VAWG Task and Finish Group (LWN/ Citysafe)
Liverpool’s
Violence Against
Women and Girls
Strategy
Draft 4Document for
Consultation
1
VAWG Task and Finish Group (LWN/ Citysafe)
Draft VAWG Strategy
Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is one of the most pressing human rights
violations of our time and is a key cause and consequence of gender inequality. Both
these affirmations are explicit in the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence
against Women.1 The UN Declaration and the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW ) make clear that such violence is
gender-based, which, as well as having severe, long-term impacts on individual
victims/ survivors, is instrumental in restricting the rights and fundamental freedoms
of women as a social group. 2 The UN definition of VAWG is placed within a
framework of structural gender discrimination: it is this definition that has been
adopted by the UK Government in its ‘Call to End Women and Girls Strategy’:
“Any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in,
physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including
threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether
occurring in public or in private life” 3
The UN gender equality and human rights framework for preventing and addressing
VAWG places international obligations on member states at national and local levels,
which are reflected in UK public sector equality legislation and the national Strategy
Call to End Violence Against Women and Girls.4 This strategy enables us to develop
our response to VAWG in relation to all relevant gender equality requirements.
This strategy will utilise the ‘Six P’s’ framework adapted and developed by the End
Violence Against Women Coalition in its template for an integrated strategy on
violence against women.5
These are: Perspective, Policy, Prevention, Provision, Protection and Prosecution
1
UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women
http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/48/a48r104.htm
2 UN Division for the Advancement of Women / Department of Social and Economic Affairs (2010)
Handbook for Legislation on Violence against Women. New York. Accessed at:
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/vaw/handbook/Handbook%20for%20legislation%20on%20violen
ce%20against%20women.pdf
3 HM Government (2010) Call to End Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy
4 Council of the European Union (2012) Council conclusions on Combating Violence Against Women,
and the Provision of Support Services for Victims of Domestic Violence. Brussels: Council of
European Union; UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women; HM Government
(2010) op.cit.
5 Coy, M., Lovett, J., and Kelly, L. (2008) Realising Rights, Fulfilling Obligations. London: EVAW
2
VAWG Task and Finish Group (LWN/ Citysafe)
Perspective
Liverpool Citysafe Partnership will ground all its work relating to VAWG in a
comprehensive and coherent strategic perspective. This covers the principles and
the definitions we will use to guide and co-ordinate all our work, ensuring all
agencies and departments embody a shared understanding of, and commitment to,
the actions that are needed to tackle all forms of VAWG.
Definition
VAWG is violence that is directed against a woman or a girl because she is female,
or that affects women and girls disproportionately. It covers actions which harm or
cause suffering or indignity to women and children: acts that inflict physical, mental
or sexual harm or suffering, threats of such acts, coercion (e.g. force, lack of consent
and exploitation), and other deprivations of liberty.
The different forms of violence against women - including emotional, psychological,
sexual and physical abuse, coercion and constraints, including financial coercion,
threats and bullying - are interlinked, and often overlap. They have their roots in
gender inequality and gendered power imbalances and are therefore understood as
gender-based violence. It is men who overwhelmingly carry out such violence, and
women who are overwhelmingly the victims of such violence.6
Gender-based violence includes:

Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family, or caregiving domestic environment, within the general community or in institutions,
including: domestic abuse, rape, sexual violence including coercion and lack
of consent, incest and child sexual abuse, femicide, and rape as an act of
terror or conflict.

Stalking: repeated (i.e. on at least two occasions) harassment causing fear,
alarm or distress, most commonly in the context of relationship ending. It can
include threatening phone calls, texts or letters; damage to property;
surveillance of and following the victim, relaying threats through children
usually in the context of child contact situations.

Sexual harassment, intimidation and sexual bullying at work, in educational
establishments and in the public sphere, including through the use of public
electronic communication. This includes, but is not limited to, obscene
comments and shouting, flashing, touching, grabbing, and transmission of
pornographic images.
6
UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women
http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/48/a48r104.htm;
HM Government (2010) Call to End Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy; Women’s Resource
Centre (2008) Violence against women, health and the women’s voluntary and community sector.
WRC:London
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VAWG Task and Finish Group (LWN/ Citysafe)

Trafficking of women and girls, within the UK or across international borders

Dowry-related violence.

Female genital mutilation (FGM).

Forced and child marriages.

Crimes said to be committed in the name of ‘honour’.

Sexual exploitation.

