Tackling Violence at Home

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                   October 2005
                                                        Tackling Violence
                     Ref 102/05                                  at Home
                                                            A STRATEGY FOR ADDRESSING
                                                          DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSE
                                                                  IN NORTHERN IRELAND
A STRATEGY FOR ADDRESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSE IN NORTHERN IRELAND   A STRATEGY FOR ADDRESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

Tackling Violence at Home                                                                                                     Tackling Violence at Home   59.
A STRATEGY FOR ADDRESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

                   Tackling Violence
                            at Home
                              A STRATEGY FOR ADDRESSING
                            DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSE
                                    IN NORTHERN IRELAND

                                                  OCTOBER 2005

                                                  Tackling Violence at Home
A STRATEGY FOR ADDRESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

Tackling Violence at Home
A STRATEGY FOR ADDRESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

Contents

Foreword                                                                                   02
Executive Summary                                                                          04
Introduction                                                                               06
What is Domestic Violence and Abuse?                                                       09
Patterns and Prevalence of Domestic Violence and Abuse                                     11
The Cost of Domestic Violence                                                              13
The Response to Date and the Problems in Tackling Domestic Violence                        15
The Government’s Vision and Commitment                                                     18
Roles and Responsibilities                                                                 21
The Aims of the Strategy                                                                   23
Delivering on the Aims                                                                     24
Action Plans                                                                               35
Standards, Resources, Structures and Review                                                36

Annex 1         List of members of the Inter-Departmental Working Group
                on Domestic Violence                                                       38
Annex 2         List of members of the Regional Steering Group on Domestic
                Violence and its 3 sub-groups                                              39
Annex 3         Equality Issues                                                            43
Annex 4         Structures                                                                 46
Annex 5         Performance Indicators                                                     49
Annex 6         Glossary                                                                   53

                                                                      Tackling Violence at Home   01.
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      Foreword

      This document sends a clear message from         The Government is determined to hold
      Government. Domestic violence is a crime         perpetrators of this insidious crime to
      and is not acceptable in any circumstances.      account for their abuse. The Domestic
                                                       Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 focuses
      Domestic violence and abuse is a serious         more attention on perpetrators and provides
      problem. It has a devastating impact on          better protection for victims, for example, by
      victims and their families. Each year in         giving the police greater powers of arrest.
      Northern Ireland around 5 people are killed
      and over 700 families have to be re-housed       The Government acknowledges the excellent
      as a result of violence in the home. On          work that has been done over the past 30
      average, every week, the police attend over      years by Women’s Aid in Northern Ireland in
      400 domestic incidents and deal with over        raising awareness about domestic violence
      100 domestic assaults on women and men,          and supporting female victims. We also wish
      yet we know that most domestic-related           to acknowledge the inter-agency
      incidents are not reported.                      relationships developed over the past decade
                                                       by staff in all the relevant voluntary and
      The abuse affects people right across our        statutory agencies at both regional and local
      society - from all walks of life, from all       level. This inter-agency approach has been of
      cultural, social and ethnic backgrounds and      enormous benefit in raising the standard of
      across all age groups. The vast majority of      services for victims. The commitment and
      victims are women, but a significant number      efforts of all those agencies is greatly
      of men are also affected and abuse also          appreciated and their experience and
      occurs in same-sex relationships. Violence in    expertise will be invaluable as we seek to
      the home is particularly disturbing for          implement a new strategy by building on the
      children and we know from local research         solid foundations they have laid.
      that at least 11,000 children here are living
      with domestic violence on a daily basis. These   This strategy and the associated action plan
      are staggering figures and the problem           set out a vision for the future, with aims and
      requires a strategic response.                   targets focusing on preventive measures and

02.   Tackling Violence at Home
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on the provision of better protection, justice   public that violence and abuse in the home is
and support services for victims and their       totally unacceptable. Through our on-going
children. All the statutory and voluntary        media campaigns, we will encourage the
agencies are committed to working in             many silent victims to come forward and
partnership on the Regional Steering Group       seek help through the freephone Helpline
and on Local Domestic Violence Partnerships      and from the various agencies who provide
and that commitment is vital to successful       such valuable support.
implementation of the strategy.
                                                 Working together we can achieve our
We must encourage everyone to end the            common goals and we can make a real
silence on domestic violence. We must            difference to the lives of victims and
educate children and the wider general           their families.

David Hanson MP                                  Shaun Woodward MP
Minister of State for                            Parliamentary Under Secretary of
Northern Ireland                                 State for Northern Ireland

Jeff Rooker                                      Angela Smith MP
Minister of State for                            Parliamentary Under Secretary of
Northern Ireland                                 State for Northern Ireland

Rt Hon Peter Hain MP
Secretary of State for
Northern Ireland

                                                                     Tackling Violence at Home   03.
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      Executive Summary                                domestic violence and its consequences. It is
                                                       estimated that the direct cost of services plus
      Introduction                                     the loss of economic output in Northern
      Domestic violence and abuse is a serious         Ireland due to domestic violence could
      problem in Northern Ireland. It occurs right     amount to about £180 million each year, and
      across our society and it has devastating        this figure does not include the “intangible
      consequences for the victims and their           costs” associated with the pain and suffering
      families. It accounts for one in five cases of   of victims.
      violent crime here. On average every year 5
      people are killed as a result of domestic        Purpose
      violence and about 700 families have to be       This document sets out a new strategy
      re-housed. Every day about 12 women and 4        covering the next 5 years for tackling
      men report an assault by a partner to the        domestic violence and abuse in the 3 key
      police, yet it is known that violent incidents   areas of prevention; protection and
      in the home are seriously under-reported.        justice; and support. The strategy is the
                                                       product of a wide-ranging consultation and
      Children are very much the silent victims of     collaboration process involving all the
      domestic violence. They may witness it or be     relevant government departments and all the
      subject to it but often their voices are not     relevant statutory and voluntary agencies.
      heard. Local research indicates that at least
      11,000 children here are living in violent       Vision
      homes. Their experiences can affect their        The strategy’s vision focuses on meeting the
      emotional, psychological, physical and sexual    needs of all victims who experience abuse
      development and the abuse can have long-         through the development of better, more
      lasting consequences for them in childhood       equitable, accessible and effective services;
      and in later life.                               and on working towards the development of
                                                       a society in which domestic violence is
      Millions of pounds are spent every year          unacceptable and will not be tolerated. The
      across a range of services in dealing with       ultimate goal is to put in place all practicable

      Domestic Violence is a crime. It is not acceptable in any circumstances.

