Data from the police service and the National Domestic Violence Hotline said approximately 20 per cent of the domestic violence reports made in 2020 came from men.

Attorney Terry-Ann Roy made the statement during a police sensitisation session on gender-based violence (GBV) facilitated by the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition. The session was held at the offices of the Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Robinson Ville, Belmont on Friday.

The officers present were from the Gender-Based Violence Unit, Child Protection Unit, and the Inter-Agency Task Force.

A participant said often language in gender sensitisation sessions primarily focused on women and girls as victims, but men often suffered physical, emotional, verbal, psychological, financial, and sexual violence at the hands of their intimate partners and family.

He said they are often not believed when they come forward. He appealed to activists and others to keep their language gender neutral.

Insp Wayne Stanley of the Northern Division Gender-Based Violence Unit said while men do come forward and report, they don't follow through with the report.

'This is because of toxic masculinity, because they think they will be laughed at or scorned. It's a myth that police officers will laugh at them. People have held on to their perceptions of the police from a previous era, and they don't take into account the evolution of the force.

'Yes, there will be bad eggs, but there has been great improvement. Herd thinking has led to a faulty belief system.'

He said TT's society is one which takes everything for a joke.

One officer said men were reluctant to report because they think society will look at them as weak. Another said sometimes they will report but be reluctant to have the abuser warned because they had children together or had been in a relationship for a long time.

Roy said while women are disproportionately affected by GBV, it did not mean men are excluded or that violence against them should be accepted.

During the session, human rights educator Adeola Young encouraged the officers to focus on victim engagement and safety.

'This involves treating the survivor with respect, empathy, and maintaining the dignity of the victim. The aim is to meet the person as if you want them to return (to the police) and be able to leave an abusive relationship. They may not decide to return if they find that an officer is unhelpful and harsh.'

Young and Roy noted that the Gender Affairs Division of the Office of the Prime Minister had implemented programmes centred on reaching out to men and boys. They said there needed to be greater collaboration between non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations, and the protective services to focus on community building and providing services to victims.