Mind Games Media®

Break The Silence.

Male domestic abuse is real, widespread, and almost never talked about. I'm Darryl — a survivor, a speaker, and someone who has decided that silence is no longer an option.

I help organisations that are serious about supporting male victims of domestic abuse — through survivor-led speaking and advisory work that turns awareness into action.

Employers' Initiative on Domestic Abuse (EIDA)

Proud EIDA Ambassador

Find out more about EIDA →
Darryl

I Was A
Victim Too

For a long time, I didn't have the words for what was happening to me. I was a professional, a leader, someone other people came to for answers. The idea that I was experiencing domestic abuse didn't fit the story I told myself — or the one society tells about men.

But that's exactly the point. Domestic abuse doesn't care about your job title, your confidence, or how strong you appear. It operates in silence, in private, behind closed doors — and for men, that silence is even thicker because we're told, explicitly and implicitly, that we can't be victims.

Speaking about my experience has been the most difficult and most important thing I've ever done. It has cost me. It has also given me something I didn't expect: purpose.

That's why Mind Games Media exists. Not to seek sympathy. But to use my voice — while I have it — to make sure other men know they're not alone, and that speaking up is not weakness. It's the bravest thing you'll ever do.



If this resonates, let's talk

The Scale
of Silence

The numbers are stark. Two in five victims of domestic abuse in the UK are male. Yet the conversation, the funding, the services, and the cultural narrative are overwhelmingly focused elsewhere. That's not a criticism — it's a gap.

Men don't report because they fear they won't be believed. Because they've been taught that vulnerability is failure. Because the systems designed to help them often weren't built with them in mind.

Changing that requires organisations, employers, policymakers, and communities to take it seriously — to create spaces where men feel safe enough to say: this is happening to me.

That's the work. And it starts with a conversation.


See the Evidence See Where I've Spoken
2 in 5
Domestic abuse victims in the UK are male
Source: ONS, year ending March 2025
67%
Of men calling the Mankind helpline have never told anyone before
Source: ManKind Initiative
1.5m
Men experience domestic abuse in the UK each year
Source: ONS, year ending March 2025
0
Times silence has ever solved anything

The Evidence
Base

I'm delighted to be collaborating with Lee Curran of Liverpool John Moores University, whose rigorous and vital research is helping to reshape how we understand and respond to male domestic abuse. Having shared the stage with Lee at the Male Domestic Abuse Conference 2026, I'm proud to share his work here — exactly the kind of evidence-based foundation this conversation so urgently needs.

Lee Curran
Academic Profile
Lee Curran

Lecturer in Policing, Liverpool Centre for Advanced Policing Studies, LJMU

A leading voice in research on male victims of domestic abuse. Lee has generously contributed this work to add academic weight to the conversation.

View profile & publications →

Selected Research & Articles

Journal of Family Violence · 2026 · Open Access Suicidal Behaviour Among Male Victims and Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence: A Scoping Review Curran, L., Allen, D., & Feather, J.

A systematic review of 25 international studies linking intimate partner violence to male suicide risk. Partner conflict was implicated in 18–24% of adult male suicides, with one study finding an eightfold increase in suicide attempts among men exposed to IPV. It calls for gender-sensitive prevention that confronts stigma and underreporting.

Read the full paper →
British Journal of Nursing · 2026 · Vol 35, No 6 From Tragedy to Best Practice: Male Domestic Abuse McShane, D., & Curran, L.

Around 1.5 million men were victims of domestic abuse in England and Wales in 2024/25 — 41% of all victims. Through the story of Paul Lavelle and the Merseyside foundation in his name, this piece exposes the stark funding gap, the absence of a men's violence strategy, and the limited training that leaves male victims unseen by health services.

View the article →
Policing Insight · May 2026 · Opinion Recognising the Links Between Domestic Abuse and Suicide Curran, L.

For the third year running, suspected victim suicides following domestic abuse in England and Wales have overtaken partner homicides. This piece examines the vital role police play in recognising that link — and the potential for earlier intervention.

Read on Policing Insight →

Research shared with permission and gratitude. New work will be added as the evidence base grows.

Darryl

Where I've
Spoken

Every engagement starts with a simple belief: if one person in the room recognises their own experience in my story, it was worth it.

