In its first ever public statement on the subject, The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has vowed to support male victims of sexual and domestic abuse. The statement was published this week on the CPS’s website:

“The Crown Prosecution Service has published its first ever public statement recognising the needs and experiences of male victims of offences including rape, domestic abuse, harassment, stalking and child sexual abuse.

Many male victims of these crimes never come forward to report them to the police. This can be for a variety of reasons, including fear that their masculinity may appear to be diminished if they report domestic abuse or that homophobic assumptions will be made around their sexuality if they are raped by a man.

The CPS has always been committed to securing justice for all victims, both male and female, and applies policies fairly and equally. It has worked with groups which represent the interests of male victims to explore the issues they face in relation to these offences.

The new CPS public statement sets out:

Plans to give prosecutors more information, to help them better understand the experiences of male victims and the barriers to them reporting offences;

A commitment to work with third sector organisations and campaign groups to challenge gender stereotypes and improve reporting;

Proposals to involve more national men’s groups, as well as groups working with boys and girls, in the scrutiny of CPS policies.

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Alison Saunders, said: “The way society views masculinity can make it very difficult for men and boys who are the victims of sexual and domestic offences to come forward.

“This ‘public statement’ formalises the CPS commitment to male victims and recognises that stereotypes of masculinity and femininity can, and do, feed sexist and homophobic assumptions. These can deter male victims from reporting abuse and pursuing a prosecution.

“The statement addresses this challenge and I hope it will create an environment that gives male victims increased confidence to come forward and get the justice they deserve.”

The statement forms part of the CPS revised Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy 2017-2020 which outlines the CPS’s approach to all VAWG Crimes.

The CPS, in line with the United Nations conventions, ratified by the Government, recognises these crimes have a disproportionate number of female victims, hence the continued use of the term “VAWG”. However, the CPS also recognises the experience of male victims and the distressing impact on them.”

The statement was followed by reactions to the pledge from the Mankind Initiative and Survivors Manchester:

ManKind Initiative
“The public statement and the commitments it makes are landmark moments for male victims of crimes such as domestic abuse, stalking and forced marriage. We are very pleased with the CPS for sending a clear and inclusive message to both the criminal justice system, and to society as a whole, about the need to ensure male victims are recognised. I am certain this statement will encourage more men to come forward with the full confidence of the positive support and acknowledgement they will receive when they do so.”

Survivors Manchester
“We very much welcome this ground-breaking public statement on male victims of crimes currently included in the VAWG strategy, to ensure that the voices of male victims and survivors of sexual rape and abuse are heard. We look forward to continuing our work with the CPS to progress our collective understanding further across agencies. I am confident this will make a real difference in the lives of boys and men”.

The story was also covered by The Brief, over at The Times, which increasingly features child welfare stories in its daily news roundup. We highly recommend this newsletter, which is free. You can sign up here. Follow The Brief editor Judge John Hack over on Twitter for the latest.

A very welcome development.