Up to £1m will be given to organisations that support men and boys who are victims of gender-based violence, the Home Office has announced as part of a series of measures.

Figures show that 695,000 males suffered domestic abuse last year, 138,000 of whom were sexually assaulted.

The Home Office has published its first cross-government position statement on male victims of crimes, setting out 12 commitments to assist victims and survivors to receive support, encourage more people to come forward and seek help, and bring perpetrators to justice.

The measures include giving £500,000 to specialist support groups and awarding £500,000 to a specialist LGBT domestic abuse organisation that supports victims and survivors.

Ministers have also pledged to give £24m over the next three years for services providing advice and counselling to all victims of sexual violence, including men and boys.

According to research by the Male Survivors Partnership, some men can take over 31 years to disclose their ordeals, partly due to attitudes around masculinity.

Victoria Atkins – the minister for crime, safeguarding and vulnerability – said: “Men can, and do, suffer from crimes such as domestic and sexual abuse.

“It is a horrendous experience that often goes unrecognised and it is heartbreaking that some men feel they cannot report their experiences because of societal views around masculinity.

“As a government we are determined to bring these horrific crimes to light and support victims and survivors, regardless of gender.”

Duncan Craig, the CEO of Survivors Manchester, said he was pleased “to see the government’s position statement on boys and men affected by crimes classed as violence against women and girls [VAWG]”.

He added: “As a professional working with male survivors of sexual violence and a survivor myself, this statement sends a clear message to boys and men that the government sees you and they are taking what happened to you seriously. That kind of recognition is priceless and will positively add to men’s healing.

“This historic step forward gives male victims and survivors the overt recognition they deserve and enables us and service providers across the UK to have a national point of reference.”

An estimated 246,700 adults aged 16-59 who live in London have experienced some form of domestic abuse, according to a report published by the mayor of London’s office for policing and crime last month. It said women were more likely to have experienced domestic abuse than men (5.9% compared with 2.9%).

The new measures are in addition to commitments made to all victims of gender-based violence as part of the violence against women and girls strategy published on Wednesday.