The reality of domestic violence.

Shayoni Sarkar

More than a million victims are subject to domestic violence each year.

A woman is killed every three days by a partner.1 Domestic violence is much closer to our homes than we would like it to be. In 2000, domestic violence spread like wildfire in the UK, accounting for over 500,000 cases of crimes in one year. 76% of the 8,000 incidents dealt within a month, were cases of domestic violence (as recorded by the Racial and Violent Crime Task Force). Senior officers of the Metropolitan police believed there to be more than 35,000 cases of domestic violence every month, most of them unreported. With the start of the millennium being grasped by an epidemic of domestic violence as the sharpest rise in crime in over two decades, domestic violence became a national concern. Concerned by the staggering figures, the government started strengthening its efforts at curbing this problem, and swift campaigns started to make domestic violence socially unacceptable.

Ten years later, the problem of domestic violence is still rampant. Domestic violence is not always physical, but can manifest itself emotionally, financially or sexually and is either perpetrated by a partner or by a member of family. Threats of violence or abuse, regardless of gender, within the domestic threshold account for over 14% of all violent crimes. Reports from the Home Office claim that one in four women and one in six men will be a victim of domestic violence in their lifetime with women at a greater risk of repeat victimisation and serious injury.2

It is horrifying to know that one case of domestic violence is reported to the police
every minute (UK Home Office). Over the year 2008-2009, an estimated one million female victims and 600,000 male victims reported having experienced domestic violence, according to a Home Office Statistical Bulletin3.

DS Sharon Stratton4, chief of the Domestic Violence unit for the Metropolitan Police, London says, “Over the years, there has been a huge increase in reporting. This does not necessarily mean an increase in crimes of domestic violence, but rather, an improvement from earlier times when there was underreporting. Last year, we reported 119,884 incidents which was 6,000 more than in 2008”

Jill Page5 from Justice for Women (Manchester) agrees, “The response of the police has changed in the last ten years. New guidelines insist that in incidents of domestic violence, the police must speak to the woman alone. It might seem obvious, but previously that would not be the case, and often the woman would feel intimidated to talk in front of her perpetrator. Now women are coming forward in reporting domestic violence. Campaigning and admission by women themselves have changed the way victims deal with domestic violence – earlier from viewing the incident as ‘just as domestic’ to coming forward and reporting it now.”

Government action on domestic violence.

And not just private interviews by the police, victims of domestic violence are now allowed to give evidence from behind a screen or through a video link, in extreme cases. Since the introduction of the Specialist Domestic Violence Courts in (state year) convictions have increased drastically. According to a report by The Crown
Prosecution Service (CPS) 67,000 people were prosecuted in the years 2008-09 for domestic violence offences.

“There is a 70%-80% conviction rate in SDVCs as opposed to a 45% conviction rate in non-SDVC,” says DS Stratton.

Magistrates in SDVCs, an initiative by the Home Office, are experts in domestic violence. With over 127 SDVCs along with more than 700 trained Independent Domestic and Sexual Violence Advocates (IDVAs and ISVAs) to assist victims through the court process, the government is trying hard to control crimes of domestic violence. Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARACs), Sexual Assualt Referral Centres (SARCs) and Domestic and Sexual Violence Coordinators to local level initiatives, it looks like the last few years have brought promising efforts.

“Every force now must have their own policy guidelines,” says DS Stratton. “In London, NGOs and IDVAs work alongside the police in investigations of domestic violence. We have 32 MARACs in London since 2006.”

However, Hannah Austin6, Policy Officer of the Welsh Women’s Aid, a national umbrella body with 34 autonomous member groups across Wales, thinks there is still a long way to go. “The last ten years has seen the rapid decline of Rape Crisis Centres(RCCs) - there is only 1 in Wales now. So while SARCs have been successful, they're more forensic-based and crime-related, whereas Rape Crisis Centres offer a more holistic, woman-centred approach and offer long-term counselling. But there are very few left across the UK. Funding for third-sector services that deal with violence against women is a huge issue.”

UK women’s’ campaign group, Fawcett Society, believes that both RCCs and SARCs are required to properly understand and deal with domestic violence. In a recent report, Not either/or but both/and: Why we need Rape Crisis Centres and Sexual Assault Referral Centres it states. “The development of provision for victims survivors of sexual assault has historically been piecemeal and locally specific. Rape Crisis Centres (RCCs) and, more recently, Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs), have been established in certain parts of the UK but there is a lack of uniformity.” Former police officer, Mr. Anthony Wills7, runs his own charity ‘Standing Together’.

The organisation has been essential in coordinating response between agencies from the emergency phone line 999 to the Crown Prosecution Service. It has also allied with social services and helps all these agencies work together.

