Safeguarding & Domestic Abuse
This week marks the start of 16 days of action against gender based violence, a UN Women initiative to help educate people about Violence Against Women and Girls.
Domestic abuse is everyone’s business and a core aspect of all safeguarding, however, most have little experience or training in what domestic abuse is, how to recognise the signs or how to support victims.
The Home Office definition of Domestic Abuse was updated in 2021 and states that domestic abuse happens between personally connected individuals aged 16 or over and the behaviour is abusive if it consists of any of the following:
Physical or sexual abuse
Violent or threatening behaviour
Controlling or coercive behaviour
Economic abuse
Psychological, emotional or other abuse
Let’s look at some of the statistics first.
Domestic abuse affects 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men in the UK.
108 domestic homicides recorded in England and Wales in year ending March 2024, 83 were women and 25 were men 1 ; this equates to 1 women every 4-5 days and 1 man every 2 weeks.
66 of domestic homicide victims were killed by a partner or ex-partner and 32 were family-related homicide with most cases involving a parent killed by their adult child 2.
In the year ending March 2024, The Domestic Homicide Project 3 found that 98 people were suspected to have died from suicide after experiencing domestic abuse. For the second year in a row, suspected suicides following domestic abuse have overtaken homicides involving current or previous partners.
SafeLives data also indicates that 78% of children living with domestic abuse are directly harmed by the perpetrator in addition to the harm caused by witnessing the abuse with over 105,000 living in homes where there is high risk Domestic Abuse 4 . 1 in 5 children in the UK have lived with an adult who is a domestic abuser.
Domestic abuse is also linked to depression and homelessness and costs the UK an estimated £23 billion a year. 5 Police are called out to a domestic incident every 30 seconds. 6
There have been significant, positive changes in recognising and responding to domestic abuse over the past 30+ years, including the provision of refuges, Independent Domestic Violence Advisors, Rape Crisis Centres and Specialist Domestic Abuse Courts and below offers a timeline of key changes.
1991 - Rape in marriage written into legislation.
1997 – Protection from Harassment Act 1997 as well as the introduction of Occupation and Non-Molestation Order.
2002 - The impact of domestic abuse on children was recognised in the Adoption; Children Act 200.
2010 - Domestic Violence Protection Orders were introduced in 2010, initially called ‘Go’ Orders which enables the police to act quickly to protect victims and to allow victims time to consider other ways to safeguard themselves; these orders can last for up to 28 days.
2012 – Stalking becomes a criminal offence under The Protection from Harassment Act 1997.
2014 – Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme, often referred to as Clare’s Law, is rolled out across all 43 police forces in England & Wales. The scheme aims to enhance protection for victims of domestic abuse by allowing individuals to discover whether their new partners have a history of violence via a “Right to Ask” and “Right to Know”. 7
2015 – 29th December 2015 a new offence of Controlling or Coercive Behaviour is introduced.
2019 – The Stalking Protection Act 2019 introduced Stalking Protection Orders.
2021 – Domestic Abuse Act comes into Law which gives a legal definition of domestic abuse and recognises children as victims in their own right.
2022 – Criminal Offence of Non-Fatal Strangulation becomes law.
The recognition of coercive and controlling behaviour has been a significant step forward in developing a better understanding of domestic abuse as previously most professionals and others viewed domestic ‘violence’ only as acts of violence and not recognising the nuanced behaviour of abusers, how they control their victims or why victim’s react/behave how they do. What has been established through research by key individuals such as Professors Evan Stark, Liz Kelly and Jane Monckton-Smith as well as practitioners and those with lived experience, coercive and controlling behaviour is the underlying dynamic of abuse. Professor Evan Stark stated that ‘not only is coercive control the most common context in which women are abuse, it is also the most dangerous’. Research by Professor Jane Monckton-Smith in 2017 showed that control was seen in 92% of domestic killings, obsession in 94% and isolation from family and friends in 78% and that these types of behaviour can lead to a victim having no life of their own, no privacy from their abusers who will frequently monitor them day and night. 8
In terms of safeguarding children, again significant strides forward have been made on the impact of domestic abuse on children. Operation Encompass ensures that the designated safeguarding lead at a child’s school is informed before the start of the next school day where police have attended incidents of domestic abuse where children are directly or indirectly involved. The safeguarding lead then ensures the child is afforded the immediate support they need.
