Help for victims of domestic abuse

Tuesday 04 February 2014

Teachers, social workers, probation officers and police will work together in a new partnership designed to help victims of domestic abuse.

The police say that domestic abuse is a major problem for the Island and that, on average, they attend three reports of domestic abuse every day. But they also say that many domestic violence crimes go unreported and they hope that the launch of a new forum will encourage more Islanders to get help.

The head of the States of Jersey Police’s Public Protection Unit Detective Inspector Mark Hafey said: “Too often the crimes committed and the harm caused as a result of domestic abuse is hidden away. We want to encourage more people to report these crimes to allow us to take positive action against the offender and support the family, friends and communities where they are occurring.”

The new partnership will include police, social workers, the Housing department, children's services and other agencies, and will create a forum so that they can share information and work together to make sure that victims of domestic abuse get the help and support that they need. The Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) aims to reduce the risk of serious harm or homicide by identifying risk factors and supporting victims of domestic abuse and their children.

It will also include two Independent Domestic Violence Advisors who will be the primary point of contact for victims, and who will represent them in dealings with the various States departments and other agencies that support them. The advisers will also work with them from the point of crisis through to court, and will assess their level of risk and develop practical safety plans.

According to police, 62% of all common and grave and criminal assaults against women in Jersey are domestic and 21% of all common and grave and criminal assaults against men are domestic.

The work of MARAC is based on national best practice and concentrates on cases where the victim is assessed as at a high risk of suffering serious harm.