Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, assumed statutory responsibility, upon its establishment in 2014, for the care and protection of victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.
Tusla has worked, and continues to work, to develop an informed understanding of domestic, sexual and gender based violence, and to take account of the range of issues and the different manifestations of the types of violence and abuse, including where males are victims.
Over the last two years Tusla, along with organisations that work with male victims and survivors of domestic violence, has worked to identify factors that prevent men from seeking help, to determine approaches that would increase men’s willingness to seek services, and to identify the types of services that are likely to be most effective in responding to male victims/survivors.
Amen is a dedicated national support service for male victims of domestic abuse. Amen provides crisis intervention and a helpline to male victims of domestic violence throughout the country. Face-to face supports are also available on an outreach basis.
At present, face-to-face supports are available directly from Amen's office in County Meath, as well as an outreach service in Dublin. Additional funding was provided to Amen in 2017 for the development of pilot outreach services in Kilkenny, Ennis, Athlone, Galway and Donegal.
Tusla has allocated funding of €239,900 to Amen in 2018, which represents an increase of €93,400 over 2016 funding levels, or an increase of 64% over two years.
Funding to Amen represented 1.4% of the total funding provided by Tusla to Domestic Violence services in 2017.There are also services based in Counties Cork and Offaly which specifically provide services to both male and female victims of domestic abuse. 2016 statistics indicate that 13% of service users to Cork One Stop Shop were male, and 14% of service users to Offaly Domestic Violence Support Service were male.
Tusla has advised that there is currently no emergency shelter for male victims of domestic violence. Tusla continues to engage with stakeholders with a view to identifying models of intervention that are most likely to meet the priority needs of male victims of domestic abuse.