Gender-based violence that intersects with other forms of social oppression,
and which may not therefore be recognised as VAWG, but which in fact
renders women more vulnerable to gendered forms of abuse and has
gendered impacts in terms of women’s experiences and support needs. This
includes, but is not limited to, physical, sexual, emotional and financial abuse
of women who have physical, sensory or learning disabilities, mental health
problems, insecure immigration status, do not have English as first language,
and / or are homeless.
Equality and Human Rights Perspective of Violence Against Women and Girls
Human Rights. & Equality Act 2010
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) 1948
Article 3 “Everyone has the right to life and to live in freedom and safety”
Article 4 “No one has the right to treat you as a slave nor should you make anyone your
slave.”
Article 5 “Everyone has the right to be free from torture and from inhuman and degrading
treatment.”
What are Human Rights?
Human Rights are the basic rights we all have simply because we are human. They belong
to everyone. Human Rights are based on our inherent human dignity; they are what it means
to be human. Once people know their rights they can express their concerns with the
confidence that they are backed by law.
A Right “is something to which one is entitled solely by virtue of being a person … enables s
person to live in dignity ….can be enforced ... and entails government obligation”. A need is
an aspiration.
Human Rights represent all that is important to us as human beings, such as being able to
choose how we live our lives and being treated with dignity and respect. They cover many
different aspects of everyday life, ranging from the rights to food, safety, shelter education
and health, to freedoms of thought religion and expression. In a modern developed society
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VAWG Task and Finish Group (LWN/ Citysafe)
like the UK, human rights shine a spotlight on everyday issues, such as the poor treatment
of older people in care homes, the rights of disabled people to live independently, violence
against women and girls and the misused opportunities of children living in poverty.
Human Rights place an obligation on the Sate to ensure that right is respected. Human
Rights do not just cover the relationship between the Sate and the individual but also covers
human relationships. The VAWG is covered by 3 main treaties



The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CCRC)
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
The Equality Act 2010. & Violence against Women and Girls
The Equality Act 2010 helped to consolidate other and numerous equality based legislation.
Under this duty public authorities are obliged to pay ‘due regard’ to the three aims of the law,
Which are to:



eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation on the grounds of a
protected characteristic;
advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic
and those who do not;
foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those
who do not.
Having ‘due regard’ means consciously thinking about these aims within the process of
decision making;
Advancing equality of opportunity includes:




removing or minimising disadvantages suffered by people due to their protected
characteristics
meeting the needs of people with protected characteristics
encouraging people with protected characteristics to participate in public life or in
other activities where their participation is low
Fostering good relations involves addressing prejudice and promoting understanding
between people who share a protected characteristic and others.
Since women are a protected group, violence against them – the harassment and
victimisation in the first aim of the duty – is a clear barrier to the achievement of equality:
public bodies thus have
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VAWG Task and Finish Group (LWN/ Citysafe)



an obligation to consider it within their application of the duty. VAWG is also critical
with respect the second and third aims - advancing equality of opportunity between
women and men and
promoting good relations between them. The latter suggests that a focus on
prevention,
changing the conducive contexts that allow violence to persist, and especially
changing how men and boys perceive and treat women and girls, should be part of
public policy thinking and decision making.
The duty takes us further than this, since as it is a ‘single’ equality duty, and due regard must
be paid to all protected characteristics, the experiences and needs of specific groups of
women must also be considered (sometimes called ‘intersectionality’27). Consideration
must, therefore, include:





