Rise in male victims of ‘coercive’ relationships
Lawyers identify more male victims of ‘coercive control’ as stigma around speaking out declines
More and more men are becoming trapped in bullying and “coercive” relationships, according to research. The growing trend – a pattern of behaviour which seeks to strip the victim of their liberty and sense of self – is usually associated with female victims. According to research seen by The Telegraph, over a third of men in the UK have admitted to being a victim in a coercive-control relationship, amid a rise in cases where partners threaten to restrict access to children.
RISING numbers of men are becoming trapped in bullying and “coercive” relationships, The Daily Telegraph has learnt.
Legal experts claim there has been an increase of cases of men falling victim to controlling behaviour as their partners threaten to restrict access to children.
The growing trend has been reported among lawyers who said they are seeing more cases of male clients entangled in “unhealthy” relationships.
Coercive control – a pattern of behaviour which seeks to strip the victim of their liberty and sense of self – is usually associated with female victims.
It became illegal to subject someone to controlling behaviour in December 2015 following landmark legislation that paved the way for new charges to be brought where there is evidence of such behaviour in domestic abuse cases.
However male survivors and lawyers said that a decline in the social stigma surrounding men who speak out, combined with growing numbers of cases where women threaten to take full custody of children, had led to rising numbers of cases with male victims.
According to research seen by The Telegraph, over a third of men in the UK have admitted to being a victim in a coercive-control relationship.
However, more than half of respondents (53 per cent) reported having experienced some kind of bullying or controlling behaviour at the hands of their partner.
This was the same percentage of female respondents who said they had been in this kind of relationship.
The research was commissioned by IBB Solicitors and conducted by independent research agency Atomik among 1,000 men and 1,000 women, aged 18 to 65.
Kate Ryan, a family law partner at IBB Solicitors, said that in the 15 years she has been practising she has seen an increase in cases for both male and female victims from all walks of life including professionals.
“I think there are more men coming forward now that it is more acceptable and there is better support out there in terms of mental health and psychological support.
“There are also a lot of charities helping and generally society has less stigma around the subject, so men are feeling there is less of an issue coming forward and speaking to police and lawyers, telling them that they’re experiencing this kind of relationship.
“For some of them it has been going on for years and years. Even women don’t feel comfortable coming forward and as that’s becoming less of an issue for them, so it is for men. I think we’ll see a lot more of this as things go on.”
Ms Ryan said that the trend of women “using” the child as leverage to threaten their partner into staying in the relationship was “quite common”.
“Family courts, particularly where children are involved, are quite renowned [for] supporting women, and I think women know that and use it and know that their children are a hardhitting point. Yet that’s manipulation.”
The research also found that among those who said they had experienced bullying or abusive behaviour, nearly half of men (48 per cent) said that they did nothing about it, which was significantly higher than the figure for women (33 per cent).