Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to help ensure the widespread provision of services for men experiencing domestic abuse.

Domestic abuse is a terrible crime and tackling it is a key commitment for this Government. Our landmark Domestic Abuse Act and Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan will provide further protections to the millions of people who experience domestic abuse, as well as strengthen measures to tackle perpetrators. The Plan commits over £230 million of funding to address four key areas to improve the response; Prioritising Prevention, Supporting Victims, Pursuing Perpetrators and creating a Stronger System. The Plan’s approach speaks to all victims of domestic abuse and will help and support all victims, including men.

The Government is committed to supporting all victims of domestic abuse regardless of gender and the statutory definition of domestic abuse introduced by the Act is gender neutral. Although male victims are included in the Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, and Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan, the Government recognises that there can be some specific challenges that men and boys face in relation to domestic abuse.

In 2019 we published the first ever cross-Government Male Victims Position Statement, a dedicated statement to recognise the needs of male victims, and to clarify and strengthen our response to them. In March 2022 we published a refreshed version of this document which took into account the feedback from the recent Call for Evidence, recognising the additional challenges which can be faced by men and boys who are victims of these crimes.

The Government funds a range of organisations that provide specialist support to victims. From 2019-2022, the Government has allocated £168,000 a year for the Men’s Advice Line, the national helpline for male victims of domestic abuse, run by the charity Respect. This service offers advice and emotional support to male victims of domestic abuse and signposts to other vital services that help keep them, and their children, safe.

The Men’s Advice line is comprised of a confidential helpline, email and webchat service. In 2021, they handled over 10,000 calls, resulting in increased safety for male victims and their children. This is achieved through practical support including safety planning, accessing housing options and signposting to free legal advice as well as emotional and listening support. In addition to this amount, the Government provided a funding uplift in 2020/21 of a further £151,000 to support the continued running of the service during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021/22, the Government provided another uplift of £64,500 to fund additional activity.