· older women
girls;
· disabled women;
· black and ethnic minority women;
· Lesbians, bi-sexual/polyamorous, and transgender.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) have outlined six principles, based on
case law, of which public authorities must be mindful, if they are to fulfil the Equality Duty.
Knowledge: all involved need to be aware of the requirements of the Equality Duty:
Compliance involves a conscious approach and open state of mind.
Timeliness: the Duty applies before and at the time that any policy or decision is under
consideration and should inform the development and exploration of options. It is not
possible to satisfy the Equality Duty by justifying a decision after it has been taken if there is
no evidence that it was not explored in the decision making process.
Real consideration: consideration of the three aims of the Equality Duty must be
integrated into the decision-making process and this must be exercised with rigour and with
an open mind such that the exploration can influence the final decision.
Sufficient information: those making decisions must assess what information they have,
and what further information may be needed in order to give the Equality Duty real
consideration.
No delegation: public bodies are responsible for ensuring that any third parties which
exercise functions on their behalf are capable of complying with the Equality Duty, are
required to comply with it, and that they do so in practice. The duty cannot be delegated.
Review: the Duty continues to apply when policies are implemented and reviewed; it is a
continuing duty.
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VAWG Task and Finish Group (LWN/ Citysafe)
A Voluntary and Community Sector Guide to Using International Human Rights – Women’s Resource centre &
British Institute of Human Rights
Building Blocks A Strategy and Action Pan for Addressing Violence Against Women and Girls in Thurrock Liz
Kelly and Maddy Coy March 2012
Why does VAWG happen?
A gender analysis is crucial to understanding the causes of VAWG; the UN
Declaration recognises that:
“Violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power
relations between men and women, which have led to domination over and
discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of the full
advancement of women, and that violence against women is one of the crucial
social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position
compared with men.”7
Unequal power relations between men and women persist within the UK and, in
some areas; the gains towards equality that have been made by women are being
reversed. 8 Discriminatory social and cultural norms contribute to violence against
women and help to maintain attitudes of indifference and complacency towards it. 9
Such social and cultural norms and practices uphold gender power imbalances and
include: social constructions of masculinity which privilege men and routinely
devalue and objectify women; the notion that a man is ‘the head of the household’;
the belief that violence against women is a ‘private matter between a man and a
woman’; the glorification of violence against women in pornography and as popular
entertainment; the sexualisation and objectification of women in the media and other
forms of mainstream culture; ideas of male entitlement to sex and services from
women; and codes of ‘honour’ and ‘shame’ which lead to violence being used
towards women and girls.10
7
http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/48/a48r104.htm
The WRC report on Women’s Equality in the UK: a health check, which assessed progress made
against the recommendations of CEDAW, found that equality is being eroded for all but the richest
women in all areas of social, cultural, economic and political life. (WRC (2013) Women’s equality in
the UK – A health check. Shadow report from the UK CEDAW Working Group assessing the United
Kingdom Government’s progress in implementing the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW))
9 Council of the European Union Council Conclusions on Combating Violence Against Women, and
the Provision of Support Services for Victims of Domestic Violence. 6th December 2012.
10 See for example: Jeffreys, Sheila (2005) Beauty and Misogyny: Harmful Cultural Practices in the
West, London: Routledge; Cerise, S. (2011) A Different World is Possible: A call for long-term and
targeted action to end violence against women and girls; Roy, S., Ng, P, Larasi I., Dorkenoo, E., and
Macfarlane, A (2011) The Missing Link: A joined up approach to addressing harmful practices in
London. Imkaan/ City University, London; Dustin, H, and Shepherd, H (2013) Deeds or Words?
Analysis of Westminster Government action to prevent violence against women and girls. London:
EVAW
8
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VAWG Task and Finish Group (LWN/ Citysafe)
There are commonalities and connections between all forms of violence against
women, which include: the abuse of male power and privilege; myths and
stereotypes used to minimise or justify the abuse and excuse the perpetrator; the
gender dynamics of power and control; high levels of under-reporting and low
conviction rates; the extent of repeat victimisation; the long-term social,
psychological and economic consequences for victims/survivors and the failure of
many governments to adequately address gendered violence.11
The widespread attitudes that excuse and condone violence against women and
girls have been evidenced by a number of research reports; for instance:

36 per cent of people believe that a woman should be held wholly or partly
responsible for being sexually assaulted or raped if she was drunk, and 26 per
cent if she was in public wearing ‘sexy’ or revealing clothes.

One in five people think it would be acceptable in certain circumstances for a
man to hit or slap his female partner in response to her being dressed in sexy
or revealing clothing in public.

Almost half (43 per cent) of teenage girls believe that it is acceptable for a
boyfriend to be aggressive towards his partner.

1 in 2 boys and 1 in 3 girls believe that there are some circumstances when it
is okay to hit a woman or force her to have sex. 12

Nearly half of people believe that domestic violence is something that
happens behind closed doors and is for the partners to sort out [ICM (2003)
Hitting Home BBC Domestic Violence Survey].

More people would call the police if someone was mistreating their dog than if
someone was mistreating their partner (78% versus 53%) [ICM (2003) Hitting
Home BBC Domestic Violence Survey].13
In a survey of 103 UK men who buy sex, 25% said the concept of rape does
not apply to women in prostitution.14


