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.

 

Living in fear

©Met Police, UK

Last year the Metropolitan Police in London, UK, launched Operation Dauntless, a “continuous improvement plan” to change the way it handles domestic abuse.

“We know that domestic abuse is consistently under-reported and work hard in liaison with our partners to support victims, increase reporting and put offenders before the courts,” a Met spokeswoman said.

“We appreciate that for someone living in fear of a partner, turning to someone for help can be one of the biggest challenges they face.”

She said there was a “wide range” of ways to report domestic abuse and the Met’s message was: “If you feel you can’t tell the police, tell someone.”

“We realise how vulnerable victims of abuse feel, and often we attend after a long period of unreported abuse,” the spokeswoman added.

She said the Met had advised the government on changing the definition of domestic violence to include “coercive control” to ensure “all victims know what constitutes abuse and how to report it”.

 

 

Characteristic Behaviour

Click for a full-size image.

The table shows some of the warning signs, behaviours and situations that characterize a relation containing abuse. Perpetrators of abuse are often very clever and manipulative and often blame you as a victim.

You are YOU and if you feel that you have to change who you are to make a partner or someone else happy, then it is a warning bell. Remember that abuse is never your fault! It is everyone’s human right to live a life free from any form of violence and abuse.

To break out of a violent and abusive relationship can be a difficult process. But we all need to pull together to inform and to be alert for warning signs such as these in our own lives as well as in the lives of our friends and relatives, and so that vulnerable women get to know their rights and so that they know that someone out there cares and listens and take their situation seriously. Physical, emotional, sexual and psychological abuses are criminal acts!