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Bleak picture of domestic violence.

This week, the Metro newspaper reported some shocking domestic abuse statistics that we have to keep in mind at i-docServe Ltd.  Many of the court orders that we process are ‘non-molestation orders’, which aim to stop perpetrators from domestic violence contacting their victims. Whilst we process approximately 4,000 orders a year we must always consider that domestic abuse is a much bigger problem, something that this report shows.

Last year alone, two million people suffered domestic abuse at the hands of their partner. Roughly 1.2 million of the victims were women, and 800,000 were men. The report stems from the last year’s British Crime Survey and includes reports of physical, emotional and sexual attacks.

Along with the prevalence of domestic abuse, the survey showed that females aged between 16 and 24 were more likely to become victims of such crimes as abuse, stalking and sexual assault. 

Picture courtesy of Metro.

The legacy of domestic violence.

Many of the orders that we process at i-docServe involve families with children. Whilst there is a lot of information out there regarding the effects of domestic abuse upon the victims themselves, it is also important to realise that domestic violence in the home has a serious impact on children. Children can become witness to domestic violence in a number of ways, whether it is by being in the same room and therefore getting caught up in an incident or by hearing the incidents of violence from another room. They might also see the physical injuries that are left after an incident of domestic abuse.

Department of Health statistics show that at least 750,000 children a year bear witness to domestic violence and in some cases, become victims of the same perpetrator themselves. Women’s Aid note that children are completely dependent on the adults around them and therefore can be impacted negatively in both physical and emotional ways if they are brought up around domestic violence. Women’s Aid rightly says that all children witnessing domestic violence are being emotionally abused themselves, which has been highlighted in recent legislation.

While we know that children will react in different ways to being brought up in a home in which domestic violence occurs, we do know that most children will be affected in some way by the distressing incidents. They may feel that they are to blame, along with emotions of anger, guilt, insecurity, confusion and loneliness. They may have confusing feelings towards both the abuse and the non-abusing parent. Famous actor Patrick Stewart wrote in The Guardian in 2009, describing his feelings towards his domestically violent father:

“As a child I witnessed his repeated violence against my mother, and the terror and misery he caused was such that, if I felt I could have succeeded, I would have killed him. If my mother had attempted it, I would have held him down. For those who struggle to comprehend these feelings in a child, imagine living in an environment of emotional unpredictability, danger and humiliation week after week, year after year, from the age of seven. My childish instinct was to protect my mother, but the man hurting her was my father, whom I respected, admired and feared”.

There is a huge range of support available for those in domestically violent relationships that involve children. The Women’s Aid website has a list of charities and organisations ready to help, and more information about what to do if your child is being affected by domestic 

New laws designed to protect victims of stalking

An inquiry earlier this year found that there are approximately 120,000 victims of stalking each year, most of whom are women. However, only 53,000 incidents are recorded as crimes by the police and only 1 in 50 of those leads to an offender being jailed. The inquiry, aswell as a series of cases involving stalkers who went on to kill, led to calls for reform.

In answer to this, the government has put new laws designed to give protection to victims of stalking into force this week, with the introduction of two exact criminal offences of stalking. The new offences sit alongside the existing Harassment Act of 1997, but are specifically aimed toward highlighting the serious impact that stalking can have on the lives of victims. Victims and Equalities Minister Helen Grant stated that the laws will ensure that victims are better protected, aswell as offenders brought to justice.

Alongside the introduction of new laws, there has been a £150,000 fund set up for domestic homicide reviews to help local areas prevent future tragedies. An additional £50,000 funding has been pledged to support frontline agencies tackling the issue of domestic violence.

Alexis Bowater, a former victim of a stalking campaign, says part of the problem is that stalkers are too often seen as rejected suitors rather than criminals. She claims that we are socialised by romantic films to “think that the guy will always get the girl, but stalking is not a romcom gone wrong – it is serious and pathological”.

The Home Office Minister Jeremy Browne said that the new legislation is aimed towards highlighting the seriousness of stalking as an offence, aswell as raising awareness and bringing justice to victims.