Everyone should be able to live without fear of violence and abuse. However, we know that far too often families are living in fear in their own homes, feeling powerless to stop a cycle of physical and emotional pain and abuse.
One in four women will be affected by domestic violence during their lifetime. Using this statistic we can estimate that 12,510 women are likely to experience domestic violence in Stafford Borough.
If you think you are experiencing domestic abuse and/or sexual abuse, free confidential support and advice is available from a number of different agencies.
In an emergency always dial 999.
Domestic violence is physical, emotional, psychological, sexual or financial violence that takes place within an intimate or family-type relationship and forms a pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour. It is called domestic violence because it often takes place in the home, behind closed doors. It can affect anyone irrespective of gender, ethnicity, class, nationality, religion, cultural background, disability, marital status, age or sexual orientation. Domestic violence is destructive, insidious and perpetuates a cycle of abuse. As a society domestic violence is rooted in our social and cultural structures.
Domestic violence has a devastating effect both physically and mentally on its victims and their families. It also affects the wider community as well as having a huge economical impact on society. Crime statistics and research have both found that the vast majority of cases involve violence from men to women, with women experiencing the most serious physical and repeat assaults. For women aged 19-44, domestic violence is the leading cause of morbidity, greater than cancer, war and motor vehicle accidents. On average between 2 and 3 women are killed each week by a current or former partner in England. In over 90% of domestic violence incidents it is estimated that children are in either the same or next room.
However, it is important to recognise that domestic abuse can also happen in gay and lesbian relationships, within families and against men.
In 2007, in response to the Governments Sexual Violence and Abuse Action Plan, Stafford PAIRs agreed to extend its purpose and objectives to include sexual violence, including sexual exploitation through trafficking and prostitution, in addition to domestic violence.
Sexual abuse can happen to anyone - young or old, black or white, female or male. As a partnership we are developing partnerships to tackle sexual violence and establish services to support members of the community affected by any form of sexual abuse.
Stafford Borough does not tolerate domestic violence.
At a national level the Government recently launched the Violence against Women and Girls Action Plan, which requires all local authorities to engage with the plan in order for it to be achieved. Alongside the national Action Plan, there is a need for local authorities to meet the Gender Equality Public Duty recently set out by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which means ensuring that appropriate care and support services are developed at a local level. In addition, local authorities now need to be part of the implementation of the new requirement by the Home Office to carry out domestic homicide reviews at a local level.
In addition to this, during 2010 a County-wide review of domestic violence services took place which resulted in a Multi-agency Safeguarding Hub being introduced. The main remit of this hub is to provide a central referral process dealing with Child protection, Vulnerable Adults and within this incorporates missing persons, domestic and sexual abuse. The hub is still in its infancy stage and it is not known at this stage what the long term outcomes will be. It is recognised that until the hub has established itself, Stafford Borough will need to ensure that any service delivery in respect of domestic and sexual abuse is maintained.
Stafford Borough Council and South Staffordshire District Council have commissioned Staffordshire Women’s Aid to look at bridging the service delivery gaps at this present time. This work will include the preparation of a domestic and sexual abuse strategy; sustainability in terms of service provision; reporting procedures; and data collection.
