It’s close to a decade since Heidi Trelfa had a “lightbulb moment” and left her partner. During what, she says, were nine years of emotional and physical abuse, she never considered calling the police. “I had no connection with them. I was in my own bubble – when you’ve made up your mind that it’s your fault, you don’t turn to anyone for help. I didn’t even turn to my family. One morning I just woke up and said: ‘This has got to change,’” she says.
Last week the College of Policing issued new guidance on how officers should deal with cases of domestic abuse. It is designed to diminish over-reliance on victims’ evidence in a prosecution and bring about “a culture change within policing attitudes towards domestic abuse”.
The guidance is largely a response to a damning report last year by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, which exposed “alarming and unacceptable” issues in police forces’ approach. The report said promises to prioritise the issue had not materialised. Training was deemed inadequate, with many victims reporting they felt they were not listened to or taken seriously by the police. The home secretary, Theresa May, has responded by creating a national oversight group to act on the recommendations and is expected to unveil a new offence of “coercive and controlling” behaviour this year.
In March, Trelfa, who has three children with her former partner, joined a group of female domestic abuse survivors who are working with police in Manchester to pioneer new approaches to the issue. The women’s group began by conducting a listening campaign, speaking to 1,000 people in Wythenshawe, south Manchester – on the issue, many of whom support the project. The group used this to support their negotiations with the police. One of their priorities has been to create 20 “safe spots” at businesses in the area. Staff at community centres, cafes, shops and local MP Mike Kane’s office were given training on domestic abuse andwhat support services are available. However, most services for victims – such as counselling, drop-in centres and courses to help them rebuild their lives – are a 30-minute bus ride away. This has driven the women to seek funding for a centre in Wythenshawe itself. The first businesses came on board in April, with more about to join..
The women were supported by Movement for Change, an organisation that brings local communities together to act for a common purpose. Its professional community organisers work across Britain. They seek to develop the skills and confidence of people directly affected by issues, so that they play a leading role in holding power to account.
Sarah Judge, an MFC organiser, insists it is the seven survivors of abuse in Wythenshawe – supported by 20 volunteers – who have made the decisions, implemented the project and negotiated with the police and crime commissioner, local businesses and others. “This is something that is not being done to them or for them, but by them,” she says.
The “safe spots” are paid for by the local housing association, and the women also received money from a police innovation fund . They have worked directly with the local MP and councillors to get their support.
An estimated 1.4 million women were victims of domestic abuse in 2013-14, according to the latest UK crime statistics. The figure is likely to be an underestimate, says Women’s Aid, a national charity working to end domestic violence, with many victims not reporting it to the police. Charities have warned that the national provision of services for women and children suffering from domestic abuse are at breaking point, as refuges close or under threat of closure.
For Trelfa, it was not so much that she was afraid to ask for their help, but that she didn’t know what help was available to her. “I didn’t know what there was to turn to,” she says. She believes that if victims could “get all the information without going out of their way, just by popping into the local shop”, it could make a crucial difference.
Polly Neate, the chief executive of Women’s Aid, says: “The police must not be the only gateway to getting help. Our response as a society to domestic abuse revolves around the criminal justice system, but women’s lives do not.”
Judge says the difference is made in “the very small things”: the way the police introduce themselves, the ability for people to make their own decisions, and if the victim feels they are being listened to. The women are incorporating their experiences into a training video that will become part of mandatory police training in Greater Manchester. They are yet to decide which services will run out of the Wythenshawe drop-in centre but are considering provision of legal advice, employment support, money management and housing courses.
Garry Shewan, assistant chief constable with Greater Manchester police, says working with the community more to both find and deliver solutions is a new approach to policing in the face of severe budget cuts. “We are far more likely to see policing with a small ‘p’. As you have less police officers on the streets – an impact of the budget cuts – you have to fill that void through better relationships. We now have to find a way to tap into those assets that we haven’t in the past seen as being part of the immediate solution to crime.”
There are about 125,000 officers in England and Wales, with 17,000 having lost their jobs in the last parliament. The police recently warned that further cuts to the force of 25%-40% by 2020 could see officer numbers reach a 40-year low, with some predicting that preventive services will take a hit.
Shewan commissioned the Wythenshawe project after being “energised” by a visit to the first MFC initiative, in Barrow, Cumbria. There, the key success was to establish a relationships education programme at a local junior school, which the women’s group now hopes will be expanded to other schools.
Judge says the different projects demonstrate the principle that “nobody knows better what the community needs than the community itself”.
Police officers have since told Shewan that the project has made them reconsider their preconceived ideas about domestic abuse. “It has really opened minds in policing,” says Shewan. “There are communities in Greater Manchester where trust and confidence in policing has not been as high as it should be, but we have tapped into one of those communities and created new lines of communication.”
On Sunday, Trelfa spoke at the Labour party conference, at which MFC launched its campaign – Through Our Eyes – on the national stage. It is asking the government and MPs to help implement the education programme nationwide and for police training to incorporate victims’ experiences.
For Trelfa, the project has brought her to a place where she can speak on a conference stage. “I used to be very shy and didn’t have any confidence,” she says. “But this project has made us feel that we are powerful. I don’t have to be quiet. I can actually speak out now and show people that you can get through it.”