Other child survivors have also been speaking out about their experiences of coercive control, abuse and the tragic consequences of abuse. ‘Operation Lighthouse: Reflections on our Family’s Devastating Story of Coercive Control and Domestic Homicide’ or available as ‘Remembered Forever’ by Luke & Ryan Hart who write about the coercive control their father had over the entire family which ultimately resulted in the murder of their mother and sister by their father.
‘The Unthinkable: A Story of Control, Violence and My Mother’ by David Challen who details living with abuse by his father, watching his mother suffer domestic abuse including coercive control and the subsequent aftermath when she killed his father. David writes very openly about the impact this has had on him and is educational.
Domestic abuse is not about ‘losing control’, it is quite the opposite as it is one person controlling another. It is only when a perpetrator loses the control over his partner that the risk increases and can result in domestic homicide.
As Professor Monckton-Smith’s research shows coercive control and stalking indicate a significant risk of harm or homicide. These factors are evident in high profile domestic homicides.
Alice Ruggles was coercively controlled in her short relationship with Trimaan Dhillon who refused to accept her ending the relationship, he then stalked and murdered in her flat in Gateshead in 2016. Professor Clive Ruggles and Dr Sue Hills, parents of Alice, have established The Alice Ruggles Trust to educate young people about stalking and to upskill professionals working with young people as well as developing intervention programmes to prevent young people becoming stalkers. Alice Ruggles Trust | Putting an end to stalking
Hollie Gazzard was murdered in 2014 in Gloucester at her place of work, a hair salon, in front of her colleagues and clients. Hollie ended her relationship with Asher Maslin but he refused to accept this, threatened Hollie’s family and stalked her before stabbing her to death. Hollie’s family, dad Nick, mum Amanda and sister Chloe set up The Hollie Gazzard Trust to build individual and community resilience to domestic abuse. They have also created the Hollie Guard App which is a personal alarm, deterrent, evidence catcher and more. HollieGuard - Personal Safety App
Clare Bernal was shot four times in the head at Harvey Nichols in London in 2005. Clare had briefly dated Michael Pech and due to his obsessive behaviour towards Clare, she ended the relationship, and he began to stalk her. He was arrested and later bailed but continued his stalking behaviour, left the country and obtained a firearm which he smuggled back into the UK. At closing time on 13 September 2005, Pech, entered Harvey Nichols and shot Clare once in the back of the head and 3 times in the face before turning the gun on himself. Tricia Bernal, Clare’s mother, campaigned for specific Stalking Legislation which was enacted in 2012 and created Protection Against Stalking. https://www.protectionagainststalking.org
Domestic abuse is an epidemic of violence and control which costs, not only society, but also those directly impacted by the abuse. Do not simply be a bystander, be an upstander. This does not mean physically intervene but to raise concerns where you believe domestic abuse is happening, report to the police any incidents of domestic abuse you witness or where you have disclosures and educate yourself about the dynamics of abuse.
There is a wealth of excellent resources available such as those mentioned above, and also the below books and websites:
“The Devil At Home: The Horrific True Story of a Women Held Captive” by Rachel Williams;
“In Control: Dangerous Relationships and How They End in Murder” by Jane Monckton-Smith;
“Invisible Chains: Overcoming Coercive Control in Your Intimate Relationship” by Lisa Aronson Fontes;
“See What You Made Me Do: Power, Control and Domestic Abuse” by Jess Hill
“When Dad Hurts Mom: Helping Your Children Heal the Wounds of Witnessing Abuse’ by Lundy Bancroft
If you want to understand learn about risk, then please visit
Refuge, the UK’s largest specialist domestic abuse organisation
ManKind Initiative - Supporting Male Victims of Domestic Abuse
References:
Office for National Statistic.
Home Office
Research Project led by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and delivered by the Vulnerability Knowledge & Practice Programme (VKPP) in collaboration with the College of Policing
Timeline of Key Legal Developments — Centre for Women’s Justice
Coercion and control: fighting against the abuse hidden in relationships | Domestic violence