More than a quarter of Irish men are victims of domestic violence, a conference on men's rights heard yesterday. However, only 5 per cent of men report domestic abuse to the Garda, compared to almost one-in-three women who contact authorities.
The statistics were discussed at a conference organised by the men's support service Amen, which provides advice to men who have domestic problems. It also campaigns for men on child custody and family law issues.
Mary Cleary of Amen said the small proportion of domestically abused men contacting gardaí is an important statistic and that the failure to report is not due to embarrassment.
"Men don't fail to report violence because they are macho," she said. "It is because they are loyal and they do not want to get their wives in trouble."
The conference marked the 10th anniversary of the service, which provides one-to-one and telephone forums for men to discuss domestic issues. "Raising public awareness of the reality of male victims has been a very important part of our work and it is gratifying to see that this issue is now being seriously addressed by statutory bodies," Ms Cleary said.
Amen has secured funding from the HSE and intends to develop a model service in Dublin and the northeast, before expanding across the country.
Jackie Hayden, who recently published A Man in a Woman's World, spoke on his experiences working with the Wexford Rape Crisis Centre. His book details what he calls an unacceptable level of anti-male sentiment in rape crisis centres and antagonism towards services such as Amen.
