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.
marilyn hawes said:
for too long the messages when boys are young has been ” don’t be a wimp” ” man up” AT LAST boys and men in trauma are being recognised and supported . This is excellent progress and the way to go well done
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Mike Buchanan said:
Men are NOT being supported. Over 99% of places in DV refuges are for women, or women and children. Battered men often end up homeless (90% of the street homeless are men) where their life expectancy is cut short by an average of 30 years.
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Mike Buchanan said:
This is nothing more than a PR exercise, and the naivety shown by yourself and others must have Alison Saunders and all the other radical feminist harridans at the CPS laughing their socks off. We know from their response to our FOI request that within a week or two of taking up her post she’d written to women’s refuge charities inviting them for meetings. She invited no men’s charities concerned with DV, despite it long being known that men suffer from domestic violence at comparable rates to women. It’s also long been known that where violence in a heterosexual relationship is uni-directional, the perpetrator is more likely to be a woman and a man. And the highest rates of DV are found in lesbian couples. The CPS will only engage with organizations which don’t reveal the dark truth about the feminist domination of the refuge industry, and their utter disinterest in male victims. All this has been well documented for DECADES.
Mike Buchanan
Justice for Men & Boys
http://j4mb.org.uk
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Greg Allan said:
“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. ”
First ever? Why did it take until 2017 for this to occur?
“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.”
I was raped by a woman as a seven year old. Even today there would be no point reporting that act because the UK will not punish female perpetrators.
“The CPS has always been committed to securing justice for all victims, both male and female, and applies policies fairly and equally.”
Childline has reported that more than ninety percent of the child victims of female perpetrators are not taken seriously when reporting to responsible entities. That includes CPS.
“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.”
Why should they come forward when YOU are wanting to close womens’ prisons altogether? You have already signalled your intent to deny justice completely for the victims of female perpetrators.
“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.”
So the way we treat male victims is to be defined by a strategy that refuses to acknowledge those victims in it’s title?
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Mike Buchanan said:
10/10
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P Withrington said:
Testing Predictions
From the Male Control Theory of Men’s Partner Violence
Elizabeth A. Bates1, Nicola Graham-Kevan, and John Archer
Department of Applied Psychology, University of Cumbria, Carlisle, Cumbria, United Kingdom School of Psychology, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, United Kingdom
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The aim of this study was to test predictions from the male control theory of intimate partner violence (IPV) and Johnson’s [Johnson,M. P. (1995). Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57, 282–294] typology]. A student sample (N ¼ 1,104) reported on their use of physical aggression and controlling behavior, to partners and to same-sex non-intimates. Contrary to the male control theory, women were found to be more physically aggressive to their partners than men were, and the reverse pattern was found for aggression to same-sex non-intimates. Furthermore, there were no substantial sex differences in controlling behavior, which significantly predicted physical aggression in both sexes. IPV was found to be associated with physical aggression to same-sex non-intimates, thereby demonstrating a link with aggression outside the family. Using Johnson’s typology, women were more likely than men to be classed as “intimate terrorists,” which was counter to earlier findings. Overall, these results do not support the male control theory of IPV. Instead, they fit the view that IPV does not have a special etiology, and is better studied within the context of other forms of aggression. See http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ab.21499/full
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Mike Buchanan said:
In 2015 we sent a 154-page report to Theresa May, then Home Secretary, titled, ‘The anti-male bias of politicians and public bodies which leads to a lack of support for male victims of domestic violence’. It was mainly the work of a remarkable supporter. There’s a link to the report in our associated blog piece https://j4mb.org.uk/2015/04/30/domestic-violence-the-anti-male-bias-of-politicians-and-public-bodies-which-leads-to-a-lack-of-support-for-male-victims-of-domestic-violence/ and the actual report is here https://j4mb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/141026-submission-to-home-office-improved-layout.pdf. The gender bias of the CPS is covered in pp.59-66.
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maureenjenner said:
Reblogged this on Musings of a Penpusher and commented:
It may have been a long time in coming, butt this has to be one of the most heartwarming pieces of news for all people of integrity.
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daveyone1 said:
Reblogged this on World4Justice : NOW! Lobby Forum..
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Brian Mynott said:
It’s good news in a way but, it’s a statement of the obvious really and I wouldn’t call it ‘groundbreaking’. It’s only going to create the same problem as with female victims in that the quality and availability to support victims after they have reported must be in place. Groundbreaking news would be that funding has been made available to develop a quality training and support networks for both male and female victims. If not we will have 1000’s of male victims waiting 2 yrs to see a part time, poorly trained volunteer. This needs to be sorted BEFORE they open Pandora’s box, why the powers that be seem to ignore this vital part of CSA/E is beyond my understanding.
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Natasha said:
Thank you for your comment, Brian. The word groundbreaking just refers to the first time the CPS has issued a statement of this kind.
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Godfrey Sandford said:
This statement is a whitewash. Nothing has changed at the CPS and nothing is likely to change in the current political climate. The CPS has zero wish to advocate on behalf of male victims of DV. Just like the CPS has zero wish to prosecute female perpetrators of DV. Nothing will change until the prevailing political climate changes… A good start might be the sacking of the incompetent director of public prosecutions, Ms Alison Saunders.
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HOLLIE GREIG JUSTICE said:
Reblogged this on HOLLIE GREIG JUSTICE E mail holliegreigjusticee@gmail.com.
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