VIn the past year, significantly more men have contacted the men’s help line because of domestic violence. There were a total of 4,498 contacts, as the responsible ministries from Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania announced on Saturday. That is almost half more than in 2021.
According to the ministries, two thirds of those seeking advice are directly affected by violence. The most common issue was psychological violence experienced – often in combination with additional physical and sexualized violence.
The project was launched three years ago by Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia. Since then, “almost ten thousand contacts have taken place by phone, email or chat,” said Bavarian Minister of Social Affairs Ulrike Scharf (CSU). This clearly shows how high the demand is and how important the supply is.
“By setting up the helpline, we have closed a gap nationwide and sent a clear signal that violence against men should not be a taboo subject,” said NRW Equal Opportunities Minister Josefine Paul (Greens).
The free, anonymous help line is operated by man-o-mann men’s counseling center in Bielefeld, AWO Augsburg, social counseling in Stuttgart and the Tübingen specialist center Pfunzkerle. They are funded by the ministries.