A BRADFORD-based service to help male victims of domestic abuse celebrated its first anniversary with a date inside the nation’s corridors of power.
Men Reaching Out, based at the BEAP Community Partnership, Manningham, which is the first South Asian male domestic abuse provision in the UK, held an event at the House of Commons.
Last year the service secured £115,000, spread over three years, from the Henry Smith charity following a successful application by its bosses.
Humbled to have been able to set up the 1st male domestic abuse service for south asian men in the UK. Men Reaching Out 1 year anniversary event at the House of Parliament hosted by @NazShahBfd thank you to keynote speakers Lord Wajid Khan & Prof Ben Hine pic.twitter.com/5zmwYL5D2r
— Humayun Islam BEM (@HumayunislamBFD) October 18, 2022
Men Reaching Out runs a helpline helping male victims across the UK, run by volunteers, on what is regarded as a 'taboo subject'.
Humayun Islam, the overall lead of Men Reaching Out, says the event at Westminster, held earlier this month, will help to raise awareness of the service on a national stage.
The service’s celebration, hosted by Bradford West MP Naz Shah’s office, was held in the Jubilee room at the Commons, and attracted a number of guest speakers. These included Lord Wajid Khan; Rhys Hart, domestic abuse commissioner; Toby Williams from the Home Office and Professor Ben Hine, a trustee of the Mankind Initiative.
Mr Islam says he would eventually like to see similar Men Reaching Out services open up across the country.
He said: “We went to the House of Commons to show how important it was to have this service and to raise awareness of male domestic abuse.
“This has been the first time ever that a male domestic abuse service for South Asian men has gone to the House of Commons. It raised awareness nationally of the service.
“Already for us, this event has raised that awareness of male domestic abuse.
“So many men come forward to us at the latter stages when it is so difficult to support them.
“Even if they know about our service they don’t want to be tarnished with that brush that they are victims of male domestic abuse.
“We want to raise awareness and we just want men to come forward to support them.
“We are really, really busy and so many men are suffering in silence and they need that support. They just don’t know how to go about it.
“Abuse can happen to anybody. A lot of men don’t report it to police. There are still many men who don’t want to talk about it.”
Any victims of male domestic violence can contact Men Reaching Out by emailing menreaching1@gmail.com or call its confidential helpline at 01274 731020.
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