality for want of a better word the more even the figures. I think its wrong men are penalised more for being physically stronger though. Thats like positive discriminiation and unfair. Perhaps we should be allowed to hire a woman bouncer each time we are attacked by our women to fight with our women. It seems unfair that they get the first second third fourth etc punch free.

  9. JamesB says:

    Handovers at supermarkets, outside police stations, in town centres, and other places with working cctv also work. I really got tired of the arrests and time in police custody for trying to see my children in line with contact orders and being assaulted and arrested.

  10. JamesB says:

    It makes sense not to have children with them and to leave if they get violent. However, my ex was not violent before we had children. Well not to me anyway, she did some self harm but that is another long story. Perhaps I should have left then, but its easy to criticise yourself and wasn’t my fault really. None of it was. Most people go along with superficially blaming the man, including the police. The most important thing I learned was when someone said to me she cant upset you, only you can upset you. I am not responsible for her actions but my own. Most I got was dead arms and legs and scratches and bruising and ripped up clothes and broken stuff. Not taking pillwhen said she would I also consider abuse. Like someone said above some women crappy over families and society and rewarded for it is out of order. There was some biting also which broke the skin, I found that the worst actually, really savage and indicator of mental health issues. I would have to have my life in danger before I bit someone. Some people don’t play by the rules and need to know how to manage them and step in right direction by cps.

  11. JamesB says:

    Then you get called child abuser and accused of child neglect and not turing up for contact when she wasnt in and abuser etc and supervised visits for applying to see your children after taken from you then an unenforceable contact order. Bad system, needs improving.

  12. JamesB says:

    Used to get winded and a bit sick from the sucker punches to the solar plexes also. It got to a stage at the end of the relationship I would flinch around her, like Reek and lord boulton. Chineese burns, plates thrown hot t spoons on neck putting the tap on while Im in the shower, just remembering some of the stuff now. Then she spent all the nectar points when we split from years of saving and cleaned out the accounts when she left. It was the crem de menth that did it (de niro ronin quote).

  13. JamesB says:

    The rest was true and then some more other stuff, apart from the crem de menth. Shouldn’t make litte of it. The words and verbal abuse and insults hurt the most actually. The most dangerous was letting a two year old out by main road and blaming it on me. Also did get hit by a 2″ by 4″ wood by her once hard round back of head remember now. Perhaps she watched too much tom and jerry growing up. Glad its not on anymore.

    • Seriously says:

      Glad you can still muster a brilliant sense of humour JamesB . I understand, I agree and I feel your pain, keep happy . Why are all our situations , our experiences and our outcomes all so similar, we are let down and our children hugely let down by a perverse, out dated and not fit for purpose system.

  14. JamesB says:

    The introduction and improvement of video mobile phones probably saved me getting a criminal record. I did get a dodgy temp non mol occupation order thing on the balance of probabilities though.

  15. JamesB says:

    Society should and needs to legislate for men too as per the implication of this thread’s title.

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