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measures towards the elimination of           Structures and Implementation
domestic violence and abuse.                  Structures are in place at regional and local
                                              level to ensure that the strategy will be
The strategy sets out the commitment of       implemented consistently across Northern
Government and all the partner agencies to    Ireland. All of the relevant agencies are
adopting a consistent and long-term           committed to working in partnership to
approach to the prevention of domestic        ensure there is a strategic joined-up
violence and an effective response where      approach taken to tackling domestic violence.
it occurs.
                                              An initial Action Plan, which is published
Overall Aims                                  alongside this strategy, sets down a number
The overall aims of the strategy are:         of key action proposals and target dates for
• To improve services and support for all     achieving progress over the next 18 months.
    victims of domestic violence              Further Action Plans will be developed
• To develop and deliver a high quality,      annually from 2007 onwards. The
    co-ordinated multi-agency response to     implementation of the strategy and the
    domestic violence                         Action Plans will ensure a more effective
• To further increase and develop             response to domestic violence across
    awareness generally about domestic        Northern Ireland. Performance Indicators will
    violence and the measures in place to     be put in place across a range of services to
    help the victims                          measure the success of the strategy.
• To educate children and young people
    and the wider general public that
    domestic violence is wrong and is
    unacceptable and to enable them to
    make informed choices
• To hold perpetrators/abusers accountable
    and provide effective interventions for
    their behaviour.

Domestic Violence. Anyone can suffer – so anyone can call 0800 917 1414

                                                                  Tackling Violence at Home   05.
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      Introduction

      This strategy aims to provide better                                      Domestic Violence, which was brought
      protection, justice and support for victims of                            together in August 2003 and jointly chaired
      domestic violence and provide a sharper                                   by the Department of Health, Social Services
      focus on prevention by addressing the causes                              and Public Safety and the Northern Ireland
      of domestic violence and abuse.                                           Office. It involved representatives from a
                                                                                number of relevant Government
      Background                                                                Departments. The Working Group’s objective
      It is 10 years since the publication of the                               was to create a joined-up approach to
      previous policy document Tackling Domestic                                domestic violence, building on existing good
      Violence: A Policy for Northern Ireland1.                                 practice, and to develop a cross-cutting
      This new strategy, which will be subject to                               strategy plotting the way forward on a
      ongoing review through the development of                                 number of fronts. A list of members of the
      annual action plans, sets the scene for the                               Inter-Departmental Working Group is
      next 5 years. It builds on the 1995 policy                                included at Annex 1.
      document and on the subsequent
      achievements of the voluntary and statutory                               Further development of the strategy has been
      agencies involved in the former Regional                                  taken forward by the Regional Steering
      Forum on Domestic Violence and the existing                               Group on Domestic Violence. This Group was
      local Domestic Violence Inter-Agency Fora.                                established in December 2004 and comprises
                                                                                representatives of all the relevant statutory
      The strategy is the outcome of a full public                              and voluntary bodies. A list of members of
      consultation exercise and a collaboration                                 the Regional Steering Group is included
      process involving all the relevant statutory                              at Annex 2.
      and voluntary agencies. The October 2003
      consultation paper2 and the early framework                               Responses to the 2003 consultation indicated
      for a strategy were developed by an                                       clearly that more needs to be done to
      Inter-Departmental Working Group on                                       achieve an effective response to domestic

      1   Tackling Domestic Violence – A Policy for Northern Ireland. The Department of Health and Social Services and the Northern Ireland Office
          (1995) ISBN 1 899203 05 2
      2   Tackling Violence at Home – The Government’s Proposals on Domestic Violence in Northern Ireland. The Department of Health, Social
          Services and Public Safety and the Northern Ireland Office (October 2003) Ref 163/2003

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violence3. A more effective system of                                   which is published alongside the strategy,
communication and collaborative working                                 sets out the key actions to achieve progress
between departments and agencies is                                     across a range of services over the next
needed, to ensure that the needs of victims                             18 months.
are met and that perpetrators are challenged
and held responsible for their actions.                                 The Way Forward
                                                                        The publication of this strategy is only the
Victims: throughout this strategy                                       beginning of a process to address the serious
there are many references to                                            problem of domestic violence and abuse. All
victims. The term is intended to be                                     the relevant departments and agencies are
all-inclusive to cover all persons                                      working together as partners on the
who are affected by or who are                                          Regional Steering Group to oversee the
survivors of domestic violence and                                      implementation of the strategy. There are
abuse. This includes children and                                       also three dedicated sub-groups on:
young people and persons in all of                                      Domestic Violence and the Law;
the equality categories covered by                                      Children and Young People; and
section 75 of the Northern Ireland                                      Information. The sub-group members are
Act 1998 - these equality categories                                    listed at Annex 2. The Regional Steering
are set out at Annex 3.                                                 Group and its sub-groups will be
                                                                        responsible for ensuring that the strategy
Outline of the Strategy and Action Plan                                 continues to evolve and that further Action
The strategy identifies what is required to                             Plans are drawn up annually, starting in
tackle domestic violence and abuse                                      2007, to address new problems and
effectively. It describes the overall strategic                         priorities, including the need for additional
approach which will be adopted to achieve                               resources. At a local level implementation of
the aims. Action Plans will be developed                                the strategy will be the responsibility of the
annually and these will set out specific action                         Local Domestic Violence Partnerships which
points to translate the strategy’s principles                           will bring together the existing local domestic
and aims into practice. The initial Action Plan,                        violence fora and community safety

