Grant to Abused Men in Scotland (GB-SC-SC022910-FR-0057520)
Funding Organization
£5,000
Recipient Organization
To fund three month?s operating costs of the Abused Men in Scotland?s specialist helpline, which offers non-judgemental listening, support and advice to male victims of domestic abuse aged 16 plus.
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Grant Details
| Amount Applied For | 5000 |
| Amount Awarded | 5000 |
| Award Date | 2021-02-17T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Beneficiary Location: Country Code | GB |
| Beneficiary Location: Geographic Code | S01008889 |
| Beneficiary Location: Geographic Code Type | DZ |
| Beneficiary Location: Name | Craigleith, Orchard Brae and Crewe Toll - 04 |
| Grant Programme: Title | Response Recovery and Resilience (CLOSED) |
| Last Modified | 2024-05-18T06:02:40Z |
| Planned Dates: Duration (months) | 2 |
| Planned Dates: End Date | 2021-05-31T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Planned Dates: Start Date | 2021-03-01T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Recipient Org: Charity Number | SC041467 |
| Recipient Org: Description | (There are three different timescales mentioned in the information provided, so I'm hoping it is the August deadline that would apply. We are asking for 4 months' funding, (April-July). AMIS was formed in 2010 by a few survivors and supporters, to fill a gap in recognition and in provision for men (including non-binary) who are abused by a spouse or intimate partner. Male victims comprise around 20% of partner abuse victims recorded by Police Scotland each year. Cases of male victimhood are less likely to come to the attention of the police, and various national surveys, including the Scottish Crime and Justice Surveys, consistently suggest males are around a third of victims. The nature of the abuse and the effects on their lives can be severe, as for women - injury, homicide, mental and physical health issues, substance abuse, homelessness, suicide. The lives of children who are affected can be permanently damaged. AMIS's purpose is to provide what support we can to such men while raising awareness of the existence of male victims and their particular needs, and those of any children who are affected. We aim to help men themselves to recognise an abusive situation for what it is; to realise they are not the only men in this situation, and that help is available for them. Our information and training for other organisations, e.g Police Scotland, DWP, Housing Associations, etc. increase the range of services that have an understanding of the male experience of abuse and who can respond appropriately. We also work to influence public policy to include all victims. This can be through participation in working groups, fora, responding to consultations and providing evidence for developing legislation. We raise the voices of male victims in contexts in which they would not otherwise be heard. a) As direct support, we run a national helpline to support male victims of domestic, or partner, abuse across Scotland. In the past year, we have supported 330 individual new clients along with a further 751 casework calls. We offer non-judgmental listening, safety planning, assistance with housing, information, referrals and signposting where appropriate and support clients as they consider what steps they might feel able to take. We undertake Casework, and some advocacy work for clients who need support in approaching other services. There can be quite a lot of work undertaken on a client's behalf. Clients can also contact us via email, and we have a face-to-face service, now online. We were also engaging (pre-covid) in prevention work with young people in schools and colleges to raise awareness around healthy relationships, and what may be signs of abuse. Some of this input was possible through the Youth Philanthropy Programme. AMIS is chosen frequently by groups of pupils who are keen to learn more about the issue we deal with. b) COVID-19 and associated restrictions have had a severe impact on the lives of those we support. Victims of domestic abuse generally have been forced to spend more time in the company of their abusers; further isolated from friends and family - their supportive network; they have fewer opportunities to talk to anyone outside the home; in many cases, they suffer from additional stresses - worries about lost jobs/income, homeworking /educating, sick relatives, etc. This has resulted in increased mental health issues generally, and more abusive relationships reaching a crisis point. The rate of calls to AMIS increased by 25% after April. Situations are more complex and it takes longer to talk through what is going on and what possibilities for change there might be, as abused men seek safety for themselves and often their children. Finding safe accommodation, already difficult for men, for whom there are virtually no refuge spaces in Scotland, became even harder. Police have been reluctant to detain perpetrators, sometimes returning them to the home, making it more urgent to find accommodation for the victim. AMIS was already working at full capacity when COVID struck. We tried unsuccessfully to bring in a little more funding to increase the number of people taking calls to have two lines at least some of the time. Our Services Manager did manage to recruit and train an excellent new volunteer recently but there is a need for the Manager to have more time away from direct support work to recruit and train more volunteer and submit more funding applications. We need more people taking calls, to relieve the pressure on the two staff members currently dealing with them (each part-time), and to give us the capacity to miss fewer calls. In 2020 over 300 calls were missed, due to the line being busy or closed. Since the beginning of COVID-19 restrictions, our staff have worked from home. Face-to-face meetings had previously been available for anyone who felt they needed that support and were able to travel to Edinburgh. Face-to-face support is now conducted on ZOOM. These meetings are much valued and of course, can now be offered to men anywhere in Scotland. We are also looking to add an online Chat service as soon as we have the capacity to do so. This will be particularly useful for clients living under a coercively controlling regime, whose opportunities for communication with a helpline are limited. Our helpline hours are 9 am-4 pm. We hope to extend these hours, and getting a Chat service set up within and outwith those hours would be the first step. Before COVID, we would host the occasional event to share information. As actual events are no longer possible, we held a Zoom webinar on 19th Nov, featuring an academic, our Services Manager and we also heard the perspective of a survivor. This event proved very popular and so we plan further webinars to continue to raise awareness amongst practitioners and the public. It may be viewed here: https://abusedmeninscotland.org/articles/2020/watch-the-mens-experience-of-intimate-partner-abuse-webinar/ We have heard from a number of academics who are now using this recording as a teaching resource. |
| Recipient Org: Web Address | https://www.amis.org.uk |