Wednesday 16 December 2015

Why Police are failing DV victims

It came as no surprise to me to read in the local and national newspapers that my local Police force are one of 27 forces failing to deal adequately with Domestic Abuse cases and victims.  Indeed, on the same day it was also reported that
 ‘A Police officer has been sacked for failing to carry out an “adequate” investigation into a domestic violence case.’  Nottingham Post, 15th December 2015.
During the course of my campaigning, I have met with various senior Police Offices to discuss their approach to Domestic Abuse.  While we have had positive exchanges, all have advised me that the local DV policy is directed by the local Police & Crime Commissioner. 
Nottinghamshire’s Police & Crime Commissioner is Paddy Tipping.  Prior to being elected to this post in 2012, Mr Tipping served as the Sherwood constituency Member of Parliament from 1992 to 2010 when he decided to stand down due to ill health.  Paddy Tipping had also been caught up in the MP expenses scandal and in 2009, paid back more than £ 14,000 which had been claimed in mortgage interests payments on his London flat.  The original claim was approved by the Fees Office and in accordance with Parliamentary rules.
To approach Mr Tipping, I had to go through his PA Amy Evans.  Amy Evans made the headlines herself in May 2015 when she admitted accessing  police records for personal use, as suspended and fined £ 2,900.
When I’d established contact with Mr Tipping, he advised me that if I wished to discuss Domestic Violence policy, I would need to speak the Deputy Police & Crime Commissioner as she’d been delegated the DV portfolio.
While the Commissioner’s post was an elected one, the position of his deputy was one by appointment.  Following Mr Tipping’s election, on his first day in ‘office’ 22nd November 2012 he duly named Chris Cutland, Executive Director of Women’s Aid Integrated Services in Nottingham as his Deputy.
I did meet with Chris Cutland who did advise me of all services on offer to DV victims and went out of her way to highlight to me the meagre services to male victims fully admitting to me that her priority was females.  Because of her background I found this as no real surprise.
Domestic Abuse policy in Nottinghamshire is heavily influenced by Women’s Aid and hereby lays the problem.  I suspect that this is also the case for the other 26 Police forces found falling short.
Rather than approach Domestic Abuse from a Gender Neuter viewpoint, Women’s Aid maintain a Gender Specific philosophy built around the academically-discredited Duluth model.  The Duluth model insists that men are perpetrators because they are exercising societal learnt power and control while women are only violent in self-defence.  Any serious student of human nature knows that this is not true within itself.  However, this fraudulent model has financed a multi-million industry ( of which Womens Aid has benefitted ) and is the basis for all inadequate services.
In order for any genuine progress the Duluth model needs to be assigned to the dustbin and a new understanding based on the academic studies now appearing that clearly prove that domestic abuse is not about patriarchal power and control.  Domestic abuse is about people of all sexualities and gender being violent to other people. 

If the person responsible for establishing local policy on Domestic Abuse is an appointment by an elected official, it’s little wonder that services for victims are so poor.

6 comments:

  1. I like your post. It is so true that the police are failing women involved in domestic abuse. After being abused for hours finally a neighbor would call the police. When the police would show up my abuser would drag me into a back room and lock the door. He would answer the door and convince the police everything was ok in the apartment and that I was sleeping and not to disturb me. The police never checked on me. The police would leave without getting my side of the story.
    I had a court order of protection which stated my abuser could not come within 100 feet of me so on the rare occasion the police did anything they would just bring him 100 feet away and let him go and then they would leave. This just made my abuser more mad and it made it worse for me. Police need to have classes to be more understanding towards victims of domestic violence

    ReplyDelete
  2. Currently going through the process. 17 years of silence, police finally contacted, five months in and still no charge against the abuser. The case is being passed to and from different areas of the legal system. All we want is some justice. Constantly feel like we have to defend ourselves and some of the officers we have come across so far have seriously caused me to question their knowledge of domestic violence. There appears to be a real lack of empathy and understanding in the field.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Recently I have been going through domestic violence and been under coercive control for 2 years and I am only 18. I contact the police and an investigation was starts. Today i was told that they were dropping the case as my ex had said I had turned it around on me and blamed it on me and said we were both as bad as each other. I got all this after being on the phone to the police officer for 10 minutes and hardly been able to tell my story. I believe if this was the other way round and it was me as a man being violent towards my ex the situation would have been different. I just feel so I guess empty, they just dismissed everything I have said...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for taking the time to share these informative information with us. It was such a good and well written article that you provided to us. Have a great rest of your day and keep up these wonderful posts.
    Personal Safety Intervention Orders
    Family Violence Intervention Orders
    Applying for an Intervention Order

    ReplyDelete