Moves to stem the next generation of domestic violence

ABOUT 100 people are killed every year by their present or former partner in England and Wales, and Keir Starmer, the Director of Public Prosecutions, has announced that all such cases will receive a multi-agency review so that lessons can be learned for the future. Mr Starmer has also warned that teenage girls have become the most likely victims of domestic abuse, as they are preyed on by a new generation of wife beaters.

He announced the mandatory reviews by agencies including police, health and probation services while also acknowledging that violence at home against teenagers was far more common than previously thought, with young women aged 16-19 most at risk. Housewives are still more at risk in their own home than anywhere else, he said, in “serious and pernicious” crimes which police and prosecutors must do more to tackle. One charity reports that victims may experience up to 35 assaults before seeking help.

The most recent statistics show that nearly a million women are abused every year and two are killed every week by present or former partners, and more than half of all victims of serious sexual attacks have been perpetrated by partners or ex-partners. Figures show that 12.7 per cent of women between 16 and 19 were victims of domestic abuse in the last year.

“What this tends to show is that there may be a next generation of domestic violence waiting in the wings,” said Mr Starmer. “Domestic violence... ruins lives, breaks up families and has a lasting impact. And it has been with us for a very long time, yet it is only in the last 10 years that it has been taken seriously as a criminal justice issue.

“Some good progress has now undoubtedly been made but even if domestic violence remains a priority of the Crown Prosecution Service, there remains the wider issue of complacency... the refrain ‘It’s just a domestic’ is still heard far too frequently.”

Home Secretary Theresa May said the new reviews will take place so that lessons can be learned to prevent future tragedies. “Domestic violence is a dreadful form of abuse, with some victims suffering for years at the hands of an abusive partner. This is one of the many actions we are taking forwards to help end violence against women.”

Chief Constable Carmel Napier of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said: “Improving knowledge of serial perpetrators and strengthening our strategies and tactics against them will mean the police can be more effective in keeping victims safe.

Sandra Horley, chief executive of national domestic violence charity Refuge, said the reviews would “only truly be effective if the lessons learned result in real change in practice on the ground level. This will not happen without sufficient funding. But with every homicide costing the state £1m, reducing the domestic homicide rate not only makes moral sense, but clear financial sense too.”

The Co-ordinated Action Against Domestic Abuse (Caada) charity, which backs the moves, said the reviews will help ensure that “lessons are learned and areas for urgent development are identified”.

“As the reviews will be published and publicly available, they will provide an open and transparent means of reviewing practice, thereby increasing the safety of other local victims in the future,” a spokeswoman said.

Kathy Grogan, of the Leeds-based domestic violence charity STOP, said she welcomed the DPP’s announcement but in her opinion such reviews need to be carried out in tandem with other investments including more anger management programmes and TV campaigns aimed at 13-16-year-olds; and encouraging anyone who has been assaulted more than once at home to seek help.

“The distorted thinking of perpetrators is that if a woman puts up with being beaten more than once then it can’t be that bad. The abuser always finds a way of blaming the victim. When it comes to programmes for perpetrators, male and female, we are Lottery-funded and could fill our groups many times over.

“What’s needed is public investment in more groups, perhaps run by groups of GP practices or community mental health services. Staff could be trained by specialists like us, then go back and train colleagues.

“Programmes work and make people change the way they live their life. When they come they believe they have no control over the anger that makes them violent. But after a while they understand that abuse is always a choice, and no-one can wind you up without your consent. Sadly, abusive behaviour by parents is observed by thousands of children. ”

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