Support for male victims of domestic violence is already available and efforts should instead focus on encouraging men to speak up when abused, according to support groups.
“Support services are for both men and women and victims cannot be refused help on the basis of their gender,” Elaine Compagno, coordinator of Soar Service, provided by the Jean Antide Foundation, said when contacted.
Ms Campagno was speaking following a report by the National Audit Office which said that male victims tended to be seen as a “distant secondary priority” in domestic violence programmes.
According to Ms Compagno, the type and the consequences of abuse were different for men and women.
“Men would probably be able to financially support themselves when the couple splits up while women usually have to leave the house with the children and do not have a job to keep up with the expenses.
“This is probably why there aren’t shelters specifically for men,” she said, adding that since the number of men who needed shelter was low, other shelters, like those for the homeless, could make space for male victims of abuse. Most of the victims who sought assistance were women because the culture of masculinity often discouraged men from speaking up.
“Even women, who are stereotypically expected to be weaker, find it challenging to file reports at police stations, let alone men. Rather than looking at whether help is available, we should look at how culturally challenging it is for a man to report abuse,” Ms Compagno added.
Victim Support Malta director Roberta Lepre also believes that support is available for all and is not directly aimed at women. Still, issues of shame could be putting male victims off.
“Some men also believe that they won’t be believed or that the support services available are just for women,” she said.
The NAO report also notes that while some of the stakeholder departments communicated with each other on operational matters, others lacked coordination.
This lack of synergy between different entities, such as the Commission on Domestic Violence, Appoġġ¸ the Police Department, the Courts of Justice and the Health Department, was a “big worry” for Dr Lepre.
“We’ve been hammering on about this for ages. These entities need to work together to understand the real needs within this sector.
“We cannot really understand what’s going on unless we have statistical data. The courts, for example, do not keep statistical data of any crime, including domestic violence,” she said.
The report observes that while the Appoġġ’s domestic violence unit provides high-risk cases with timely assistance, other low-risk cases are assigned a waiting list due to staff shortage.
Asked about this, Dr Lepre acknowledged the staff shortage. “It is a matter of putting our money where our mouth is if we want to prioritise domestic violence,” she insisted.