3   Tackling Violence at Home – Summary of Responses to the Consultation. The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety and
    the Northern Ireland Office (March 2004) Ref 371/2003

                                                                                                     Tackling Violence at Home              07.
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      partnership personnel to further the                                      related violence and abuse as one of the key
      strategy’s aims.                                                          action areas to be tackled by Government
                                                                                departments and their agencies. It will also
      Success will only be achieved if all of the                               help to deliver on some of the priority
      partners involved at regional and local levels                            outcomes set out in the over-arching Strategy
      commit to taking positive action to address                               for Children and Young People5, in particular
      domestic violence through the                                             those which relate to the safety of children and
      implementation of the strategy.                                           young people and support for parents/carers
                                                                                and families. It will also complement other
      Note about terminology:                                                   relevant strategies which have been issued or
      throughout the strategy references                                        are being developed, such as:
      are made to                                                               • The Supporting People Strategy
      domestic violence;                                                            2005-2009
      domestic violence and abuse; and                                          • The new Regional Strategy for Health
      domestic abuse                                                                and Well-Being - due for publication
      these terms are deliberately used                                             late 2005
      inter-changeably to highlight the                                         • The Strategic Framework for Children,
      fact that the problem is not                                                  Young People and Families - consultation
      restricted to physical violence but                                           due early 2006
      involves also psychological, verbal,                                      • The Sexual Violence Strategy - consultation
      sexual, financial and emotional                                               due early 2006
      abuse. See section on                                                     • Strategic Action Plan on Sexual Orientation
      What is Domestic Violence                                                     – consultation due Autumn 2005
      and Abuse?                                                                • The Family and Parenting Strategy -
                                                                                    consultation due mid - 2006
      Other Strategies                                                          • The New Strategic Direction for Drugs and
      This Strategy will complement the proposed                                    Alcohol in Northern Ireland - consultation
      Gender Equality Framework Strategy4                                           due early 2006
      “Gender Matters” which highlights gender-

      4   The Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister published a proposed Gender Equality Framework Strategy “Gender Matters”
          for consultation. The final strategy is to be published in December 2005

      5   The Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister published its Draft Strategy for Children and Young People in November 2004.
          The Final Strategy is to be published in December 2005

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What is Domestic Violence and Abuse?

Domestic violence and abuse is essentially a       Domestic violence can include violence
pattern of behaviour which is characterised        inflicted on, or witnessed by, children. The
by the exercise of control and the misuse of       wide adverse effects of living with domestic
power by one person over another within an         violence for children must be recognised as a
intimate relationship or a family. It is usually   child protection issue. The effects are linked
frequent and persistent. It can include            to poor educational achievement, social
violence by a son, daughter or any other           exclusion and to juvenile crime, substance
person who has a close or blood relationship       misuse, mental health problems and
with the victim.                                   homelessness from running away.

Domestic violence occurs right across society.     It is acknowledged that domestic violence
It knows no boundaries as regards age,             can also manifest itself through the actions
gender, race, ethnic or religious group, sexual    of immediate and extended family members
orientation, wealth, disability or geography,      through the perpetuation of unlawful
but in the majority of reported cases women        activities, such as forced marriage, so called
are the victims.                                   ‘honour crimes’ and female genital
                                                   mutilation. Extended family members may
The abuse can go beyond actual physical            condone or even share in the pattern of
violence. It can involve emotional abuse - for     violence.
example: undermining of self-confidence;
threats to others including children;
controlling behaviour such as isolation from
friends and family; control over access to
money, personal items, food, transportation
or the telephone; the destruction of property
and stalking.

Why did my children have to lose everything including every photo of them
growing up... everything that we ever owned, due to one man and his violence?

                                                                        Tackling Violence at Home   09.
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      Definition
      The definition of domestic violence
      and abuse which is used for the
      purposes of this strategy and which
      all relevant agencies are encouraged
      to use is: “threatening
      behaviour, violence or abuse
      (psychological, physical, verbal,
      sexual, financial or emotional)
      inflicted on one person by
      another where they are or
      have been intimate partners or
      family members, irrespective of
      gender or sexual orientation.”

      I was five months pregnant and due to his beatings and kickings, I finally lost
      the baby.

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Patterns and Prevalence of Domestic Violence and Abuse

Domestic violence is a crime. It is abhorrent               Cases reported to the police indicate that
and often hidden. Within our society,                       about 3 to 4 times more females than males
traditionally, the issue has been a taboo                   are victims of domestic violence. Most cases,
subject, not discussed openly and dismissed                 therefore, involve violence perpetrated by
by many as a private matter, with little or no              men against women, but there are also male
emphasis on prevention. However,                            victims of female abuse and there are victims
organisations such as Women’s Aid at                        within the lesbian, gay, bisexual and
regional and local level, local domestic                    transgender communities.
violence fora, child care agencies, the police
and probation services have worked hard for                 Research and statistics indicate that:
many years to raise awareness about the                     • Domestic violence accounts for
problem, to prevent repeat abuse and to                        approximately one-fifth of all recorded
support victims.                                               violent crime in Northern Ireland.6
                                                            • On average, there are five people killed
Some myths exist about the causes of                           each year as a result of domestic violence
domestic violence and abuse. These myths                       in Northern Ireland.7
include loss of control by, or provocation of,              • On average every day in Northern
the perpetrators. Many people also believe                     Ireland, 12 women and 4 men are victims
that alcohol is the main cause. There are                      of domestic - related assaults.6
clear links between alcohol misuse and                      • The police attend an average of 60
domestic violence, in that the problem may                     domestic-related incidents per day, but
be exacerbated and the violence more severe                    recognise that there is still a large
when there is alcohol involved, but alcohol is                 amount of under-reporting of this type
not the cause. In reality domestic violence                    of crime.6
and abuse is usually a pattern of persistent                • It is estimated that one in five
behaviour by the perpetrator designed to                       women and one in nine men will
achieve power and control over the victim.