The same survey found that the majority of the men questioned (55%) were
aware that many women in prostitution may have been tricked, lured,
coerced, exploited or trafficked, but that did not affect their decision to buy
sex.
11
Coy. M. et.al. (2008) Realising Rights, Fulfilling Obligation. End Violence Against Women Coalition
Cited in Cerise, S. (2011) A Different World is Possible: A call for long-term and targeted action to
end violence against women and girls.p.5. London: EVAW
13 Cited by the AVA (Against Violence and Abuse) project http://www.avaproject.org.uk/ourresources/statistics/society%E2%80%99s-attitudes-to-violence-against-women.aspx
14 Melissa Farley, Julie Bindel and Jacqueline M. Golding (2009) Men who buy sex: Who they buy
and what they know. A research study of 103 men who describe their use of trafficked and nontrafficked women in prostitution, and their awareness of coercion and violence. Eaves, London
12
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VAWG Task and Finish Group (LWN/ Citysafe)
Blaming the victim is something that abusers will often do to make excuses for their
behaviour. This is part of a pattern of impunity and is in itself abusive. Perpetrators,
communities and wider society often attempt to excuse violence against women by
focussing on the behaviour of the victim or on other factors such as his childhood, ill
health, poverty, and alcohol or drug addiction. In this way, the perpetrator avoids
taking responsibility for his actions and his behaviour is explicitly or tacitly
condoned.15
A holistic and integrated approach to addressing VAWG
This strategy connects all forms of VAWG within a coherent gendered analysis;
bringing together separate initiatives on sexual violence, domestic abuse, trafficking,
FGM, forced marriage, prostitution, stalking, so called 'honour' based violence and
murder (femicide) in one document. This approach will enable us to develop
policies, resources and responses that encompass violence that takes place within
family, domestic and care-giving settings as well as beyond these, whether relating
to current and on-going violence or to historic abuse, and which recognises the
cumulative impact of repeated and different forms of abuse. Many women will
experience multiple forms of gender-based violence throughout their lives, and by
understanding that different types and acts of violence form part of a continuum, the
overlaps and connections between them become clear.16
For example:

Domestic violence includes not just physical assaults but also sexual abuse,
exploitation and manipulation, emotional and psychological abuse, financial
abuse and stalking: most stalking takes place post-separation. Some women
are forced into prostitution by abusive partners.

There is a wide body of research that documents links between domestic
violence and child abuse, including child sexual abuse, which in turn is
associated with early entry into the sex industry and sexual exploitation.17

