Council accused of ignoring domestic abuse against men

Published on Wednesday 2 June 2010 10:00

CITY council chiefs have been accused of ignoring domestic abuse against men by claiming it's just a case of women "venting their frustration".

Morningside teacher Alison Waugh, who took a petition to the Scottish Parliament earlier this year pleading for more help for male victims of domestic abuse, said she was dismayed at the attitude of Edinburgh City Council over the issue.

The parliament's public petitions committee invited local authorities and a range of other organisations to give their views on the petition.

The submission sent in by Edinburgh's social work service highlighted a report which claimed many male victims were also perpetrators and it argued the difference in the scale of the problem meant it would be "disproportionate" if domestic violence against men was put on a par with abuse of women.

The submission also said some women who acknowledged using violence had described their actions as "self defence" or "pent-up feelings of anger and frustration" or "a wish to precipitate a violent assault against themselves because the waiting for an assault can be worse than the assault itself".

Ms Waugh said the council seemed to be searching for excuses for women's violence against their partners which would not be afforded to men who abused women.

In a response to the submissions, Ms Waugh and her fellow petitioner, Fife woman Jackie Walls, insisted they were not challenging the need for proper recognition and support for women who are abused.

"Our petition believes there should not be a competition between victims of domestic violence or abuse."

They said successive governments had not funded services targeted at male victims until after they lodged their petition.

They continued: "We fully understand the need for people who work on victim projects to stand by their clients but we are concerned that the Edinburgh authors seem to have no problem in listing the explanations given by women for their violence as if these should be considered as mitigating the violence perpetrated.

"We doubt these observations would be accepted as mitigation by men describing the violence they had initiated."

Ms Waugh and Ms Walls launched their petition after being shocked at the stories of male victims they met.

Figures last year showed about 14 per cent of domestic abuse cases recorded by police were of a woman abusing a man.

In the Lothians, the number of men who say they are victims of domestic violence has more than trebled in the past decade.

In March, communities minister Alex Neil announced funding of 28,000 for the Men's Advice Line to provide practical advice and emotional support to men in Scotland who are abused by their partners.