6   Police Service of Northern Ireland Statistics 2004/05
7   Police Service of Northern Ireland Statistics

                                                                                Tackling Violence at Home   11.
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            experience domestic violence in the
            course of their lifetime.8
      •     Domestic violence often starts or
            escalates during pregnancy.9
      •     It is estimated that at least 11,000
            children in Northern Ireland are living
            with domestic violence.10
      •     Repeat victimisation is common. No other
            type of crime has a rate of repeat
            victimisation as high.11
      •     Victims are at greatest risk of homicide at
            the point of separation or after leaving a
            violent partner.12
      •     Each year about 700 families in Northern
            Ireland have to be re-housed because of
            domestic violence.13

      8    Experience of Domestic Violence in Northern Ireland: Findings from the 2003/04 Northern Ireland Crime Survey
      9    Violence Against Women – Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
      10   Children in Northern Ireland – Domestic Violence and Professional Awareness (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2002) page 7
      11   British Crime Survey England and Wales 2000. London: Home Office, 2000
      12   Lees, S. 'Marital rape and marital murder', IN Hanmer, J et al. Home Truths about Domestic Violence: Feminist Influences on Policy and
           Practice: A Reader. London: Routledge, 2000.
      13   Statistics from Northern Ireland Housing Executive

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The Cost of Domestic Violence

Each year in Northern Ireland millions of                                annually to society, because cases related to
pounds are spent across a range of services                              domestic violence and their associated costs
in dealing with domestic violence and its                                are not currently tracked by the courts, health
consequences. Significant resources are                                  and social services trusts and other relevant
committed annually through:                                              agencies, this will change in the future. As
• The criminal justice system (the police,                               agencies adopt domestic violence policies
    the prosecution service, the courts, the                             under the strategy and the collection of
    probation service) in relation to victims                            statistical data improves, it will be possible in
    and perpetrators                                                     future years to track cases and their
• The civil courts in dealing with family                                associated costs and to assess annually the
    proceedings                                                          overall cost to the public of dealing with
• The provision of legal aid                                             domestic violence.
• The various health and social services
    (in hospitals and in the community) in                               In the meantime some indication of the
    providing services for victims and their                             annual cost of dealing with domestic violence
    families                                                             within Northern Ireland can be derived from
• The housing services in providing                                      recent research undertaken in England
    housing, refuge accommodation and                                    and Wales.
    out-reach services
• Funding of voluntary organisations such                                Research published in September 200414
    as Northern Ireland Women’s Aid                                      estimated the cost of domestic violence to
    Federation for the Domestic Violence                                 society in England and Wales at £23 billion
    Helpline, Victim Support Northern Ireland                            each year. The methodology used was based
    and other services in support of victims.                            on the Home Office’s framework for costing
                                                                         crime. £6 billion of the total estimate for
Although it is not possible, at present, to put                          England and Wales was related to the direct
a hard figure on the total overall cost                                  cost of providing services to deal with

14   The Cost of Domestic Violence – Sylvia Walby (University of Leeds) September 2004

                                                                                               Tackling Violence at Home     13.
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      domestic violence (police, criminal justice       approximate estimate of the annual costs
      system, health and social services care,          here can be obtained by extrapolating the
      housing, and civil legal cases) and to the loss   research figures for England and Wales on a
      of economic output through time off work          pro-rata population basis. Using this process
      due to victims’ suffering.                        it is estimated that the direct cost of services
                                                        (i.e. for police, criminal justice system, health
      The research indicated that it would be           and social services care, housing, civil legal
      misleading and incomplete to restrict the         cases and legal aid) plus the loss of
      economic costs of domestic violence to those      economic output in Northern Ireland due to
      associated with services and employment           domestic violence, could amount to about
      only. Like other crimes, domestic violence        £180 million each year. A similar estimate for
      generates significant “intangible” costs          the “intangible costs” associated with the
      associated with pain and suffering, and the       pain and suffering of victims could amount to
      research acknowledged that to omit these in       some £500 million each year in Northern
      relation to domestic violence would falsely       Ireland.
      represent this type of crime as less costly
      than other violent crimes. The research           These figures highlight the enormous cost of
      therefore followed the practice adopted by        domestic violence to society generally and
      government departments, such as the Home          the immense human and emotional costs to
      Office and the Department for Transport, by       individuals and their families who suffer the
      estimating these human and emotional costs        violence and its consequences. The figures
      on the basis of the public’s ‘willingness-to-     also underline the need to adopt a more
      pay’ to avoid pain and suffering - this           strategic and co-ordinated approach to
      element accounted for £17 billion of the          tackling the violence, making the best use of
      estimated £23 billion annual cost for England     available resources to provide better support
      and Wales.                                        to victims, and to make perpetrators more
                                                        accountable for their actions.
      There has been no similar research
      undertaken in Northern Ireland. However, an

      Domestic Violence. End the Silence. Call 0800 917 1414. The Helpline is open to
      anyone affected by domestic violence.

