Spotlight thrown on secret lives of Britain's abused men

LONDON, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The problem of battered wives suffering domestic abuse often hits the headlines, but the attention switched Thursday to men in Britain who also suffer domestic and sexual abuse.

In a new announcement, the British government unveiled a commitment to tackle abuse against men, highlighting the scale of gender-based violence and abuse perpetrated against men and boys.

The country's Home Office published its first cross-government position statement on male victims of crimes, which sets out the scale of abuse against men and the specific vulnerabilities they face.

The statement sets out 12 specific commitments to better enable male victims and survivors to come forward and receive the support they need and bring perpetrators to justice.

Measures include providing 655,225 U.S. dollars to specialist organisations that support male victims and survivors of domestic abuse, and providing 31 million dollars over the next three years for services offering advice and counselling to all victims of sexual violence, including men and boys.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "According to research by the Male Survivors Partnership some men can take over 31 years to disclose their ordeals. Attitudes around masculinity can mean male victims take a long time to report these experiences."

Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerabilities, Victoria Atkins said: "men can, and do, suffer from crimes such as domestic and sexual abuse... As government we are determined to bring these horrific crimes to light and support victims and survivors, regardless of gender."

A study has shown that many men keep the abuse they have suffered secret for many years fearing it will shatter their masculinity.

Figures published by the Guardian newspaper show 695,000 males suffered domestic abuse last year in Britain, 138,000 of whom were sexually assaulted.