Murder victim David Butterfield endured a ‘history of abuse’ at the hands of partner Michelle Spencer.
It comes as the 38-year-old hairdresser is jailed for 13 years at Leeds Crown Court today for killing Mr Butterfield with a single stab wound at their home at Shirley Terrace in Gomersal in January.
Spencer initially told police that her partner had been stabbed walking home from the shop and collapsed at home, before changing her story to say it had all been an accident.
Evidence showed CCTV at the home address had been switched off after the incident, before being switched back on before emergency services arrived.
Detectives investigating the case uncovered a history of unreported violence which Spencer had inflicted on the father-of-two, as well as previous partners.
Det Insp Ben McDonald said: “As a result of diligent and meticulous inquiries by the police investigation team, a violent woman has been brought to justice. Having originally lied to the police regarding the circumstances, the team have been able to uncover the facts, which has resulted in a guilty plea.
“Mr Butterfield had suffered domestic abuse at the hands of his partner and ultimately paid the price for the fact that these incidents were never reported to the police. No-one, women or men should suffer domestic violence and I would encourage victims of such incidents to contact the police or Victim Support as soon as possible.”
The case has highlighted the fact that when it comes to fatal attacks, around 80% of victims are women and 20% men, according to Huddersfield-born Karen Ingala Smith, chief executive of charity nia, which works with domestic violence victims.
She said: “Men are the perpetrators in approximately 90% of cases, in other words, roughly half of the men killed in intimate partner violence situations are killed by men (including love rivals).
“When women are killed by male partners, they are almost always killed by a man who has been abusing them - physically and or mentally - for years; when women kill men, it is often a man who has been violent and abusive to them for years.
“Of course, this is not always the case. I don’t want to diminish or deny anyone’s suffering, but domestic violence is overwhelmingly perpetrated by men and suffered by women and children.
“Denying this means that we don’t put our efforts to make change in the right place – and women and children are the ones who will suffer if we make this mistake.”
The number of reports made by male victims is rising, according to some charities.
In September, West Yorkshire Police said they had recorded 49,448 domestic abuse incidents in the previous 12 months.
Of those, 33,027 victims were female and 8,590 were male.
A total of 15,300 perpetrators were female and 40,043 male.
Charges were brought against 1,345 females and 8,350 males.
So why do some men stay quiet?
They may feel frightened or weak, according to Hebden Bridge-based charity White Ribbon.
A spokeswoman said: “Men can feel pressured to conform to what society suggests they should be. These gender stereotypes can be toxic, and damaging to men as well as women, especially in cases like this where a man did not feel able to tell the police about the violence he was enduring, perhaps through fear of seeming weak or unmanly.
“White Ribbon UK works to promote positive masculinity and healthy ways of being a man, because violence is damaging to everyone.”
Is there any advice to male victims?
Charity Refuge says that men should not feel alone as many experience abuse and it isn’t their fault. It warns men that they can’t change their partner’s behaviour. Call the Men’s Advice Line on 0808 801 0327 or visit www.mensadviceline.org.uk
The Pennine Domestic Violence Group also has a 24 hour helpline which anyone can contact, on 0800 052 7222.