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The Response to Date and the Problems in Tackling
Domestic Violence
                                                  It is also important to acknowledge some of
The Response to date                              the key initiatives which have been
It is important to acknowledge that a lot of      introduced over the last decade to help
excellent work has been done over the past        victims and their families. For example, the
decade, and continues to be done, by a            introduction in 1995 of a 24-hour Helpline by
number of voluntary and statutory agencies        Northern Ireland Women’s Aid Federation and
across Northern Ireland to address the many       the continuing development of Women’s Aid
different aspects of domestic violence.           services at local level, including their refuge
                                                  and outreach services, have provided
Following publication of the 1995 policy          enormous support for female victims and
document, structures were put in place at         their children. The Helpline has since been
regional level (the Regional Forum on             developed to introduce a textphone facility
Domestic Violence) and at local level (11         for hearing impaired people and
Local Domestic Violence Fora) to bring            interpretation facilities for non-English
together all the key players to share             speaking callers and more recently into a
knowledge and experiences, to undertake           free-phone service for any victim regardless
awareness raising and some training and to        of gender.
address issues at local level. Much progress
has been made since then and the fora and         In recent years, organisations such as Men’s
the agencies involved deserve much credit for     Advisory Project, Men-to-Men and Rainbow
the significant contribution they have made       have developed some support and
in working together to address the problems,      counselling services for male victims and
to raise the profile of domestic violence, and,   victims in same-sex relationships.
most importantly, to provide help and
support to victims.                               Another important development has been the
                                                  introduction of the Supporting People

The caller to the Helpline had recently given birth by caesarean section. Her
husband had kicked her in the stomach and thrown her outside.

                                                                       Tackling Violence at Home    15.
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      initiative in 2003, which allows the Northern     Women’s Aid, has undertaken some
      Ireland Housing Executive to provide              successful work with perpetrators aimed at
      accommodation - based support to domestic         reducing the incidence of re-offending while
      violence victims. Many households                 offering increased support to victims.
      experiencing domestic violence need
      housing-related support either to allow them      Clearly, therefore, a lot of good work has
      to remain safely in their own homes or to         already been done. These developments and
      help if they need to move. The Housing            the ongoing work of a variety of agencies
      Executive published its first Supporting          have collectively contributed to an increasing
      People Strategy this year and it highlights       awareness among the general public about
      how the Housing Executive will work with all      domestic violence and its consequences and
      its partners to address the needs of domestic     about the services available to victims.
      violence victims.
                                                        However, feedback from the 2003
      In recent years the Police and the Courts         consultation exercise indicated that there is a
      have developed better support for victims         need to raise the profile much further; to
      through the provision of dedicated PSNI           develop preventive work; to change attitudes;
      Domestic Violence Officers and through the        to make improvements in service provision;
      introduction of more informal proceedings         to develop education and training; and to
      and special measures in court (such as live       improve co-operation and co-ordination
      link and the use of screens) to assist victims.   among the range of policy-makers and
      There is also speedy access to the courts for     service providers who have a role in
      ex-parte civil orders. Resident Magistrates       addressing the problem.
      allocate time for applications in private at
      any court hearings within the relevant Petty      Problems In Tackling Domestic Violence
      Sessions District or County Court Division.       Domestic violence is a complex issue that
                                                        requires a strategic approach. It can be very
      In addition, the Probation Service, in            difficult to deal with because much of the
      conjunction with Social Services and              violence and abuse takes place behind closed

      Why should we leave our home? Why should our children be taken from their
      schools, family and friends? My children and I are not criminals… but HE IS.

16.   Tackling Violence at Home
A STRATEGY FOR ADDRESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

doors. Many victims suffer in silence, afraid    and a lack of overall training, co-ordination
for themselves and their children and so most    and monitoring.
incidents of this crime go unreported. Some
myths and outdated attitudes remain within
our society about a form of violence that
was historically acceptable. The abuse
occurs in relationships where emotions may
be high and loyalties divided. Victims may
disregard their own safety and stay in
abusive relationships for reasons such as
embarrassment, fear and confusion,
financial insecurity or a desire to keep their
families together.

It is also clear from the responses to the
consultation that these difficulties may have
been complicated by an overall response
which has not always been consistent and
has not been co-ordinated across Northern
Ireland. In addition, data on domestic
violence cases has not been collected
routinely nor in a standard format by many of
the relevant agencies. There has also been
constrained access to services for victims
through: a lack of information;
confusion about the roles of the various
service providers; inconsistent geographical
provision; lack of or inconsistent funding;

I can't believe it! He's such a nice guy!

                                                                      Tackling Violence at Home   17.
A STRATEGY FOR ADDRESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

      The Government’s Vision and Commitment

      The Government acknowledges that domestic        positive and consistent action as set out
      violence is a serious problem in Northern        below. The subsequent sections on the
      Ireland and is committed to working towards      strategy’s aims and delivery plans then detail
      its eradication. Every person should be able     how the vision can be achieved.
      to live in a safe and secure environment in a
      society where domestic violence and abuse is     The Vision
      unacceptable. The Government recognises          The Government’s vision incorporates:
      that it has a duty to do what it can to secure
      such an environment. It is committed to          Consistent positive action from the
      improving protection for all victims of          Government Departments and their
      domestic violence and to providing them          Agencies, including:
      with appropriate information and support. All    • A clear, unequivocal message that
      victims must be aware of the options open to        domestic violence is a crime, is
      them so that they can make informed                 unacceptable and will not be tolerated
      decisions about the route they wish to take      • A consistent demonstration of the
      to end the violence and rebuild their lives.        importance of joint-agency collaboration
      Whether or not they seek the protection of          and joint-agency policy implementation
      the courts, victims must be made aware of,          including good information-sharing
      and have access to, all the support that is      • The provision of dedicated resources to
      available from all the statutory and voluntary      address policy and practical issues
      agencies. Government is also committed to a      • Research and replication of best practice,
      more effective response to people who               effective responses and interventions.
      perpetrate violence and to persons convicted
      of domestic violence offences.                   The development of better, more equitable,
                                                       accessible and effective service provision
      The Government’s vision for effectively          providing:
      addressing domestic violence incorporates

      We need to know that our abusers will face stiff penalties. We need to know that
      there is security and safety for us. We need to know that we can keep our homes.

