Domestic violence education needed

Domestic violence is considered “a norm” by too many men and some women in today’s society – what we really need is a compulsory education about domestic violence and what a healthy relationship is – both in schools and across workplaces.

One woman killed by a present or former partner or spouse is one woman too many.

One of these women was 21-year-old Hannah Fisher from England – she was killed in 2009 after breaking up with her boyfriend.

Her mother, Debbie, and cousin, Leoni Harrison, are now campaigning for lessons on domestic violence to be made compulsory in schools.

Debbie says her daughter was “very bubbly, bright, loved reading and very chatty”.

She added: “She always wanted to see the best in people, she didn’t like people running anybody down.”

Hannah met her ex-boyfriend Simon when she was back in Swindon during a break from university.

He was having trouble getting a job and decided that the couple should move to Grantham in Lincolnshire together.

‘More controlling’
Debbie says that, at that early stage, there were no signs of him being particularly controlling and says that Hannah “was completely taken in by it”.

She says that from this point on, her and Hannah’s relationship started to break down as Simon started to tell her she wasn’t good enough to be at university.

“He started being less charming and more controlling,” she said.

“He stopped her seeing all her other friends. He wanted to know what she was doing all the time.”

Debbie says that one day Hannah called her and said she wanted to leave Simon. She says Hannah had lost lots of weight and didn’t look well when they brought her home.

They say they had “a really nice Christmas” but Debbie was worried that Simon was still in contact with her daughter.

“I took her back up [to Leicester] on the Sunday before university was going to start,” she said. “That was the last time I ever saw her alive.”

Wiltshire police say they found Hannah’s body at Simon’s bedsit.

“He murdered her, then left and killed himself,” she said.

She says she thinks that Hannah met up with Simon after he had got hold of her new mobile number and told her he just wanted to be friends.

Police say that they believe Simon threw himself off the roof of the building later that night.

“We’ll never know the full details,” said Debbie. “I don’t want people to forget who she was and what she went through.

The importance of public services and co-ordination

On average about seven women and two men are killed by their current or former partner every month in England and Wales.

Many campaigners call this death rate a scandal and say victims’ appeals for help are too often met with apathy, disbelief and even hostility by police.

Since April 2011 the law has required a domestic homicide review to be carried out after every domestic violence death in England and Wales.

Davina James-Hanman, director of the charity Against Violence and Abuse and independent chair of several such reviews, said they analyse the way agencies such as the police and social services handle cases. Progress made to prevent future violence is also examined.

She said the benefits of the reviews could include identifying “new risk factors”.

Davina James-Hanman, director of the charity Against Violence and Abuse.

One factor not widely recognised at present was the length of time someone had pursued their ex-partner, she said, citing the example of a man who harassed his ex for six years before killing her.

Ms James-Hanman said public services had made progress but that co-ordination between them was still “missing”.

She said the system “starts to fall apart” when someone experiencing domestic violence also has other problems such as mental health or drug abuse issues.

And she said there was a “sub-culture” of women who could not or would not access help, such as those with “immigration issues” and women who are “followed everywhere” by their partners.

Ms James-Hanman said the term “domestic homicide” should also include suicides prompted by domestic violence, but at present such deaths were rarely treated in this way.

Although men are less likely to be killed by a current or former partner, further work is also needed to make sure those at risk are identified and helped, said Mark Brooks – chairman of the charity the ManKind Initiative.

“We as a society need to do more to recognise and accept that men are victims too, so we look for signs of domestic abuse in the same way as we would for a female victim.”

There is no “typical” case, but male victims often suffer emotional and psychological abuse and can feel as though they have been groomed and isolated from friends and family, said Mr Brooks. There may also be physical abuse.

Male victims need to “feel they will be believed”, with more awareness campaigns and “escape routes” including refuges and safe houses available, he said.

 

Domestic violence in Australia

• In 2012, more than 1 million women had experienced violence by a current or former partner since the age of 15.
• 17% of women had experienced physical or sexual violence from a partner since the age of 15, along with 5% of men.
• 25% of women experienced emotional abuse by a partner since the age of 15, along with 14% of men.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Personal Safety Survey, 2012.