Only three councils are providing accommodation for male victims of domestic violence, a new investigation has revealed.

A freedom of information request by Fathers4Justice found that just three local authorities were providing a total of 13 beds for male victims of domestic violence. Dozens of councils spend nothing on tackling domestic abuse against men.

The research also found the majority of councils had no specific programmes to cut male suicide rate, despite it being higher than the rate for women.

F4J founder, Matt O’Connor, said the system ‘ignores and marginalises the suffering of men, only ever painting them as the aggressors’.

Mr O’Connor added: ‘Without a complete overhaul of how the state views, interacts with and supports men, I fear the appalling legacy of lives destroyed and ingrained bias will continue.

'This is why we renew our calls to whoever wins the general election to appoint a Minister for Men.’

Figures show that one in three domestic abuse victim is men, although just one in 20 men report the crime to the police.