18.   Tackling Violence at Home
A STRATEGY FOR ADDRESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

• A co-ordinated network of services that       • Less public silence and more debate
  meet the needs of all victims                   about domestic violence and abuse and
• Appropriate protection and support for          its consequences for victims and their
  all victims experiencing domestic violence      children
• Appropriate safe solutions for all victims    • Co-ordinated services which prioritise
  escaping domestic violence                      victims’ and their children’s safety
• Easily accessible information to ensure       • A range of services, sufficiently flexible to
  that help is available for any victim           meet individual needs yet standardised
• Education and training to help prevent          enough for victims to be able to safely
  domestic violence or to identify it early       rely upon them
  and provide help and support.                 • An approach that encourages
                                                  empowerment and self-determination.
Improved protection and support for
victims and effective deterrents through:       For children who live in violent homes
• Holding perpetrators accountable for          there should be:
    their behaviour                             • Services that protect them from the
• Changing the criminal and civil law               consequences of being exposed to
    where necessary.                                domestic violence
                                                • Help, support and advocacy to ensure
What does the vision mean for victims,              that they are not left to deal with their
for children, for perpetrators, for                 experiences alone
service providers, and for society              • Information that the violence they have
generally?                                          experienced is wrong, legally and morally
                                                • Opportunities to share their experiences
For victims who experience domestic                 with other children so as to reduce
violence and abuse, there should be:                their isolation.
• A clear message that domestic violence is
    a crime and that it will not be tolerated

I am disabled and I fear reporting the abuse because I rely on him for personal
assistance and financial support. What if I can’t find another carer?

                                                                     Tackling Violence at Home    19.
A STRATEGY FOR ADDRESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

      For perpetrators of domestic violence and       The benefits for the population generally
      abuse there should be:                          should be:
      • Interventions designed to hold them           • Increased understanding of domestic
          accountable for their behaviour                violence and its unacceptability
      • Opportunities to help them to address         • Better information for victims and their
          their offending behaviour                      family and friends who provide support
      • Negative consequences sufficient to act       • A reduction in the prevalence and
          as a deterrent.                                severity of domestic violence
                                                      • A reduction in repeat victimisation
      For practitioners who provide services there    • A reduction in the long-term negative
      should be:                                         consequences of domestic violence for
      • Training and support for all relevant staff      victims and their children
      • Standard definitions relating to domestic     • A reduction in the direct and indirect
          violence service provision allowing all        costs associated with domestic violence
          agencies to work towards a common           • A safer community
          purpose
      • Good practice guidelines and standards
          against which services can be assessed
          and compared.

      For departments and agencies that
      resource domestic violence services there
      should be:
      • Monitoring to track the effectiveness of
          the strategy
      • Better data to ensure that future services
          can be targeted effectively.

      I went to the police once... the gist was “Look at the size of you. Go home and
      sort it out yourself”.

20.   Tackling Violence at Home
A STRATEGY FOR ADDRESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

Roles and Responsibilities

The key requirement for successful                  encouraged to proactively address
implementation of the strategy is                   domestic violence and contribute to the
commitment to a shared purpose across all           implementation of the strategy
the relevant partner departments and              • ensure that appropriate sanctions and
agencies, at both regional and local level. The     sentencing options are available to courts
Government is committed to achieving              • promote equality of opportunity for all in
sustained and effective action across a wide        accessing services
range of agencies and professional fields in      • ensure there is monitoring and feedback
pursuit of the strategy’s aims and objectives.      about progress on implementation of the
                                                    strategy across all departments and
The relevant Government Departments and             agencies.
their agencies will:
• ensure that the Government’s                    The Criminal Justice Agencies (i.e. the
    commitment to tackling domestic               Police Service, the Public Prosecution
    violence and abuse in Northern Ireland is     Service, the Court Service and the
    known at all levels                           Probation Service) will:
• work together proactively and in                • ensure that domestic violence is dealt
    partnership with voluntary and                    with as a crime wherever appropriate
    community organisations and with local        • recognise that the way in which they
    domestic violence partnerships to take            respond to cases of domestic violence is
    forward the strategy on a corporate basis         critical to effective implementation of the
• ensure, as far as is possible, that                 strategy
    adequate additional resources are             • work effectively with other key partners
    allocated to implement the strategy               at regional and local level to take
• ensure that other agencies to which they            forward the strategy on a corporate basis
    relate and employers generally are

The violence is bad, but it’s the emotional side of what happens - the shame, the
embarrassment and, because I’m a man, the not being believed is worse.

                                                                       Tackling Violence at Home    21.
A STRATEGY FOR ADDRESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

      • promote equality of opportunity for all        (statutory and voluntary) at regional and
        accessing protection and justice services      local level to take forward the strategy on
      • facilitate court-mandated perpetrator          a corporate basis
        programmes in partnership with               • promote equality of opportunity for all in
        Women’s Aid.                                   accessing domestic violence services
                                                     • provide constructive feedback on services
      Local Domestic Violence Partnerships will:       received from various agencies and
      • ensure that they involve in their              departments and make suggestions for
         partnerships representatives of all           improvement
         relevant agencies in their localities,      • participate in relevant training initiatives
         including community safety partnerships,      for statutory departments and agencies.
         to take forward the strategy on a
         corporate basis
      • adopt Regional Good Practice Guidelines
         and Standards and audit and monitor
         their effectiveness
      • develop local initiatives in line with the
         strategy’s aims
      • work with each other, with all the
         relevant agencies and with the Regional
         Steering Group to implement the strategy
      • promote equality of opportunity for all in
         accessing domestic violence services.

      Relevant Voluntary Organisations will:
      • work together proactively and in
          partnership with all the relevant bodies

      All the statutory and voluntary agencies are committed to working in partnership
      on Local Domestic Violence Partnerships and on the Regional Steering Group.

