[News] Man killed by girlfriend with broken dinner plate stayed silent about abuse

Friends of a victim of domestic abuse have set up a foundation in his honour to help male victims of domestic abuse.

Paul Lavelle, 50, was attacked by his partner Sarah Lewis with a jagged shard of a broken dinner plate during a drunken dispute at his Birkenhead home in May 2017.

Lewis left Mr Lavelle to slowly bleed to death and was jailed for seven and a half years in January 2018.

Now, Paul’s friends have revealed that he had “stayed silent” about the abuse he was suffering at home.

Paul’s friends set up the Paul Lavelle Foundation after his death to help encourage more men to speak about their experiences of domestic abuse.

Paul and his friends

Paul Gladwell, a co-founder, told the Liverpool ECHO: “We lost our friend.

“He was a brilliant person and we wanted to keep his memory alive but also, we asked the question as to why he didn’t tell us what was going on.

“We found out later on that it wasn’t an isolated incident, so we started wanting to raise awareness and getting men to speak out about being abused.

“Eventually we set up a service where we’re helping men come out and speak about their problems and supporting them through court cases.

“We’re helping men not to choose the silent option, which is what Paul chose.”

The foundation provides many vital services including Healthy Relationship Education workshops in schools and community sports and well-being groups.