Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 - male victims' experiences of the criminal justice system: emerging findings

Conclusions and discussion

This research explored male victim experiences of the criminal justice system (CJS) within the three year reporting period of the Domestic Abuse Scotland Act implementation, the latter two years of which took place during a time of unprecedented upheaval to the justice system due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As noted, the sample size and sampling approach means that the findings should be interpreted as indicative rather than conclusive evidence at this stage.

Overall, the findings of this survey paint a negative picture of male victim experiences. The issues raised by male respondents are similar to some of the findings from the DASA women's survey research which also found that positive interactions with the CJS were the exception.^[28] Likewise, in terms of suggestions for improvements, being listened to, believed, and supported were important for both male and female survey respondents. In both surveys, respondents reported that perpetrators were able to continue their abuse and/or use the criminal justice 'against them.'

What is particular to this survey, however, is that male respondents framed their responses through a gendered lens describing the system as prejudiced against men and that procedures and processes were gender biased. They felt their experiences of abuse were minimised, that they were not believed or taken seriously primarily because they were men. Respondents reported feeling that they were perceived as perpetrators and in only one case did a respondent achieve what they felt was a positive outcome. In contrast to the women's survey, male respondents' appeared more likely to have reports made against them by the perpetrator.^[29]

More widely, there is limited research on men's experiences of the criminal justice system as victims/witnesses of domestic abuse. A small number of studies have reported similar findings, although these also experienced very small samples (number of research participants) and offered limited generalisation. McCarrick et al (2016)^[30] for example interviewed six men that had experienced female perpetrated intimate partner violence. These men raised related feelings of being unfairly treated by the CJS and treated like a guilty perpetrator. The men also spoke about experiences of not being believed by the police and wider CJS. The perceived unfair treatment was seen as stemming from societal beliefs around gender roles. Hogan (2016)^[31] interviewed 23 men who self-identified as having experienced domestic abuse. Although the main focus of the study was not the criminal justice system, the study reported concern about a lack of recognition or understanding within society of men's experiences of domestic abuse and that the fear of being judged or not believed was a barrier for men to seek help. The latter finding is echoed in Bates' (2019)^[32] research exploring the impact of men's experience of intimate partner violence in non-help-seeking men. In this study, which surveyed 161 men, many men responded that they felt their experiences were not taken seriously or believed, and some felt that society constructs them as abusers, rather than victims. The themes that arose in the Scottish Governement research appear therefore not unique.

In terms of suggestions for improvements, survey respondents emphasised the need to listen to and believe male victims of domestic abuse, including improving police and criminal justice agency training to recognise this and the role men play in parenting and children's' lives.

As has been noted, the small number of participants in this survey and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the justice system means there are limitations in the conclusions that can be drawn from the findings, particularly as there were too few responses to report on key aspects of victim experiences of court, and specific aspects of the Act (e.g. non-harassment orders). Further (post-COVID-19) research would be required to draw more definitive conclusions regarding how well the Act is working for male victims of domestic abuse and how it can be improved, particularly in relation to experiences at court.