Watson Esam | News | Don't Suffer In Silence During The World Cup

It is a sad fact that domestic abuse will affect 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men in their lifetime.  Statistics show that 77% of the victims are women and 2 women a week are killed by their partners or former partners.  Every minute police in the UK receive a domestic assistance call - yet it is believed that only 35% of domestic violence incidents are reported to the police. (Home Office 2002).

Sadly, what should be an entertaining few weeks during the World Cup might end up far from it for some women as it is reported that there was a 30% increase in attacks on women during the last World Cup in 2006, with spikes specifically on days when England were playing. (Yorkshire Post)

Domestic abuse can be physical, psychological, sexual or financial violence that takes place within an intimate or family-type relationship and forms a pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour.  Physical and sexual abuse are usually more easily recognisable but the abuse can take many forms such as destructive criticism and verbal abuse; disrespect; harassment and checking up; lying; forcing a person to do things they don’t want to do; destroying possessions; pressure tactics, such as withholding money, denying access to friends, work, college etc.; threats, such as to take the children away; denial of the abuse and being nice in public.

Victims regularly find it difficult to accept that they are being abused and don’t look for help.  It can be difficult to take that first brave step in telling someone what is going on behind closed doors, but help is out there.

The first port of call is usually the police for anyone in immediate danger, but more can be done to help victims protect themselves and their children from suffering abuse at the hands of a family member.

With the help of a solicitor a victim can apply to court for the protection of an order, commonly referred to as an injunction.  A ‘non molestation order’ can protect the victim or their child from violence or threatened violence and from harassment and pestering or instructing or encouraging anyone else to do these things.  An ‘occupation order’ can order the perpetrator to move out of the family home and not to return or even go within a certain distance of it.  Both of these orders can usually be made within a couple of days – even on the same day in emergency situations.  Applications for these orders are not made in public so no one who is not connected with the case will be in attendance.

The orders are of course only a piece of paper, but once a non molestation order has been made it is a criminal offence to breach the order and the perpetrator can be arrested and brought before a court.  This has meant that breaches are dealt with quicker and generally more successfully as respondents are subject to a wider range of punishments than they were in the family courts.  For example, community punishment or rehabilitation order can be used.  There have been cases where magistrates have ordered anger management classes and rehabilitation, rather than punishment this is becoming an increasingly popular way to deal with domestically violent men.  Breaches of occupation orders are still dealt with in the family courts.  The local police station is notified of any injunction made and so any calls from the house or relating to the parties involved are given high/top priority.

Some people are entitled to legal aid (now known as public funding) to help cover the cost of applying for an injunction.

For further information about domestic abuse, or for help in applying for an injunction, call Alison Leversidge at Watson Esam on 0114 275 3350 or email alison.leversidge@watson-esam.co.uk

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