For around five years of a seven year relationship I found myself suffering in silence within a toxic relationship. Abused physically and emotionally whilst being financially coerced, I understand too well that domestic abuse is perpetrated against men too.

The difficulty for men, despite how accepting society has become towards others, is that men are seen to be perpetrators rather than victims.

Male victims may be less likely to disclose that they are being abused or may not recognise they are victims of domestic abuse as they may believe the term ‘domestic abuse’ is only applicable to women.

Popular myths and misconceptions about male victims of crimes such as domestic can be particularly damaging and act as a further barrier to reporting and help-seeking.

Another barrier faced by male victims is that the perpetrator of that abuse can play the victim card and fabricate allegations against their own victim.

These fabricated and malicious allegations provide the perpetrator with the means to gain support from friends, family members & even professionals to the extent that the victim faces further abuse and risks being isolated.

I speak from experience of how easy it is to become targeted and pursued for malicious and vindictive allegations due to my gender.

Due to my own experiences with “the system”, I have teamed up with a small group of domestic abuse victims in order to create ManDown, a support network for men and children to be able to reach out and gain support to which they cannot do with the very professionals that get paid to do so.

My story, along with the stories of Aiden, Lee, Nathan and Callum (names changed to protect identities) will feature in a series of interactive publications involving real-life footage, audio and communications between victims, perpetrators and professionals to help others understand the gender-targeted abuse that is rife within our society when we think about domestic abuse.