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CPS report reveals a worrying drop in the number of prosecutions around domestic abuse

10th October 2017

In response to the Crown Prosecution Service’s 10th Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) report, Suzanne Jacob Deputy CEO said: 

"We welcome the CPS's continued efforts to end violence against women and girls. However, we are concerned that the number of prosecutions around domestic abuse has gone down. We need justice to be done for survivors and their children; we also need to send out a very clear message that if you inflict abuse on a loved one you will be held to account. 

We know right now that 100,000 people are at risk of serious harm or murder, and 2 million people every year experience domestic abuse. Behind every one of those victims is a perpetrator. We have to have a criminal justice system and a police service that actively seeks those perpetrators out to prosecute them. 

Our work with the police and other agencies is focused on improving understanding and knowledge in professionals who come into contact with families experiencing abuse. To ensure agencies talk to one another and share information. There is clearly still a huge amount still to do. 

We have to stop asking 'why doesn't she leave' and start asking 'why doesn't he stop'. The police and CPS are vital in actually making him stop. 

Domestic abuse is not a private matter. It is not 'just a domestic'. It is a serious and terrifying crime that impacts millions of people every year: we will continue to strive for a system that actually holds those responsible to account - the perpetrator"

Read the Crown Prosecution Service’s 10th Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) statement here.

 

About SafeLives
We are a national charity dedicated to ending domestic abuse, for good. We combine insight from services, survivors and statistics to support people to become safe, well and rebuild their lives. Since 2005, SafeLives has worked with organisations across the country to transform the response to domestic abuse, with over 60,000 victims at highest risk of murder or serious harm now receiving co-ordinated support annually. 
 
No one should live in fear. It is not acceptable, not inevitable, and together – we can make it stop.  
 
Every year, two million people experience domestic abuse. For every person being abused, there is someone else responsible for that abuse: the perpetrator. And all too often, children are in the home and living with the impact. 
 
Domestic abuse affects us all; it thrives on being hidden behind closed doors. We must make it everybody’s business.  

For interviews or more information, please contact Penny East, Head of Communications at SafeLives, on 07818 593 562 or by emailing penny.east@safelives.org.uk.