Ms Kathrina Bentley:

The representatives of Men's Aid are delighted to be invited to be here to represent men and boys experiencing sexual assault and rape across Ireland. Men’s Aid is the only national charity dedicated to supporting men and their families experiencing intimate partner violence. Our mission is to destigmatise intimate partner violence and raise awareness of the trauma affecting men and their families and support the victim as best we can. We to do this through advocacy, education, practical and emotional support. As a front-line service, we are committed to eliminating partner violence and together with our colleagues in the sector, An Garda Síochána and Tusla, we are working towards the day every citizen can enjoy a family life free from the threat of partner violence.

Our services include a national helpline from Monday to Friday, one-to-one appointments, counselling, court accompaniment in the Dolphin House and Dundalk courts, training and national advocacy. Our front-line team are two full-time and four part-time workers. Our funding represents 1% of the national domestic, sexual and gender-based violence budget. Research from 2005 indicates that approximately one in seven men will experience domestic violence in his lifetime and that 95% of abuse experienced by men is not reported to the Garda. The under-reporting of domestic violence is a major concern and can only highlight even more how extremely difficult it is for men to report sexual assault and rape.

The barriers of reporting are extremely challenging for the victim. On our helpline we hear how men feel they will not be believed and they speak about their shame, masculinity and gender stereotypes. They feel the crime is not classed as rape in law because of their gender. Our clients are aged between 18 and 83 years of age. These sons, brothers and dads come from all walks of life, and they include male Travellers, the LGBT community, farmers, those in direct provision, foreign nationals and men with disabilities. They are from a wide and varied background, from carpenters to chief executives. We know intimate partner violence does not discriminate.

We will address the question of rape myths. Little is known about the needs of men experiencing partner sexual violence. These men in the main suffer in silence as it remains difficult for society to accept that women can also be and are perpetrators of violence. In 2020, our service supported approximately 5,500 contacts. Of these, 13 brave men disclosed that they had been sexually assaulted, 11 by a female partner and two by a male partner. Two men disclosed that they had been raped by female partners. In January 2021, we supported 557 contacts to our service. One of the calls was from a man who disclosed having non-consensual sexual activity. In his words, he had been raped by his wife. This man, who is a dad in his 50s, took the brave step and with our support reported the rape to our colleagues in An Garda Síochána, who are now investigating so I cannot say anything further about the case.

Our colleagues in the UK are more advanced in the context of this issue. Dr. Siobhan Weare of Lancaster University law school is the expert in this field of men who report being raped by a female. The term used is FTP, or forced to penetrate. In 2020, we supported an 18-year-old boy who reported that his mum and sister were sexually assaulting him. His phone was taken from him at times so he started to communicate with us via email from his local library. His emails were heartbreaking to read. He wrote about his hope of getting a good leaving certificate and college being his escape and a safe place. Too old for a referral to Tusla and too scared to speak to gardaí, there was nowhere for this vulnerable victim to go as there is no refuge in Ireland.

Currently, Irish legislation does not recognise that a male can be raped by a female. The Criminal Law (Rape) Act 1981 and the Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act 1990 does not recognise or label FTP. US data indicates that approximately one in 21 men reported they were raped or forced to penetrate by someone else during their lifetime.

There is also the question of consequences and impact. The harm of partner violence is catastrophic to the victim’s life. The impact on mental health, flashbacks, panic attacks, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicide ideation and feelings of shame, guilt and anger. The increase in suicide ideation reported to our helpline weekly is increasing at a significant rate.

We ask the joint committee to reflect on our presentation and we make the following requests. We call for law reform and legislation to acknowledge that men experience rape and sexual assault from a male and female; increased front-line and wraparound resources to support male victims of partner violence; and academic research in the area so we can grasp a better understanding of men experiencing sexual assault and rape by male and female partners.

I recognise that this is a new area for Ireland but it is our reality. Given the limited levels of data in the area of men experiencing rape by a female partner, I reached out to a number of colleagues when writing this presentation. I thank: Ms Noeline Blackwell of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre; Dr. Siobhan Weare of Lancaster University; Mr. Duncan Craig, chief executive of Survivors Manchester; Mr. Mark Brooks, chair of Mankind UK; and Ms Rhonda Lusty, chief executive of Men’s Advisory Project in Northern Ireland. It is imperative that we widen the circle and engage with experts who are ahead of us as we work towards supporting men and boys who are victims of sexual assault and rape. I thank the committee for its time.