Forced marriage is linked to rape, forced pregnancy, forced child-bearing and
other forms of violence. Violence carried out in the name of ‘honour’ in its
most extreme forms leads to the murder of women.18
Women’s Aid (2009) Domestic Violence: Frequently Asked Questions. Factsheet; Understanding
Gender Inequality and Violence against Women Training Pack’. (2010) Argyll and Bute Community
Planning Partnership / Women’s Support Project; DFID (2012) A Theory of Change for Tackling
Violence against Women and Girls. CHASE Guidance Note 1
16
Kelly, L and Coy, M (2012) Building Blocks: A Strategy and Action Plan for Addressing Violence
Against Women and Girls in Thurrock. London: CWASU
17 Kelly and Coy (2012) (op.cit.).
15
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VAWG Task and Finish Group (LWN/ Citysafe)
Certain groups of women are more vulnerable to being victims of multiple forms of
gender-based violence: in particular, adolescents; young women; women with
physical disabilities or learning disabilities; women with mental health issues;
homeless women; women who sell sex; those living in institutions such as hospitals
and temporary accommodation; Traveller women; women in areas of conflict / war
situations and those who are asylum seekers and refugees.19
This vulnerability is likely to be understood by many people as linked to women’s
situations, lifestyles and/or abilities, but much more emphasis needs to be placed on
the targeting strategies of violent, coercive, predatory and manipulative men. That is,
the men who choose to target and victimise those women and children who have few
resources to resist and who are less likely to be believed or taken seriously should
they report.20
Reporting
Many women and girls choose not to report the violence they are experiencing, or
have experienced, to agencies, especially statutory organisations. There are many
reasons for this, ranging from not defining what happened as abuse, fear of reprisal
from the perpetrator or the community, feelings of stigma and shame, fear of not
being believed, through to distrust of the agencies themselves. 21 Whilst awareness
18
Roy, S., Ng, P, Larasi I., Dorkenoo, E., and Macfarlane, A (2011) The Missing Link: A joined up
approach to addressing harmful practices in London. Imkaan/ City University, London
19
Gill, A (2013) ‘The Oxford abuse case and the myth of the “good girl” victim’ The New Statesman,
15/5/13; Barter, C, McCarry, M, Berridge, D and Evans, C (2009) Partner exploitation and violence in
teenage intimate relationships www.nspcc.org.uk/inform;
McCoy, E, Jones, L and Quigg, Z (2011) A consultation with young people about the impact of
domestic violence (abuse) in their families and their formative relationships. Liverpool John Moores
University;
Hague, G, Thiara, R., Magowan, P (2007) Disabled Women and Domestic Violence: Making the
Links. An Interim Report for the Women’s Aid Federation of England;
Anitha, S (2011) ‘Legislating Gender Inequalities : The Nature and Patterns of Domestic Violence
Experienced by South Asian Women With Insecure Immigration Status in the United Kingdom’
Violence Against Women, 17(10) 1260– 1285;
Dorling, K, Girma, M and Walter, N (2012) Refused: the experiences of women denied asylum in the
UK. Women for Refugee Women;
WNC (2009) Still We Rise: Report from WNC Focus Groups to inform the CrossGovernment Consultation “Together We Can End Violence Against Women and Girls”
20 Kelly, L (2005) Promising Practices addressing sexual violence. Expert Paper delivered by
Professor Kelly, Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit, London Metropolitan University, at: "Violence
against women: Good practices in combating and eliminating violence against women" Expert Group
Meeting Organized by: UN Division for the Advancement of Women in collaboration with UN Office on
Drugs and Crime
21
Parmar, A., Sampson, A. & Diamond, A. (2005) Tackling Domestic Violence: Providing Advocacy
and Support to Survivors from Black and Other Minority Ethnic Communities; RASASC (2011)
Reporting sex offences, RASASC Research and Policy Bulletin 7/08/11:
http://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/London%20Councils/RASASCResearch2011CarolMcNaightonNich
olls.pdf; Walby S and Allen J (2004) Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking: Findings from
the British Crime Survey. Home Office Research Study 276. London: Home Office Research,
Development and Statistics Directorate.
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VAWG Task and Finish Group (LWN/ Citysafe)
raising and improved responses can remove some of these barriers, there will
always be some women who choose to remain silent and only seek support later in
life. Others will decide not to pursue a criminal case, but to approach specialist
VAWG organisations which offer confidential services. Unless someone else,
especially a child, is at risk, the decisions women make about who to report to and
when should be respected. Consequently, the voluntary sector and women-only
organisations which so many women turn to so as to disclose violence and to seek
support should be prioritised within local planning processes.
Empowerment
Empowering women and girls is the core aim of this strategy, as focusing on the
rights of women and girls is the most effective way of combating gender inequality as
the root cause and consequence of gender-based violence. 22 Research and
practice shows that building and expanding women’s and girls’ resources,
knowledge, confidence, choices and agency is critical to transforming unequal power
relations and preventing violence against women and girls.23
Additionally, all relevant agencies and services need to ground their work in an
understanding that violence takes away the ability of the victim to control her own
body, personal autonomy and life. Repeated violations fundamentally undermine her
sense of self and trust in other people. To be assaulted and violated is to have power
used against you; which explains the importance of ‘empowerment’ in all
interventions. It does not reinstate the power of women and girls who have been
victimised to take decisions for them. Survivor/service user consultation groups and
other methods of engagement are an important and effective mechanism for giving
women a voice, thereby ensuring survivors’ views and needs are at the centre of
policy and inform practice.24
