MORE than 1,100 men told Dorset police they were a domestic abuse victim in the first half of 2014 as a charity calls for more help so men and fathers do not continue to suffer in 2015.

Following a Freedom of Information request to Dorset police by domestic abuse survivor, Ian McNicholl, the ManKind Initiative charity, which supports male victims of domestic abuse, has revealed that in the first six months of 2014, 1,144 men reported they had been victims of domestic abuse. In 2013, the figure was 1,413 and in 2012 it was 1,468.

Following the HMIC Report1 into the response of police forces to domestic abuse earlier this year, the charity asked the police for figures to encourage more men in Dorset to come forward.

Mr McNicholl said: “I never came forward to the police when I was a victim and it nearly cost me my life.

“These figures show there are men right across Dorset who have come forward and told the police, so if you are suffering in this way, you are not alone and there is help out there.”