Number of men reporting domestic abuse doubled last year

The number of men reporting domestic abuse incidents to the victim support charity Amen doubled last year.

Amen said it received 5,196 disclosures of abuse last year, up from 2,105 a year earlier.

The most common type of abuse reported last year was verbal and psychological, accounting for 72 per cent of all disclosures of domestic abuse received.

Just 30 reports of sexual domestic abuse were received, and 819 reports (16 per cent) of disclosures related to physical abuse suffered by men. The charity’s annual report detailed these cases with men reporting being stabbed, kicked, punched and bitten.

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Examples of verbal or psychological abuse reported included constant criticism, name calling, isolation from family and friends, financial control and verbal threats of physical abuse.

The number of verbal and psychological abuse disclosures increased from 1,318 to 3,730 between 2015 and last year.

Amen provided 212 hours of counselling during the year to 32 clients, with each client on average receiving six sessions.

The charity, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, is funded by State grants and private donations. It runs a confidential helpline which is open from Monday to Friday (9am to 5pm) on (046) 9023 718.