Reading through Tuesday’s two damning reports into domestic violence and the police handling of it, that old adage comes to mind: the test of any civilised society is how it treats its vulnerable. It’s increasingly hard to deny that it’s not only the individual men who choose to abuse their wives, girlfriends, exes or relatives who are failing this test, but also the state services meant to protect their victims.
Almost three-quarters of police forces in England and Wales are letting down “vulnerable victims” – defined as children, disabled people and people subjected to repeat abuse – according to the police inspectorate. Of the 43 police forces in England and Wales, HMIC judged just 12 to be good and none to be outstanding at protecting vulnerable people. This is evidence of a widespread failure to assess or support the very victims who need it most, by the very people entrusted with helping them.
In the second inquiry, HMIC found police to be “nearly overwhelmed” by the increase in reports of domestic violence: a staggering 31% in 18 months. It feels strange, on impulse, to see this rise described by the report as a sign of “improvement”. Importantly, an increase in reports does not necessarily mean an increase in the crime and it’s clear progress that more victims are feeling able to come forward, but it’s difficult to say anyone in a position of power should currently feel particularly proud: whether that’s the police failing to help victims when they risk their safety to make a report, or the government cutting refuge services for them to flee to.
For an insight into just how deep these cuts go, since 2011, Refuge has seen a reduction in funding across 80% of its service contracts, some by as much as 50%. This is being exacerbated by a growth in short-term funding. A senior manager at Refuge tells me that services that may have previously been commissioned every five years are now being put on one-year contracts, sometimes less. A number of commissioners have even asked them for cuts during a contract. The result? A decrease in the time women and children are able to stay in a refuge.
As reported last month, the Conservatives’ new 1% cut to social housing rents also means many housing association chiefs say they’ll now have to scale back specialised housing for women fleeing domestic violence.
The biggest danger for a so-called civilised society is to convince itself domestic violence is inevitable – that women will always be beaten, raped or killed (often in their own homes) and that there’s just not much the state can do.
But it’s simply not true. Every police force can adopt standardised, high-quality training to rid the system of the “postcode lottery” – and address what Women’s Aid describe to me as “cultural attitudes” by police officers that may stop victims feeling believed or taken seriously. Police can also utilise tools already in place – such as Domestic Violence Protection Orders, which can protect victims immediately after abuse incidents.
The government, for its part, can create central, ring-fenced funding for domestic violence provision – showing that women’s lives are not an expense austerity can afford to risk.
If anyone needed motivation, they might take a look at the Counting Dead Women site: a list of the 112 women suspected to have been killed by men in this country this year. In the first week of 2015, Natalia Czekaj was stabbed more than 20 times and almost decapitated. Her boyfriend was jailed for six years for her manslaughter.
A year from now, how many victims will have tried to report their abuser, only to be let down by the police? How many will have tried to escape to a refuge, only to find it shut down by government cuts? Women deserve more than platitudes. Lives depend on it.
