Domestic abuse of Lothian men soars

REPORTS of domestic abuse against men have soared in the Lothians, with almost four new cases every day.

Police have dealt with a ten per cent rise in male victims in the last year, while the number of female victims has actually dropped by 2.6 percent to 8215.

Charities said the figures showed a rising trend of domestic abuse by women in the area, while others said the statistics proved men were now more willing to speak up.

The Abused Men in Scotland (AMIS) charity asked for police forces across the country to reveal how many incidents had been recorded.

Co-founder of Edinburgh-based AMIS, Alison Waugh, said: "Unfortunately there is still a culture of denial among many politicians and providers of services who do not want to acknowledge the evidence that thousands of men every year are victims of domestic abuse.

"They are abused first by their partner or ex-partner and then again by the public narrative that does not want to know about the damage they and their children experience."

Since its creation in 2009 AMIS has lobbied MSPs to raise awareness of domestic abuse against men.

The organisation argued that they deserved as much attention as female victims.

Others have expressed in the past that, such is the attention on female victims of domestic abuse, men get perennially cast as the offenders, meaning male victims are forgotten about, ridiculed or not taken seriously.

In the Lothians, 1351 men reported being victims of domestic abuse last year. Across Scotland the figures varied significantly. On average there was an increase in reports of 9.4 per cent, with the highest occurring in Fife where 23 per cent more cases were noted. In contrast, there was a 28 per cent drop in Northern Constabulary's area.

The city's health and social care leader Councillor Paul Edie added: "Like all kinds of abuse there will be those suffering in silence, either because they are ashamed to come forward, don't realise that what they're going through is abuse, or don't want to risk terminating a relationship.

"But I would urge anyone in this position to seek help, because there is much that can be done for them."

'It RUINS YOUR SELF-ESTEEM'

A MAN who endured a decade of domestic abuse at the hands of a wicked partner described his misery to the Evening News.

The 38-year-old, who did not want to be identified, said he believed hundreds of Lothians males going through the same thing were too scared to speak up.

He spoke of how he lost four jobs in quick succession and how the constant emotional and physical abuse regularly left him with black eyes, not to mention the scars that provide a permanent reminder of the hell.

The man, who lives in the north of the city, said: "When I see the level of coverage domestic abuse gets, it makes me quite angry that no-one ever thinks it can work the other way round.

"You convince yourself that the situation you are in will get better, but it doesn't and it won't, I know that now. I was scared at the time, terrified of what would happen, because I knew while the relationship would be over, the ordeal wouldn't be.

"Bruises and cuts heal, but the emotional stuff doesn't. It ruins your self-esteem."