In Großbritanniens erstem Männerhaus

Unter der Überschrift My wife hugged me to say sorry for beating me up ... then knifed me in the back veröffentlicht die britische Daily Mail heute einen Bericht über die erste britische Zufluchtstätte für Männer, die von ihren Frauen misshandelt wurden. Der Artikel knüpft an eine Radiosendung der BBC über diese Einrichtung an. Einige Auszüge:

One resident will forever carry the scars from near-fatal stab wounds, while another sits silently in the corner with a face etched with fear. Both have fled to this safe house to escape violent partners. Both have done so in fear of their lives and — shockingly — both are men: members of a growing band of British male domestic abuse victims.

(...) There are 4,000 refuge places for women in Britain, and only 20 for men, most of them at this centre run by the Montgomery Family Crisis Centre. (...) More than 400 men have asked for refuge here. Often it is police who tell them about the ­refuge while they’re recovering in hospital. ­Residents have come from as far afield as London, Devon, Lancashire and Nottingham and have included a judge, several policemen, and Army veterans. ‘Domestic abuse knows no class barriers,’ says the managing director, Shirley Powell, who also runs a safe house for women close by.

(...) ‘Women are much more dominant now than they have ever been,’ Shirley says. ‘And many women are abusing this dominance. In the home, the gender roles are going through a period of great change, which can lead to rows and disagreements and for some, ­violence,’ she says. Figures from the national helpline for male victims of domestic abuse show that in 2009 it spoke to 2,300 callers and answered 850 emails. Last year, it had more than 3,000 callers and replied to 1,200 emails — a 35 per cent increase. Sixty per cent of those men reported some form of physical abuse, including being hit, beaten, or stabbed. They also reported ­frequent incidents of scratching, slashing, biting and burning.

(...) Matthew Bailey runs the Dyn Project, in South Wales, which offers counselling, support and housing to men and women suffering domestic abuse. He says all types of male domestic abuse are becoming more prevalent. Not just physical abuse, but emotional, psychological and financial. Much of it centres on control, and the problems often start long before a relationship descends into physical harm. While it’s not widespread — yet — he believes the number of women abusing men is increasing even more dramatically than figures suggest. ‘I think what we are seeing is the tip of the tip of the iceberg,’ he says.

(...) Female violent crime is at record levels. Latest official statistics show 88,139 women were arrested for violence in Britain in 2009 — nearly 250 every day. That’s an increase of nearly 1,000 on 2008. In the same period, the number of men arrested for violence fell by 10,000. Violence against the person, including manslaughter, assault and GBH, accounted for 35 per cent of all arrests of women. This compared with 30 per cent of arrests of men.

Leider verbreitet auch dieser Artikel die Behauptung, häusliche Gewalt gehe noch immer weit überwiegend von Männern aus – das widerspricht allerdings dem tatsächlichen Stand der Forschung.