Genuinely insightful and really impactful.

The way Darryl shared their experience made the topic much more real, and I'm sure that resonated with many others on the call. It struck a great balance between being engaging and thought-provoking, and it's clear from the feedback that it's sparked reflection and a real appetite for more.
Molly Wilson Yorkshire Building Society
NSG Group
Male Domestic Abuse Awareness Session

A session on male domestic abuse hosted by NSG Group in Ormskirk — in person on site, and online for colleagues joining via Teams.

October 2026 · Ormskirk & Teams
Yorkshire Building Society
Staff Awareness Session on Male Domestic Abuse

A virtual session for YBS colleagues exploring the reality of male domestic abuse, the barriers to disclosure, and what a genuinely supportive workplace looks like.

May 2026 · Virtual
Male DA Conference 2026
Liverpool — National Conference

Speaker at the national Male Domestic Abuse Conference in Liverpool — contributing to the growing movement to improve policy, provision, and public understanding.

March 2026 · Liverpool
Mankind Initiative
Annual Conference — Survivor Speaker

Keynote at the UK's leading conference dedicated to male victims of domestic abuse — sharing personal experience and the importance of giving survivors a public voice.

November 2025 · Virtual Conference
EIDA & TSB
Joint LinkedIn Campaign — Survivor Voice

Featured in a joint campaign between the Employers' Initiative on Domestic Abuse and TSB Bank — amplifying the message that male abuse is real, common, and often invisible.

March 2025 · Social Media Campaign
TSB Bank
Intranet Feature: Male Domestic Abuse Awareness

Personal story and awareness piece published on TSB's internal intranet, reaching thousands of colleagues across one of the UK's largest banks.

October 2024 · Internal Feature
Your Organisation?
Let's Have the Conversation

I speak to corporates, public sector bodies, charities, and community groups. If your organisation wants to take male domestic abuse seriously, I'd like to help.

Enquire About a Session →

Latest
Coverage

A snapshot of recent press coverage and articles. The conversation is growing — and these are some of the moments and pieces driving it forward.

Domestic Abuse Commissioner
Darryl's Story: When the Support System Isn't Built for Someone Like Me

September 2026

"That's what coercive control does. It doesn't leave marks people can see, but it leaves you a stranger to yourself." My story, published on the Domestic Abuse Commissioner's website — on why services built around straight, female-victim models miss same-sex coercive control, and the case for LGBTQ+-inclusive training.

Read the story →
LinkedIn Post
I Was Punched

July 2026

The post that reached 344,000 people. On the visible marks people expect and the invisible ones they don't — and why nobody should wait for permission to call it what it is.

Read on LinkedIn →
EIDA & Respect UK Campaign
Featured in the EIDA & Respect UK Campaign

July 2026

"Control was constant and calculated... I had no autonomy over even the most basic aspects of my daily life." My story, shared as part of EIDA and Respect UK's campaign calling on employers to take action.

Read on LinkedIn →
Yorkshire Evening Post
Breaking the Silence on Male Domestic Abuse

May 2026

After a LinkedIn post reached over 115,000 people in a week, the YEP shares my story — the years of hidden abuse, the breaking point, and the launch of Mind Games Media.

YEPRead the article →
LinkedIn Article
I Ate Myself to 22 Stone

May 2026

The post that started the wider conversation. A content-warning piece on food, coercion and the cycle of abuse — and finding the way back out. Reached over 115,000 people in a week.

Read on LinkedIn →
LinkedIn Post
Speaking at Yorkshire Building Society

May 2026

Delivering a virtual domestic abuse awareness session at YBS for Mental Health Awareness Week — to Mental Health First Aiders, DA Champions and DE&I leads. Because the workplace is where these conversations matter most.

Read on LinkedIn →

You Are
Not Alone

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, these organisations exist specifically to help. You don't have to have it all figured out to reach out.

Corporate & Training Partners

Help & Support

If you are in immediate danger, please call 999.

Let's Talk

Whether you want to book a speaking session, share your own story, or simply ask a question — I'm here. No judgement. No agenda. Just a conversation.

Prefer email? Reach me directly at darryl@mindgamesmedia.com