Ross Lang a Solicitor in our Family Department, considers International Men’s Day and the importance of speaking out against Domestic Violence against Men.

International Men’s Day in the UK is on 19 November every year.  The three core themes for International Men’s Day are:

• Making a positive difference to the wellbeing and lives of men and boys
• Raising awareness and/or funds for charities supporting men and boys’ wellbeing
• Promoting a positive conversation about men, manhood and masculinity

These core themes that affect men and boys such as:

• The high male suicide rate
• The challenges faced by boys and men at all stages of education and work including attainment, re-training, redundancy and unemployment
• Men’s health (including male cancers), shorter life expectancy and workplace deaths – plus the health impact of Covid-19
• The challenges faced by the most marginalised men and boys in society (for instance, homeless men, boys in care, school exclusions and the high rate of male deaths in custody)
• Male victims of violence, including sexual violence
• The challenges faced by men as parents, particularly new fathers, and separated fathers
• Male victims and survivors of sexual abuse, rape, sexual exploitation, domestic abuse, forced marriage, honour-based crime, stalking and slavery

One of the most unspoken issues facing men is that of Domestic Violence and it is something that needs to be recognised as something that can happen to anyone regardless of gender.

• The Office for National Statistics figures show every year that 1 in 3 victims of domestic abuse are male.
• Of domestic abuse crimes recorded by the police, 26% were committed against men. This equates to 155,000 offences per year.
• Half of male victims (49%) fail to tell anyone they are a victim of domestic abuse
• 11% of male victims have considered taking their life due to partner abuse.
• Over the past five years (April 2015 to March 20), on average 12 men per year had been killed by a partner or ex-partner.

Some readers may remember the sad story of Paul Jenner who was featured on Channel 4’s 24 hours in Police Custody series.  You can read more about this story here.  

Domestic violence is not just an issue that happens to Women, it can happen with Men as well and it’s important that we encourage and support those experiencing domestic violence to speak out and take steps to protect themselves.

How can we help?

If you are struggling with issues surrounding Domestic Violence, then we are here to help.  We can offer specialist family law advice from one of our specialist Family team.  Please get in touch with our experienced Family Law team on 01633 241163.

Ross Lang is a Solicitor in our Family Matters Team.  

“I am very grateful to you all….I should say how impressed I was with the way Ross calmly dealt with the situation, and I think he should be commended for the way he helped during difficult moments” – Client Review 2022

For further information contact the Family Matters team.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal or professional advice.