22.   Tackling Violence at Home
A STRATEGY FOR ADDRESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

The Aims of the Strategy

The ultimate goal is to put in place all       These aims will be achieved through the
practicable measures towards the elimination   successful implementation of all the elements
of domestic violence and abuse. Progress       of the strategy, the initial Action Plan and
towards that goal can be achieved through      subsequent annual Action Plans.
the following aims.
                                               The strategy is aimed at everyone in
Overall Aims                                   Northern Ireland: victims who
The overall aims of the strategy are:          experience or witness domestic
• To improve services and support for all      violence, the perpetrators of abuse,
    victims of domestic violence               politicians, policy makers, service
• To develop and deliver a high quality,       providers, people working within the
    co-ordinated multi-agency response to      justice system, and the general
    domestic violence                          public - all have a role in the
• To further increase and develop              elimination of domestic violence and
    awareness generally about domestic         abuse.
    violence and the measures in place to
    help the victims
• To educate children and young people
    and the wider general public that
    domestic violence is wrong and is
    unacceptable and to enable them to
    make informed choices
• To hold perpetrators/abusers accountable
    and provide effective interventions for
    their behaviour.

I am elderly, treated like a child and isolated from my friends. Cheques have been
cashed without my authorisation and I have been coerced into signing documents.

                                                                   Tackling Violence at Home   23.
A STRATEGY FOR ADDRESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

      Delivering on the Aims

      This section sets out in some more detail,        professionals know how to respond to early
      under the headings of Prevention; Protection      signs of abuse. Actions under the Prevention
      and Justice; and Support:                         strand of the strategy are therefore aimed at:
      • the main issues that need to be
          addressed                                     • preventing domestic violence happening
      • the progress that has already been made           in the first place, through changing public
      • broad proposals for achieving the aims of         attitudes to it (particularly among
          the strategy in the future.                     young people)
      A section on Other Priorities is also included    • general public education and media
      to highlight other key issues which do not fall     campaigns
      neatly under Prevention; Protection and           • identifying and tackling risk factors e.g.
      Justice; and Support headings, but which are        during pregnancy; and links with alcohol
      nevertheless crucial to the delivery of the         and substance misuse
      strategy’s aims.                                  • providing help for all victims of domestic
                                                          violence as early as possible to prevent
      Further and more specific details on                the abuse recurring
      initiatives, which translate the broad aims       • providing advice and information to all
      and themes into action points and target            victims on how to get access to support
      dates for achievement, are then set out in          services and legal protection
      the accompanying Action Plan.                     • preventing offenders, wherever possible,
                                                          from re-offending.
      Prevention
      Preventing domestic violence occurring in the     Progress to date
      first place is a priority. It is essential that   There has been some significant progress in
      anyone affected by domestic violence has          this area in recent years. Examples are:
      access to information and advice and that         A successful 2-year pilot project on Non-

      If sporting institutions took the issue of domestic violence seriously it could be a
      really effective way to influence boys’ and men’s behaviour.

24.   Tackling Violence at Home
A STRATEGY FOR ADDRESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

Violent Relationships to reduce the level of    Healthy Relationships” have been delivered
domestic violence, was run in Belfast by the    by local Women’s Aid Groups.
Probation Board, 2 Health and Social Services
Trusts and Belfast and Lisburn Women’s Aid,     Some employers, including South and East
working with male perpetrators and their        Belfast HSS Trust, Derry City Council and the
female partners and with young people.          NI Court Service have introduced workplace
                                                policies on domestic violence to provide help
A high-profile publicity campaign was           and support to victims at work. Agreement
successful in raising awareness and             has also been reached with the Northern
promoting the new Free-phone Helpline           Ireland Civil Service Departments and the
service for anyone affected by                  Northern Ireland Office to introduce a civil-
domestic violence.                              service-wide policy and guidance on
                                                Domestic Violence and the Workplace.
A successful pilot scheme to routinely ask
pregnant women about domestic violence          Key Preventive Measures for the future
was undertaken by midwives at the Royal         It is acknowledged that considerable further
Jubilee Maternity Unit in conjunction with      benefit can be achieved in the area of
Belfast and Lisburn Women’s Aid and NI          prevention. Further developments and
Women’s Aid Federation. Other HSS Trusts        initiatives to be rolled out under Action Plans
have now also introduced Routine Enquiry        will therefore include:
and consideration is now being given to the
policy being rolled out across all              Educating children and young people in
maternity units.                                school so that future generations know about
                                                healthy relationships, are informed that
Preventive education work has been carried      domestic violence is a crime and is
out in a number of primary and secondary        unacceptable. The introduction of the revised
schools using programmes developed by NI        curriculum will provide opportunities through
Women’s Aid Federation. Programmes such         various learning areas and contributory
as “Helping Hands” and “Heading for

I was really lucky to have a boss who supported me when my ex-partner began
hanging around where I worked.

                                                                     Tackling Violence at Home    25.
A STRATEGY FOR ADDRESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

      strands to get these messages across             private, voluntary and community sectors will
      to children.                                     be encouraged to adopt workplace policies
                                                       on domestic violence.
      Educating the wider general public is also a
      vital component to open up debate on the         Another important factor in helping to
      seriousness of the problem and to focus          prevent the recurrence of abuse will be the
      more attention on perpetrators. Publicity        further development of projects on work with
      campaigns will therefore be organised on an      perpetrators to help them to take full
      ongoing basis. Information for victims will be   responsibility for their actions and to change
      further developed so that details about the      their behaviour.
      help and support available from various
      agencies is readily accessible to anyone         Summary of key preventive
      seeking it.                                      measures for the future
                                                       • educating children and young
      All professional and other relevant staff,         people
      particularly those in the health and social      • raising awareness and improving
      services and education sectors, but also those     information
      in a range of other statutory, voluntary and     • training professional and other
      community sector organisations need to have        staff
      appropriate guidance and training to enable      • encouraging workplace policies
      them to identify victims of abuse early and      • working with perpetrators
      offer help and support. Good practice
      guidance, toolkits or resource manuals will      Protection And Justice
      therefore be developed along with a multi-       It is vital that victims of violence and abuse
      agency training strategy.                        have access to information about the criminal
                                                       and civil law protections available to them
      Workplaces generally provide excellent           and that they receive a positive response
      opportunities to offer help and support to       from government, the police and the criminal
      victims. All major employers in the public,

      Domestic Violence. End the Silence. Call 0800 917 1414. The Helpline is open to
      anyone affected by domestic violence.