Women-only services have been found to be crucial to providing safe spaces outside
the male dominated mainstream and for facilitating women’s empowerment.25 A key
benefit of women-only services is physical and emotional safety, which is vital for the
22
World Health Organisation (2009) Violence Prevention: The evidence. Promoting gender equality to
prevent violence against women, Geneva: World Health Organisation / Centre for Public Health,
LJMU
23 Abrahams, H (2007) Supporting Women After Domestic Violence: loss, trauma and recovery.
London: Jessica Kinglsey Publishers; Craven, P (2008) Living with the Dominator. Freedom
Publishing; Kelly, L (2005) Promising Practices addressing sexual violence. Expert Paper delivered by
Professor Kelly, Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit, London Metropolitan University, at: "Violence
against women: Good practices in combating and eliminating violence against women" Expert Group
Meeting Organized by: UN Division for the Advancement of Women in collaboration with UN Office on
Drugs and Crime
24 Kelly, L and Coy, M (2012) Building Blocks: A Strategy and Action Plan for Addressing Violence
Against Women and Girls in Thurrock. London: CWASU
25
Women’s Resource Centre, (2010) Power & Prejudice: Combating gender inequality through
women’s organisations, London: WRC; Women’s Resource C entre (2011) Women-only services:
making the case. A guide for women’s organisations. London: WRC
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VAWG Task and Finish Group (LWN/ Citysafe)
development of confidence, greater independence and higher self-esteem. Womenonly services help women become less socially isolated and marginalized,
particularly as some women who would not attend mixed services would not receive
a service if there were not women-only services. We therefore support the
prioritisation of women-only support services, as well as broader women’s rights and
empowerment initiatives, as a key means of addressing the root cause and
consequences of violence against women and girls.
Prevention.
Prevention and early intervention of violence and abuse of women and girls is a vital
and key ingredient of the VAW&G strategy. Investment in prevention and early
detection will save a great deal in terms of lives lost, physical and psychological hurt,
family breakdown and complex needs. Many services are geared to react to women
and girls once they have made a complaint. In many cases once disclosure has
been made the abuse is well established.
In an economic sense saving lives, preventing injury and mental anguish will save
valuable resources. To investigate, send to trial and convict a murderer costs the
criminal justice system £1million 1. This does not take into account the lives broken
by the murder, the effect on family and other service providers.
National Picture 2
• Around 2 million women suffer domestic abuse
• 536,000 victims of sexual violence offences
• 95,000 victims of rape
• Only 1 in 4 domestic offences are reported to police
• Only 1 in 10 sexual violence offences
• 20% of rapes reported to police
• 1186 referrals nationally to UK Human Trafficking Centre (480 for sexual
exploitation). None from Merseyside or Liverpool
• Top 5 nationalities referred to UKHTC were Nigeria, Vietnam, Albania, Romania
and China. Just over 9000 Liverpool residents (male & female) are of these
nationalities
1. Baroness Scotland Domestic Abuse Conference November 30th 2013
2. Data collected by City safe 2013
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VAWG Task and Finish Group (LWN/ Citysafe)
• To date there have been no prosecutions in the UK for FGM however there have been
more than 1,700 victims of FGM have been referred to specialist health clinics in the UK
in the past two years
The key parts to prevention are as follows
Awareness – of the problem what to look out for, asking the right questions and
being aware of services that can help the referral pathways. Being non-judgemental
and engendering trust.
Many service providers are unaware of the cost to society of the violence and
abuse, what signs to look out for, with adults and children, daring to ask the question
about the abuse and understanding the referral pathways once the individual has
disclosed what is happening to them. To send a person away under such
circumstances, to then find out what to do, is not an option. To ensure that when
service providers are approached for help they are not judgemental.
Education – is key. To talk to the young about concepts such as love, healthy
relationships, what it means to be a man, masculinity and being female.;what help is
available, and that abuse if happens is not “normal” or acceptable; tackling early
indications of behaviour that could lead to abuse, for example anti-social behaviour,
bullying and abuse; tackling stereotypes.
Media, Stereotypes & Sexualisation of Girls – Media can purvey harmful
stereotypes, which can influence the young. Sexting in schools is becoming
commonplace in Liverpool. The porn industry sexualises our children and objectifies
the female gender. There is a need to recognise the effect porn has on the minds of
young people, educate against stereotypes. Also to explore with the media & porn
industry ways of regulation that protect against hostile attitudes.
Empowering of Young Women – Raising aspirations and providing young women
with a goal in life to attain and selecting the support they need to obtain their
ambitions.
Partnership working – Services on prevention need to be joined up both from an
operational level and strategically. Services are working successfully as part of the
MARAC, but the MARAC deals with high-risk domestic abuse cases and not
prevention.
“An Agreed set of common messages about VAW&G across stakeholders will
enable less visible outcomes to be recognised and factored into local decision
making. Consensus on both the necessity of prevention work and the key messages
to be communicated is vital” 3.
3. Thurrock Violence against Women and Girls Strategy by Liz Kelly
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VAWG Task and Finish Group (LWN/ Citysafe)
Mapping of Services – of what is available where, how these are accessed and
what the gaps are
Raising Awareness of services – so that the public and key service providers know
of their existence and how they can refer.
Research – Examining what is happening elsewhere and looking at good practice.
