NEWS & FEATURES | EFFECTIVE ACTION AGAINST DOMESTIC ABUSE
EFFECTIVE ACTION AGAINST
DOMESTIC ABUSE At a full council meeting in December, my Conservative group colleagues and I supported a motion to recognise and welcome the Domestic Abuse Bill which has been brought to Parliament after Covid-related delays. It is urgently needed but will only be effective if is supported by funding for specialist services. We recognise it’s a vital piece of legislation and will be lobbying our City’s MPs to push for the funding to be in place to make this happen. Cllr Peter Hiller, Glinton and Castor Ward
It is known that the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have impacted and increased the problem and reported cases, but by the nature of the mental and physical violence inflicted much of what takes place happens behind closed doors
Domestic abuse is a complex social issue which affects people from all groups, genders and cultures in both our rural and urban areas, impacting across many services in the council. The ONS states that in 2019 up to 2m adults aged from 16 to 59 experienced domestic abuse, out of which 1.6m were female. Almost one in three women will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime and two women a week are killed by their current or former partner in the UK. It is known that the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have impacted and increased the problem and reported cases, but by the nature of the mental and physical violence inflicted much of what takes place happens behind closed doors. The inspection agency Ofsted’s annual report states that while the number of referrals increased after schools reopened the first time, it had yet
to return to previous levels – raising fears child abuse could be going undetected. The Bill aims to introduce important measures that will help raise awareness of domestic abuse and its impact on victims. It is intended to focus on prevention and early intervention measures to prevent abuse; provide additional support for victims and challenge the behaviour of perpetrators by bringing more of them to justice; further improve the effectiveness of the justice system and strengthen the support thereafter for victims and their children. Alongside the £10m the Government has committed to domestic abuse charities, the Bill is a really important step in the right direction to both highlight the dreadful effect this has on so many families and hopefully encourage and give strength to victims to report their suffering. Contact details are below.
The freephone, 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline 0808 2000 247 28
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