Police ignoring male victims of coercion, charity claims

MEN’S welfare campaigners fear an “unconscious bias” is causing police to ignore psychological abuse of vulnerable men by a partner and focus only on female victims.

The comments came after it emerged that in the first year since a law against engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship was introduced, it was overwhelmingly used to prosecute men.

From the law’s introduction on Dec 29 2015 up to the end of March 2017, there were 4,246 allegations of coercive and controlling behaviour recorded, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). A freedom of information request revealed that 272 people were charged with the offence. Of these, just four were women.

The Mankind Initiative, a helpline for male victims of domestic abuse, helped to campaign for the introduction of the law, but fears police think it is a problem faced only by women.

Last year, 82 women were killed by a current or former partner compared with 13 men, but data from the ONS show that one in three reported instances of domestic abuse involve a male complainant.

Mark Brooks, a spokesman for the charity, said: “When people say domestic abuse disproportionately affects women more than men, it’s true at one level, in that there are more female victims than male victims.

“But when you use the term ‘disproportionately’, it’s almost saying that because there’s more female victims, then really your focus should be on female victims rather than all victims.”

Earlier this year, Jordan Worth, 22, became the first woman to be convicted of the new offence for a series of vicious assaults on her partner.

Mr Brooks said: “The question is whether there is an unconscious bias in police and prosecutors when they apply or think about coercive control legislation, and if their biases are actually stopping them applying the law to male victims in the way they apply the law – rightly – to female victims.”