“I am afraid,” says Mr. Wills, “that domestic violence services could face risks of cuts due to the harsh economic climate.”

Families and domestic violence.

But what causes families and partners to resort to harmful, self-destructive behaviors? Gina Savoia Stepp8, family and relationships expert from the United States, says “Domestic violence is a complex issue that is often oversimplified. That said, however, if forced to boil it down to a couple of key factors I would stress the influences of attitudes and prosocial skills. People who see violence as an acceptable approach to resolving conflict and who have not learned vital problem-solving and self-regulation skills are more likely to strike out physically when they are angry.

Both attitudes and prosocial skills are affected by many influences: our families of origin most importantly, but also peers, communities (including media), and even
physical and mental health issues (including addictions). Factors such as financial status and education level also come into play.”

Of particular relevance is how growing up with domestic violence affects children. “50% of children of victims of domestic violence are victims of abuse themselves, and 90% witness domestic violence”, says DS Stratton. For this cause, the government has employed several Child Protection Teams.

Domestic violence homicide.

Domestic violence homicide is also a concern. However, there has been a massive decrease over the years due to more stringent law enforcement. DS Stratton says, “7 years ago, there were 43 incidents of domestic violence homicide. The last year recorded 24 incidents of domestic violence homicide. Although it is variable, we have seen a 35% decrease.”

No recourse to public funds.

One of the main legal challenges is the “no recourse to public funds” policy. Many organsiations are campaigning to abolish this law, including the Welsh Women’s Aid.

Says Ms. Austin, “The current law means that women who have come into the country on e.g. spousal visa are not eligible for public funding - including access to refuges. So if they experience abuse, and go to a refuge, the refuge has to turn them away. This requires a legal change.”

In practice, because of their women-centred supportive ethos, many refuges support the women anyway at a cost to their own reserves. In spite of the existence of many laws criminalising violence against women, it is the implementation that needs to be drastically improved.

“It is too easy for government to leap to legislation without getting practice right
first,” says Mr. Wills. “If you are focused and used rationale on the laws that already exist, it is perfectly possible to deal with social issues without rushing to legislation”.

The average rape conviction rate across Wales is just over 8% of cases that are
reported – and rape is notoriously underreported.

“This is due to attitudes,” says Ms. Austin. “So again we need to be concentrating more on prevention, education and challenging myths surround violence. It's much more difficult to challenge entrenched social attitudes than it is to change legislation or policy. There is a need for further training for the police, courts, judiciary, frontline service providers, all across the board.”

This training is also required in the health services. A recent report published in March suggests that violence against women has not been taken as seriously by the NHS as it should be. Led by Dr. George Alberti, the report claims that clinicians fail to identify victims of domestic violence.

Sir Alberti9 says, “There is inadequate teaching about domestic violence in the undergraduate medical curriculum so that newly qualified doctors are unaware of the massive size of the problem. An additional problem is that it is often not clear what can or should be done if you do detect a case. There needs to be more awareness about domestic violence. There needs to be better training of first line practitioners – district nurses, midwives, paramedics, GPs, and emergency doctors. We would also suggest the development of clear pathways of care for all forms of violence.”

Domestic violence is a complex issue and even now, when more women are reporting cases, there is still a long way to go before women can feel safe within their own homes. Women are more likely to go to specialist third sector organisations such as Women's Aid than go to the police, for various reasons ranging from a lack of trust in the criminal justice system to not wanting to press charges against a partner.

According to statistics, a woman is assaulted an average of 35 times before reporting it to anyone. Ms. Austin explains that problems can range from trying to instil a woman with confidence when her confidence and self-esteem have been systematically eroded by her abuser to many women returning back to their partners for various reasons.

Mr. Wills says, “The reality is that victims just don’t understand that domestic violence is unacceptable. In their opinion, it will get better. It should then be the state’s responsibility to pronounce it as a special criminal offence.”

“Not being able to tell a woman to leave her partner is challenging,” says Ms. Austin. “Women's Aid workers can't do this because statistically, a woman is at highest risk of being murdered just after she leaves a relationship”.


1 Facts – Domestic Violence, Refuge. Available @ refuge.org.uk/get-help-now/what-is-domesticviolencedomestic-violence-the-facts/
2 UK Home Office, Domestic Violence; available @
www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/violentcrime/dv01.htm
3 Smith et al. (2010); Homicides, Firearm Offences and Intimate Violence 2008/09; Available @
rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs10/hosb0110.pdf ; Crown Copyright 2010
4 Telephone interview conducted on 29th April 2010
5 Telephone interview conducted on 28th April 2010
6 Email interview conducted on 30th April 2010
7 Telephone interview conducted on 5th May 2010
8 Email interview conducted on 28th April 2010
9 Email interview conducted on 26th April 2010