Women across Northern Ireland marched through Belfast city centre on Saturday in a bid to highlight the struggles faced by male victims of domestic abuse.
The initiative was organised by Men’s Alliance NI.
Those taking part carried signs calling for more support services, with statements including: ‘Break The Bias’ and ‘We Recognise All Victims Of Domestic Violence’.
One in three victims of domestic abuse in Northern Ireland are men, many of who ‘are and are afraid to speak out due to stigma and fear of judgment’, said the event’s organisers.
Among those marching, were twin sisters Bobbi-Leigh and Shannon McIlwaine, whose father Tony Browne (54) was stabbed death as he lay sleeping in his home in west Belfast in 2022.
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Mr Browne was murdered by his girlfriend, Wiktoria Maksymowicz (35), who was handed a life sentence this summer, with a minimum of 14 years in jail.
Speaking previously to Sunday Life about the abuse Mr Browne suffered at the hands of his partner, his daughter Shannon said she had an instinctive feeling Maksymowicz would kill her father.
She said: “Something was warning me about her, and I regret not doing anything. I’ll regret that for the rest of my life.
“I stopped going round to the house while she was there because of her behaviour. I had a really bad gut feeling about her from the moment I met her.
“It got to the point where I went home one day and told my mum, ‘I have a feeling she’s going to murder my daddy’.
“My dad was never normally afraid of anyone, but he was afraid of Wiktoria. I had never seen fear in my daddy’s eyes before she came along.
“He was terrified of her. She says she’s sorry and she regrets it, but you can see in her eyes she’s evil. She says she can’t remember why she did it, but I don’t believe her. It was premeditated.”
The Men’s Alliance NI Friends & Family March began at 1pm on Saturday, November 9, and met at Writer’s Square before marching to Corn Market, via North Street, Royal Avenue, Donegal Place, Chichester Street and Arthur Street.
The Domestic and Sexual Abuse helpline is available 24/7 on 0808 802 1414, email [email protected] or online on dsahelpline.org where you can ‘Live Chat’ with an advisor. If you are in immediate danger, please call the PSNI on 999.