26.   Tackling Violence at Home
A STRATEGY FOR ADDRESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

justice agencies. Actions under the Protection       Under the criminal law, the Domestic
and Justice strand of the strategy are               Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 will
therefore aimed at:                                  provide new powers in respect of:

• ensuring the safety of all those affected              • the availability of restraining
  by domestic violence and holding                         orders when a defendant has
  perpetrators accountable for their                       been acquitted;
  behaviour                                              • the establishment of Domestic
• ensuring a consistent and effective police               Homicide Reviews; and
  response to every reported incident of                 • a new power of arrest for
  domestic violence                                        common assault (introduced
• engaging victims of domestic violence                    July 2005).
  with the prosecution process
• ensuring that sentences are available that     Under the civil law, the Law Reform
  reflect the crime                              (Miscellaneous Provisions) Order 2005
• ensuring that victims are not deterred by      extends and clarifies the categories of people
  the way they are be treated at any stage       who can apply for non-molestation and
  of the justice process                         occupation orders, including those in same-
• making sure that the civil and criminal        sex relationships. It also clarifies the period of
  law offers the maximum protection to all       time for which ex-parte orders can be made
  victims to stop the violence recurring         and increases the tariff for breach of
• updating the law on domestic violence to       protective orders.
  give further protection to victims.
                                                 The PSNI has developed and issued a new
Progress to date                                 domestic violence policy. The policy aims to
There has been substantial progress in both      provide a consistent, pro-active and effective
the civil and criminal justice systems’          response to every domestic incident. Where a
response to domestic violence over the past      power of arrest exists, then only in
few years. Examples are:                         exceptional circumstances will the

I was in tears most of the time I was in court. Just being that close freaked me out
even though I knew he couldn't do anything to me.

                                                                       Tackling Violence at Home      27.
A STRATEGY FOR ADDRESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

      perpetrator not be arrested. Domestic             The PPS recently launched its draft “Policy for
      Violence Officers are now responsible for the     Prosecuting Cases of Domestic Violence” for
      investigation of serious assaults including       consultation. This draft policy outlines how
      repeat offences. PSNI has also agreed to          cases of domestic violence are dealt with and
      serve all ex-parte and non-consent non-           what the public can expect from the PPS in
      molestation and occupation orders.                respect of these cases.

      The Public Prosecution Service has developed      There are a range of special measures
      an enhanced range of services for victims,        available to victims of domestic violence on
      including victims of domestic violence.           application to the court (for example, giving
      Regional Community Liaison teams have             evidence by way of live link, removal of wigs
      been established the in the Belfast Region        and gowns, giving evidence in private, use of
      and in the Western and Southern Region.           screens) and many court venues have been
      These dedicated, specially trained units          equipped to enable victims to access these.
      provide a telephone information line service.
      On request, victims can be directly referred to   The Northern Ireland Court Service has
      specialist support agencies such as the           carried out domestic violence awareness
      NSPCC or Victim Support. Information is also      training for Court Clerks, staff on counter
      sent via letter to victims at key stages in the   duties and security service providers. This was
      prosecution process. Extensive training of        facilitated by Women's Aid, PSNI and Victim
      both prosecutors and law clerks has also          Support. All new court-based Court Service
      been carried out in respect of special            staff will receive domestic violence awareness
      measures to ensure application is made to         training on induction. The NI Court Service
      the court for them when appropriate. This         has also introduced a Domestic Violence
      training is ongoing in respect of new lawyers.    Workplace Policy and Guidance for its staff.
      A dedicated special measures intranet
      resource is also available to all staff in        The Victim Support Court Witness Service (for
      the organisation.                                 adult prosecution witnesses) and the NSPCC
                                                        Young Witness Service (for young prosecution

      She has threatened to stab me some night when I am sleeping. I can’t sleep
      properly now. She will just open the door and that is me awake all night.

28.   Tackling Violence at Home
A STRATEGY FOR ADDRESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSE IN NORTHERN IRELAND

witnesses) are available in all Crown Courts       Training for the Court Service on domestic
in Northern Ireland. They provide a range of       violence and the availability of special
support services to victims and witnesses          measures for victims.
called to give evidence at court. The services
available include: a visit to the court prior to   Developing, in partnership with criminal
the trial; an explanation of what happens at       justice and voluntary agencies, a training
the court; advice about any concerns;              programme for lawyers in respect of the
providing a quiet place for the witness to         Public Prosecution Service’s domestic violence
wait before and during the hearing; and            policy.
accompanying the witness into the court
room to give evidence. A pilot Court Witness       Developing further the consistent sharing of
Service has also been available in Belfast         relevant and appropriate information
Magistrates Court from June 2004.                  between civil and criminal courts and the
                                                   criminal justice agencies.
Key Protection and Justice Measures
for the future                                     Streamlining processes within the Public
The criminal justice agencies recognise the        Prosecution Service through, for example, the
need to intensify their efforts to ensure that     implementation of an advanced case
victims are given the protection they deserve      management system and the introduction of
and that perpetrators are held fully               Causeway IT Programme.
accountable for their crimes, and to increase
public confidence in their services. Further       Further developing and implementing
developments and initiatives to be addressed       positive interventions through court-
under Action Plans will therefore include:         mandated perpetrator programmes.

Ensuring that information on the civil and         Establishing Domestic Violence Homicide
criminal law and the court process is              Reviews to identify the lessons to be learnt
consistently available.                            and to improve inter-agency working.

The physical aspect is bad enough, but the scars eventually heal through time. The
emotional scars never heal.

                                                                        Tackling Violence at Home   29.
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