Men’s Aid received more than 2,000 new contacts last year

Karen Ryan, centre, earlier this year with family members and supporters at the Circuit Criminal Court in Dublin which found that her father was killed by his partner. Picture: Collins Courts

There were almost 6,500 domestic violence engagements with the male support service Men’s Aid last year, with more than 2,000 contacts made for the first time.

A Men’s Aid report, in conjunction with Professor Melissa Corbally at Trinity College, shows that there were 2,943 calls to the Men’s Aid service last year out of the 6,470 total engagements.

Karen, Ellie, and Lynn Ryan, daughters of the late James Ryan, who was killed by his partner Olesja Hertova. Karen will speak at the Men’s Aid event today. Picture: Moya Nolan

Some 2,188 engagements were men contacting the service for the first time, while 73 men attended one-to-one counselling, and 33 men attended the charity’s peer support group.

The most commonly used form of domestic violence against men is emotional and psychological abuse, followed by coercive control and physical harm.

Some men using the service also described being monitored by their partners and having their movements tracked.

James 'Shey' Ryan from Hastings Lawn, Balbriggan, was killed by his partner Olesja Hertova, who pleaded guilty at Dublin District Court to his manslaughter. Picture: RIP.ie

Some reported their finances being controlled to the point of dependency, while others were using technology to harass and stalk their partner.

At an event today, Wednesday, to launch the report, Professor Melissa Corbally, whose expertise includes intimate partner violence, will unveil predictors for different types of abuse and will describe how living in and out of a relationship — moving in and moving out — can result in having the highest level of violence against men.

Shey Ryan's daughter to speak out 

One of the main speakers at the event is Karen Ryan, whose 69-year-old father James ‘Shey’ Ryan was killed by his partner Olesja Hertova in Balbriggan last year.

She told the Irish Examiner: “My dad went through emotional and physical abuse, but kept it all quiet.

“She only got less than three years for manslaughter, meaning she will be out before September next year. 

"We are only grieving now because we had to go through all of the sentencing.”

Olesja Hertova pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of her partner, James 'Shey' Ryan. His daughter will speak today, Wednesday, at the launch of the new Men’s Aid report. 

Ms Ryan said she wants to tell her father’s “side of the story” and how the family felt “silenced” in court.

“We were not allowed to show that we believe Olesja is not at low risk of re-offending, because we were not allowed to introduce all the abuse our dad had suffered.

“We want this changed in law," she said.

"We want the judge to be allowed to ask the question about the perpetrator’s background. 

"The gardaí had 48 witness statements to my father’s partner beating him, but nothing got into court.”