Monitoring – Looking at facts and figures, experiential data, social return on
investment and cost benefit analysis. This is to look at the investment in prevention
services and estimate how vital resources can be saved.
Protection.
In terms of public policy and international law, there is a duty to protect women and girls from
violence and abuse. Protection covers immediate safety for those suffering from all forms of
violence and for those provisions to be accessible. Protection also covers early intervention
to prevent issues such as FGM and forced marriage. It is important for agencies to be aware
of such practices and provide women and girls with the right environment to say what is
happening to them, or what they have been threatened with.
There are issues around public space and safety for women and girls to carry out their
everyday action without fear of abuse or crime. This aspect needs to be factored into
decisions such as planning, neighbourhood and city centre management, the environment
and transport plans.
Protection also covers important facilities such as support Networks & MARAC Risk
Assessments and Action Planning.
Civil Law protection orders and offender mismanagement systems are formalised systems of
protection.
To help protect women and girls, the victims need to be believed and treated in a in a non
discriminatory way.
Provision.
Unfortunately, Violence against women and girls is on the increase in Liverpool, Last year
there were statistic 33,261 calls about VAW&G in Merseyside. Nationally the police receive
a call about DV every 30 seconds. (2) This has to be offset with serious cut backs in public
and voluntary sector provision. Yet if services that help provide for and prevent sexual and
violent abuse are cut, in the medium and longer term this could cost the state, communities
and families more. Baroness Scotland, in a conference in Liverpool in November 2013,
highlighted the improvements that joint agency working and the MARAC had over the last 10
years in London. (1)
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VAWG Task and Finish Group (LWN/ Citysafe)
By 2009 in the UK Domestic Violence had been reduced by 64 %. In 2003, when I started,
there were 49 deaths due to Domestic Violence in London. When I left in 2010 that number
had been reduced to just 5 deaths.
Every death cost us as a Criminal Justice System, if there were no children involved, £1.1
million at least. Therefore that reduction has resulted in a saving to London if you are only
interested in how to reduce the deficit, of £44 million. In human and economic terms the
change has been dramatic.
The research in 2004 by the Department of Trade and Industry had demonstrated that
Domestic Violence was costing us £23 Billion. In 2009 that was reduced to £15.5 billion, a
saving of £7.5 billion per year in just five years.
The changed way of working had significantly reduced the deaths of women and girls and by
doing so had saved millions pounds of resources that would have been put into a murder or
manslaughter investigations and trials. Good provision is vital, but also is the need for
agencies to come together to share information, risk assess and action plan. Arguably for
both the victim and offender.
As a result of sustained abuse, many women suffer both mentally and physically. On average the
amount spent per year on mental health services is £176 million and on providing care following
physical injuries £1.2 Billion a year cost the state (3). It is of concern that services are being cut that
help women and girls with regard to violence and abuse. This has been shown in 2013 Women at the
Cutting Edge, which takes a gendered perspective of the cuts in provision to women and girls. There
are fears around the IDVA service, lack of funding for one-to-one counselling or cuts in places to the
Freedom Programme. Specialist services and provision are key to help prevent and stop future
abuse. Liverpool: 33,261 incidents reported to the police in 2012 -13. 4.4% conviction rate. Source here:
http://www.theguardian.com/society/datablog/2014/mar/10/domestic-abuse-sexual-violence-what-the-newfigures-tell-usMerseyside had one of lowest conviction rates
It is vital that services that are commissioned are women-only, specialised services. In a
recent study by Liverpool Mental Health Consortium Sub Group What Women Want Group
on Domestic Abuse and Mental Health, it was found that many women will not speak to a
man or use services that include men. In cases of BRM woman, to quote one voluntary’s
sector provider: “iIf they see a man they will turn round and leave our services”. (2) The
specialist counselling and care provided is not currently provided by the police or
mainstream mental health services. In many cases Women and Girls slip through the net of
more generalised services such as GP’s or generalist counselling, who do not recognise or
ask about the cause of the presenting illness.
In a study conducted in 2009 of focus groups with 209 women, many women were put off
seeing their GP’s by receptionists acting like gate keepers demanding to know what the
women wanted from the GP’s.(3) This strategy confirms the findings of the Domestic Abuse
& Mental Health research conducted by the Liverpool Mental Health Consortium Subgroup
What Women Want Group March 2014 The findings are worked into the action plan and
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VAWG Task and Finish Group (LWN/ Citysafe)
support the need for specialist, women-only, adequate provision. .( Link to report
www.liverpoolmentalhealth.org/_wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Domestic-Abuse-MentalHealth-LMHC-20141.pdf
There needs to be a diversity of provision of services to take account of the different forms of
violence , to provide intervention in crisis, longer term help, to take into account women’s
and girls’ other protected characteristics, such as ethnic original, impairment or age., as well
as access for women with complex needs, the accessibility of provision and how women find
out about what support they could get. Provision should include helplines, shelter, advocacy,
medical support, counselling and other forms of support. Women-only, specialist provision is
key to helping women and girls to come forward.
Finally it is important that the quality of services and how those services are delivered is
