Why is it still so hard to pull back the net curtains on domestic violence? Why is there still so much resistance to recognising the scale of the problem? And why won't the government act - especially when evidence shows the problem is getting worse?
Over a million women and men become victims every year. It’s one of the biggest crimes in the country - and one of the most dangerous. Two women a week are killed at the hand of a partner or ex. Children growing up with violence at home can be heavily affected - suffering at school, mental health problems and getting into trouble with the police.
Yet too often it remains hidden. And still the government, the criminal justice system and the police are failing to take it seriously. Domestic abuse cases reported to the police are going up. But the proportion that make it to prosecution or conviction is going down. For sexual offences the figures are worse. Since 2010/2011, reported rape cases are up by 30.4%, but the number referred to prosecution is down by 28%. And the number of convictions - already very low - is down by 5%.
New evidence is just as worrying. We've learnt that the police are handling a growing number of cases just by getting the abuser to say sorry.
'Community resolutions' - the system under which this happens - were brought in to deal with first time offenders on things like anti-social behaviour. In the right circumstances they can be really effective; making young troublemakers apologise to a pensioner or clean up the graffiti they left, for example.
But they should not be used in cases of serious or violent crimes. And certainly not domestic violence. Yet the number of community resolutions for domestic violence has almost trebled in the last three years - to over 3,300 last year in a survey of 15 police forces alone.
The Home Office says there isn't a problem. And a few senior police officers have tried to defend the figures, claiming they only cover low level or first time domestic offences. But that's no excuse. With domestic violence, the first time the victim calls the police is rarely ever the first offence. And taking the abuser back home to say sorry – a state-sanctioned apology - can make it even harder for victims to break out of a cycle of emotional abuse.
One woman told me how she returned with her young son to a violent abuser because they had no home to go to, and when the police and family court didn't seem to take her fear seriously, she lost confidence and thought she must be overreacting.
Another told me how her husband was always careful where he beat her so he never left a mark on her face. Even when he finally stabbed her and she fled to A&E, she was too afraid to admit what had been going on for so long.
These women’s stories are all too familiar. The victim must consent to the community resolution – but what can this consent mean, when the relationship is clearly coercive?
Victims and survivors of domestic violence need support and action, but too often it doesn't happen. The growing use of community resolutions is symptomatic of this wider problem - people not taking seriously enough the risks and problems of domestic abuse. The Association of Chief Police Officers rightly say community resolutions should not be used for cases of domestic abuse and violence. So why is it still happening?
Be it reforms to legal aid that prevent victims taking out injunctions, reforms to housing benefit that make it harder to get a refuge place, or corner cutting because the police and prosecution are overstretched, ministers seem blind to the scale of the problem. Theresa May shouldn't turn her back on this - the government needs to act.
That's why a Labour government would call a halt to using community resolutions for domestic violence. It's time to strengthen the law and bring in clear national standards for the police and other agencies to follow. We also want a new Commissioner to cover domestic and sexual violence, as well as things like FGM and honour based violence, to make sure standards are met.
And we need to go further. Three weeks ago, we gathered survivors of domestic violence alongside policing and legal experts at our Women's Safety conference, and we're consulting now on how the law should be strengthened. A priority in the first year of a Labour government would be a Violence Against Women and Girls Bill to bring in the new reforms.
Perhaps most important of all, that must include action to prevent domestic violence and abuse among the next generation. According to the children's commissioner, violence in teenage relationships is growing, and she is worried about the impact of access to online violent and extreme pornography. We badly need compulsory sex and relationship education in schools – we need to teach respect and zero tolerance of violence in relationships. Yet once again, despite repeated challenges in parliament, the government is refusing to act.
Tackling hidden problems like domestic abuse are never easy. And there is no quick fix. But if everyone just shrugs their shoulders and says ‘everything possible is being done,’ or ‘it's just too hard to change’, then the abuse and the crimes will just get worse. It’s time to end this shocking culture of complacency from government and from too much of the criminal justice system. It's time to throw open the net curtains and tackle this serious crime.
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Guest post from Yvette Cooper: 'State-sanctioned apologies for domestic violence have to stop'
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MumsnetGuestPosts · 29/07/2014 12:44
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