Women’s safety top priority for Cleveland PCC
Improving safety for women and girls is key to building a better Cleveland, according to police and crime commissioner (PCC) Matt Storey.
Work to tackle violence against women and girls is one of the Cleveland PCC’s priorities in his five-year Police and Crime Plan.
Mr Storey said: “Domestic and sexual violence is predominantly a gendered crime, in which five out of six victims are women.
“It’s imperative that we make Cleveland a safer place for women and girls so they can play the fullest part in our communities.
“Earlier this month, Cleveland was chosen as one of a handful of pilot areas for Domestic Abuse Protection Notices (DAPNs) and Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs.)
“DAPNS provide immediate protection after a domestic abuse incident while the new DAPO provides flexible, longer term protection for victims.
“However, protection isn’t just about acting when domestic abuse has taken place. It’s about preventing it happening in the first place by sharing our collective responsibility through a coordinated, multi-agency approach.”
He added: “Next week, I will launch a ten-year Tackling Domestic Abuse Perpetration Strategy, which has been co-produced between partners across Cleveland.
“It aims to tackle perpetrators earlier and address those things that enable domestic abuse to endure. As a result, we hope to reduce incidents and better protect victims”
The Tackling Perpetration Strategy will be launched on Thursday April 3 at a special event for partners, which will feature a number of guest speakers, including Micala Trussler, the mother of murdered teenager Holly Newton.
Holly was stabbed to death by jealous ex-boyfriend, Logan MacPhail, in January 2023.
Her mum is now campaigning through charity Holly’s Hope for ‘Holly’s Law’ to change the definition of domestic abuse.
In UK law, domestic abuse can take place only when both victim and abuser are aged 16 or over. Holly was 15 at the time of her death.
Mr Storey’s announcement comes after the release of the annual Domestic Homicide Project on Tuesday (March 25).
The project revealed that 262 people have died in England and Wales as a result of domestic abuse in the past year.
Its findings highlight the long-term damage done by domestic abuse by adding the number of suicides and sudden deaths to the total of domestic homicides.
For the second year running, suspected suicides following domestic abuse have overtaken the number of homicides involving current or previous partners
The Domestic Homicide Project has now recorded more than 1,000 domestic abuse-related deaths across a four-year period.