Every minute of every day, someone is a victim of domestic violence. It might surprise you to hear that 22% of the victims are male, although the British Crime Survey reckons the true figure could be a lot higher, seeing as many men are too ashamed to report their abuse.
The McBride family remember Peter as an outgoing and happy-go-lucky person when he met Sonia at the age of 18. 22- year-old Sonia seemed to be a nice enough girl, but when the couple moved into the family home they started to see some cracks. Peter seemed afraid to speak his mind in front of Sonia, who definitely wore the trousers in the relationship. On Christmas Day 1994, the family saw the first sign of Sonia’s aggressive behaviour when she thumped Peter for falling asleep after dinner. They didn’t give it too much thought, and it wasn’t until the couple moved out that Sonia’s domineering behaviour got really serious. Peter stopped going out. He hardly saw his friends and family, and when he did, Sonia would ring
victim”.
constantly, checking up on where he was and what he was doing.
By removing Peter’s self-esteem and external support systems, Sonia made sure Peter felt he couldn’t leave her or live without her. She had him on a ball and chain; when they fought, Peter would leave, but Sonia would apologise and they would get back together. No one knew what was going on because Peter constructed a web of deceit to cover up for the escalating violence Sonia was inflicting on him. When she smashed up his ear with a glass ashtray, he told his family that he had walked into a scaffolding pole. If anyone confronted Peter about his injuries, he would brush them off, saying “I’ll deal with it.” His mother says sadly, “I honestly believe that he would stand there and take a hiding from her rather than walk away because he absolutely adored her”. According to a 2001 survey, less than 8% of male victims retaliated, even if their partners asked to be hit back. As one victim say
