The head of a men's charity is calling on Kent County Council to open safe houses for male victims of domestic abuse following the announcement a women’s refuge is set to open next month.

Mark Brooks, from ManKind Initiative, put himself at odds with KCC policy by saying there should be safe spaces for male victims in every county in the country.

Council officials claim men do not want a refuge but alternative accommodation instead.

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The debate comes as housing association Look Ahead is set to open a new safe house for women and children in the Tonbridge and Malling borough from April.

Mr Brooks said: “KCC’s position on this is wrong because we need a network of refuges and safe houses for male victims including those with children who need a safe place too.

“Ideally there should be at least one in every county in the country.

“There’s already a huge shift across the country and it remains a scandalous situation that there’s nothing available in Kent.

“It’s a legal duty to provide emergency housing for male victims as they do for female victims, under the Equality Act.”

Mr Brooks added the charity does not want to take money from female victims but raise awareness that spaces for men are needed in the county.

Mel Anthony, from the Kent & Medway domestic abuse strategy group, refuted the calls for a male safe house at a meeting of the Kent Community Safety Partnership on Thursday (March 21).

She said: “We have spoken to many male abuse charities to understand what it is that men want.

“It is very clear to us that refuges are not necessarily something that they are after.

“There are historical reasons why refuges were set up in the first place and why we have a tradition for providing refuges for women.

“When we spoke to men’s groups, they say that refuges, in itself, are not necessarily what they want but they do want safe accommodation.

“To that end our providers are seeking other accomodation outside a traditional refuge.”

The world’s first ever safe house for victims of domestic abuse was opened in London for “battered women” and their children in 1971.

“It’s a legal duty to provide emergency housing for male victims as they do for female victims, under the Equality Act" - Mark Brooks

At the time, women could not apply for a mortgage on their own and there was no law against marital rape so this was considered the only option to leave their abusive partners.

Now safe houses in the country provide safety for women, men and LGTBQ+ victims of abuse.

Yet only 28 places are available to men in the country according a study by ManKind Initiative.

Mrs Anthony’s remarks came after the president of the Kent Association of Local Councils (KALC), John Rivers, asked if there are plans for an increase in the amount of spaces for male victims following remarks from the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner.

Kent PCC Matthew Scott, who allocates funds for the safety partnership, has been vocal about his support for male victims of domestic abuse.

Last year at the Police Federation conference, he said: “More needs to be done by police forces and wider society to give male victims of domestic abuse and violence the same confidence [as women] that they will be treated seriously, so that they report in greater numbers.”

Jackie Hyland, from domestic abuse charity Choices, said: “The opening of a new refuge in Kent is fantastic news.

“The demand for refuge is greater than the supply.

“With the constraints of funding, and refuges closing more and more, woman are finding it difficult to find space in a refuge.

“Without a safe space to escape to, more and more women and children’s lives will be lost to domestic abuse.”

Victims of domestic violence are encouraged to visit www.domesticabuseservices.org.uk for more information about the services in their area.

Male victims can call ManKind Initiative confidentially on 01823 334244.