18 May 2007
Justice Minister Vera Baird will open a new support service for victims of domestic violence in Wakefield today and will pay tribute to the important work done to help victims of domestic violence by the police, prosecutors, the courts, the local authority and others in Wakefield.
In West Yorkshire, 1764 people were convicted for domestic violence which represents a successful conviction rate of 65.5 percent in the last 12 months. In Wakefield, there were 136 convictions, almost 13 percent higher than the previous year which stood at 51 percent.
The Safe@home domestic abuse service will bring together local agencies such as Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, Wakefield and District Primary Care Trust & the West Yorkshire Police Service, which all have a role in dealing with domestic abuse incidents in different ways.
Domestic violence cases in Wakefield go to the local magistrates' court on Monday afternoons for a first hearing. When a not guilty plea is entered, the case will be taken back to court within six weeks. The local police provide a domestic violence coordinator to attend and support all court sittings.
Speaking at the launch, Ms Baird, Minister at the Ministry of Justice, said:
There is never any excuse for resorting to violence. We must keep challenging the culture of excuses to ensure that everyone can live in their own homes free of fear.
I am delighted to be here to launch the integrated Domestic Abuse Service in Wakefield, which is an important development in the West Yorkshire area. This is an important example of agencies working together to protect women from the crime of domestic violence.
I want to make sure that victims of domestic violence have the confidence in the criminal justice system to report these crimes. Many women don't report assaults as they fear that the system will not help them and that it will only add to the danger they are in.
Vera Baird also took the opportunity to welcome a new DVD You don't have to live in Fear which gives victims of domestic violence an insight into the family court process.
HM Courts Service with the support of the Family Justice Council and the Family Law Bar Association produced the film in response to the HMICA report on how domestic violence is handled in the family courts and following the success of a similar production circulated in Northern Ireland.
Ms Baird also said:
This is another example of working together and shows that my department is doing as much as it can to ensure those suffering from domestic violence have access to excellent services and can get protection from the court.
Victims contributed to the DVD by sharing their terrible experiences and I am deeply grateful to those that took part. I hope that Safe@home will find this an effective resource which will help to turn victims into survivors.
Mary Creagh, Wakefield MP said:
I'm delighted that Vera Baird is coming to Wakefield to see the excellent progress that the local police, health service and Wakefield council are making to tackle domestic violence. The Safe@home scheme will provide a more joined-up service to victims of this appalling crime.
The Minister's visit will also provide us with an excellent chance to outline why we need a specialist domestic violence court in Wakefield. This court would send a clear message that in Wakefield we have a zero tolerance to domestic violence
The DVD is available as a resource for anyone involved in domestic violence in the courts or in other service provision and will enhance the domestic violence training package already delivered to local Family Justice Councils across the county.
Notes to Editors
Safe@home background.
The DVD is available from Home Office Publications: telephone 0870 241 4680, reference DVL-DVD. There is an option to view the film with Welsh subtitles and the leaflet is also being produced in Welsh. Key stakeholders will receive about 5500 copies via a priority mail out.
Domestic violence:
- accounts for 17-25 percent of all violent crime;
- claims the lives of two women each week and 30 men per year;
- has more repeat victims than any other crime (on average there will have been 35 assaults before a victim calls the police);
- costs in excess of £23bn a year;
- is the largest cause of morbidity world-wide in women aged 19-44, greater than war, cancer or motor vehicle accidents;prosecutions for domestic violence increased from just under 3,000 in November 2004 to over 4,500 in January 2006.
64 percent of all murdered women are killed by their partner, ex partner or lover.
For more information please call Kathryn Montague or Zoe Campbell, Ministry of Justice Press Office on 020 7210 1397/8695