SAFE BlogArchive

The first safe house in Wales for male victims of domestic abuse is set to open in Powys.

The three-bedroom refuge officially opens on Friday, although its exact location is being kept a secret.

Set up by Montgomeryshire Family Crisis Centre (MFCC), an increase in inquiries from men sparked plans for the home.

Former engineer Stanley Green said his wife dislocated his ribs and gave him chronic respiratory problems after she bloodied him with a blunt object in a parking lot one day. Threatened with arrest after his wife claimed he was stealing the car, Green said he received no help from any domestic abuse groups after he called them. They claimed that they were only trained to help women.

''The judge laughed at the police and injury reports [during the trial],'' Green said.

Green said he was infuriated that he did not receive any help because he did not fit the standard female demographic of most victims. After the trial, his ex-wife received sole custody of their children, he said.

''She crippled me financially,'' he said. ''Since the divorce, I've been living on less than $10,000 a year.''

Green said he is now a victim's advocate for Stop Abuse for Everyone, Inc.

''I would've paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to the government if they didn't do what they did to me -- empowered my abuser,'' Green said.