Domestic abuse is tragic, no matter whom it affects. But it may surprise you to know that the number of male victims is quickly surpassing that of female victims. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that in 2010, the number of male victims of intimate partner physical violence surpassed that of female victims, and 40 percent of severe physical violence was directed at men. Unfortunately, male victims also face a higher risk of death in these scenarios. Their partners are more likely to use life-threatening force, such as deadly weapons, than simply using their hands to hit. In fact, 63 percent of men were more likely to have a weapon used against them, as opposed to 15 percent of female victims. But we can draw the same parallels in the way batterers treat men and women. Abusers belittle, manipulate, threaten and punish their victims – male and female – in much the same ways. Men simply may be embarrassed or confused about how to handle the situation, particularly when it comes to reporting it.
"What people should know is that abuse is about power and control, and regardless of whether the victim is a man or a woman, it is never OK," Havilah Tower-Perkins, media relations coordinator for the National Domestic Violence Hotline, tells WebMD. These statistics present a unique problem. While there are numerous support groups, information sources and shelters for women, the same resources don't exist for men who are abused. Visibility of abused women is more prevalent, and so are the means of helping them. There are few shelters available for abused men, and they ordinarily can't go to a battered women's shelter because of strict rules about men – and even teenage boys. But there are hotlines such as The Domestic Abuse Helpline for Men -- 1-888-7HELPLINE -- and websites such as BatteredMen.com, which offer a judgment-free way for male victims to get the help they need and deserve.