crucial. They should be non-discriminatory in their delivery; that achieves the right outcome:
that women and girls are safe and perpetrators are dealt with. In a recent report to Teresa
May, there were serious concerns in the way the police are handling domestic violence
cases. The Guardian report highlights the following
“The report said there were alarming and unacceptable weaknesses in core policing activity, in
particular in the quality of the initial investigation. It also raised serious concerns over the failure
of the police to undertake risk assessments of victims – with a confused approach to arrests of
alleged perpetrators.” (3)
Despite cutbacks in service, there is a need to ensure that when an agenc,y public or voluntary,
delivers a response to a victim of violence or abuse, it is of the best quality and outcome
possible.
Perpetrators & Prosecution
Violence against Women and Girls strategy is addressing violence and abuse from a
gendered perspective. As a result of this and the fact that the majority of violent crimes are
perpetrated by heterosexual men, the strategy looks at the need for dealing with perpetrators
and not putting the problem in the “too-difficult-to-do tray.” Colleagues in the MARAC have
commented on the number of cases that have recurred due to repeat offenders. The victims
are “protected”; the perpetrator sometimes goes to gaol, only to later find that the perpetrator
is back harming another or the same women or girl. There is a vicious cycle of abuse.
Arguably, perpetrators should be dealt with as law breakers, but also educated to stop the
offence reoccurring with another potential family.
Domestic Abuse is not a crime in this Country and as such Police are reliant on criminalising
the symptoms of the abuse instead of tacking the systematic and protracted cause of the
abuse. In Scotland a specialised enforcement agency has been set up to deal with
perpetrators.
'In Scotland, elite teams have been set up to deal with domestic abuse in the same way that a
homicide would be investigated.' (3)
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VAWG Task and Finish Group (LWN/ Citysafe)
In the wake of Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary's damning report exposing "alarming and
unacceptable weaknesses" in the way police respond to domestic violence in England and Wales,
force chiefs may want to cast their eyes across the border. In Scotland, the term "domestic violence"
is no longer in use and is referred to officially as "domestic abuse", because verbal attack and
controlling behaviour can be used to subjugate a victim to the perpetrator's will.
In a recent report to the Home Office police forces have been severely criticised
about the way they handle domestic abuse.
“Theresa May will lead a national oversight group to ensure chief constables act on
the recommendations of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), which
she described as "depressing reading".
The inspectorate condemned the police service for treating domestic abuse as "a
poor relation" to other police activity – and concluded that only eight out of 43 forces
responded well to domestic violence” (5)
One of the chief actions of this strategy will be to look at the recommendations put
forward by the report and see if the good practice can be followed in Liverpool.
Education
There are voluntary education schemes in operation for men who are perpetrators; there is
one in Merseyside, for example, called “Help.” The main problem seems to be that men, for
whom the course was designed, do not attend. Perhaps there is sense in making the course
obligatory and using gaol terms as a venue of delivering the course. Also the course should
be evaluated to see if it is working.
There is a need for looking at boys and putting in place provision that helps educate our
young men about relationship violence and abuse: to start questioning what is traditionally
regarded as Masculinity.
Link with Hate Crime
In a recent study by Roehampton University, the researchers questioned whether Domestic
Abuse should be classified as a hate crime. It was felt this would increase the tariff for
offenses and raise the profile for domestic abuse, which is not currently defined as a crime.
The outcomes of the report highlighted misgivings about creating complexities around
implementing the change in law, but said:
“ There was general support for the inclusion of a gender category in hate crime legislation
on the basis that it would challenge mistaken assumptions and problematic stereotypes and
(ii) it would encourage the issue to be taken seriously.” (3)
In a recent meeting of the Community Cohesion and Hate Crime Subgroup December 2013,
it was recommended that further consideration should be given domestic violence cases,
where there is clear evidence of misogyny, for example by looking on the computer hard
drive for evidence, and where the victim had been subject to abuse due to her protected
characteristic, which classifies the abuse as hate crime; currently, these characterises are
Race, Disability, Gender identity, Sexual orientation, and faith.
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VAWG Task and Finish Group (LWN/ Citysafe)
Enforcement agencies need to address offending behaviour even if the VAW&G is seen as a
lesser part of a “more serious” charge; there is a need for risk assessing perpetrators,
information sharing and monitoring perpetrators.
(1) Guardian Report 27th March 2014
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/27/scotland-domestic-abusebritish-police-forces
(2) The Guardian 27th March 2014
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/mar/27/police-failures-domestic-violencedamning-report
(3) Eliminate Domestic Violence Rt Hon Baroness Scotland of Asthal QC BY Robin
Marsh 16th December 2011
http://uk.upf.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=414:eliminate-domesticviolence-rt-hon-baroness-scotland-of-asthal-qc-&catid=59:2008&Itemid=108
(4) Domestic Abuse and Mental Health Conference 28th March 2014
(5) Map of Gaps The Post Code Lottery of Violence Against Women Support Services in Britain
(6) Department of Health
(8)Addressing Violence as a form of Hate crime: limitations and possibilities Feminist
Review Aisha K Gill Na d Hannah Mason - Bash
Comments to Gail Jordan LCVS tel 0151 227 5177 or email gail.jordan@lcvs.org.uk
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