The crisis of masculinity won’t be solved with antidepressants

There was much discussion recently about the rise in male suicide rates, after official figures published last week showed they were at their highest level since 2001. But one aspect of this has attracted little attention: the lack of support for men abused by their partners. In a poll of 130 Citizens Advice Bureaux workers, 63 per cent said it was easy to get help for women reporting domestic abuse, compared to 13 per cent for men.

It’s bad enough that men struggle to find help once they pluck up the courage to ask for it. But they are also less likely than women to look for support in the first place – and more likely to be disbelieved.

One example cited by bureaux staff involved a man suffering physical and emotional abuse, who was arrested and lost access to his children as a result. With so little specialist support around, many men are instead treated by their GPs with the only option available: antidepressants.