Violence Against Men
Men experience significant and unacceptable amounts of violence in Scottish society. However, most violence in Scotland – against female and male victims – is perpetrated by men and violence is likely to have a more severe impact on women.
Men are more likely to experience violence by other men in public places, whereas women are more likely to experience violence from men they know, often in the home.
Gender norms that promote ideals of masculinity based on men’s power over women and children, dominance, and toughness underpin all forms of violence, and can lead to men’s experiences of abuse during childhood and sexual violence during adulthood.
If you work in the media
We encourage journalists to uphold a victim-survivor’s right to dignity and not compromise their safety or anonymity, regardless of their gender.
We suggest that when reporting on violence against men, journalists should be mindful that:
- the majority of violence experienced by boys and men is perpetrated by other men. Men perpetrate most of the violence in Scotland against women, children and other men. (source)
- women are twice as likely to experience psychological and/or physical abuse by a partner than men. (source)
- by working to prevent violence against women we work to challenge gender stereotypes, e.g. the idea that men should always be strong. It is these stereotypes that may prevent men who experience violence from seeking help.
Related downloads
Media Guidelines on Violence Against Women and Girls for Broadcast
Media Guidelines on reporting on men's violence against women and girls for broadcast journalism.
