CEO’s report

Chief Executive Officer Claire Lambon says the stigma about domestic abuse is being broken. But there’s a long way to go to create a world without domestic abuse…

This year has been a time of great progress. In late 2018, Stop Domestic Abuse

secured the Hampshire County Council contract to deliver domestic abuse support services in all 11 Hampshire districts.

Combined with our contract in Portsmouth and other funding streams, this makes us the principal provider of domestic abuse services across Hampshire.

Since taking over this new contract in April, we have gone through a steep learning curve and doubled our refuge network from seven refuges to 14 (one of these is managed by our partners and sub-contractors Andover Crisis and Support Centre). I would like to thank all our staff for so ably rising to the challenge – as well as to welcome all of our new starters.

New name, same mission

To reflect the transformation of our service, we have embraced a new name and brand identity. As announced in last year’s report, we left our old name (Southern Domestic Abuse Service) behind to become Stop Domestic Abuse.

Our new name showcases our mission and our approach. While much of our work is to stop domestic abuse in current abusive relationships, ultimately we want to prevent abuse from happening in the first place.

That’s why we work in schools to educate children about healthy relationships; with black, Asian, minority ethnic and refugee communities to discuss harmful cultural practices; with perpetrators to help them understand the impact of their actions and develop healthier behaviours; and with women, children, young people and men who are victims or survivors of abuse to recover from their trauma and learn practical tools to stay safe in the future.

Breaking the silence about domestic abuse

There has been significant national media attention on domestic abuse this past year. In particular, the case of Sally Challen, who had her life sentence for killing her husband overturned this February, because the coercive control she experienced during their marriage became recognised by law in 2015. This landmark ruling and the news coverage it generated has been excellent for stimulating conversation about domestic abuse and for increasing recognition of coercive control.

Domestic abuse happens to men too

Similarly, the case of Alex Skeel, who bravely shared his story in a February television documentary, has highlighted that domestic abuse happens to men too and that, sometimes, women are the perpetrators (see page 16). Indeed, Alex’s partner was the first woman in the UK to be imprisoned for coercive control.

It is important to remember that domestic abuse disproportionately affects women (nearly twice as many women than men were victims of domestic abuse in the year to March 2018). However, we hope that Alex’s example will empower more male victims to speak up and seek help (see page 6).

At Stop Domestic Abuse, we

have been providing support services to male victims of domestic abuse since 2011 and we are excited to be launching a specialist ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) group for men this year.

Government action on domestic abuse

This time last year, changes in government funding meant up to half of England’s refuges looked set to close. Thankfully, ministers listened to the concerns that we and other organisations reported and are now proposing the introduction of a statutory duty for local authorities to provide holistic, tailored support to all victims of domestic abuse. I contributed to the recent consultation on this and hope that it is implemented.

I have also been contributing to government consultations on the landmark new Domestic Abuse Bill, which was presented to parliament in July. I met with Maria Miller MP, Chair of the Joint Committee that scrutinised the draft bill. It is imperative, that in the current political climate, important legislation like this does not fail to be implemented.

I am delighted that the bill includes the first statutory definition of domestic abuse, including financial abuse and coercive control. It also proposes appointing a Domestic Abuse Commissioner to hold local and national government to account; the introduction of Domestic Abuse Protection Notices and Orders to allow police to intervene earlier where abuse is suspected; increased support for victims to give evidence in criminal courts and a ban on abusers crossexamining victims in family courts.

It is disappointing that the need to protect and support child victims of domestic abuse has not had significant recognition in this bill. We will keep lobbying for the bill to guarantee a timely and holistic response for all victims.

Further still to go

Despite the progress made this year, a grand challenge remains ahead. Two million adults experienced domestic abuse in England and Wales last year and we fear the long-term security of our refuges, as we remain at the mercy of national political priorities and of our landlords.

In 2021, we risk losing 52 family refuge spaces, as our largest landlord is considering moving away from refuge provision. That’s why we’re taking matters into our own hands and protecting our refuges through our Buy a Brick campaign (see page 12).

Buy a Brick aims to raise £1million so we can buy a refuge (or refuges) of our own and guarantee a continuous service for women and children fleeing domestic abuse. We are determined to continue providing vulnerable families with a safe place to sleep at night and begin their journey to a life free from abuse. We sincerely appreciate your donations to help us achieve this.