District council adopts Domestic Abuse Policy

A council’s draft Domestic Abuse Policy has been approved and is set to be subject to a four-week public consultation period. Newark and Sherwood District Council has approved its Domestic Abuse Policy at its cabinet meeting on Tuesday (April 1). The policy sets out the District Council’s commitment to managing, and hopefully reducing, the issue of domestic abuse in the district.

The policy sets out how it will support survivors and hold perpetrators of domestic abuse to account. Every local authority in Nottinghamshire has committed to seek accreditation through the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance to ensure that the authority is supportive of people impacted by domestic abuse and to ensure that the services they provide support their needs. The district council is hoping to follow in the footsteps of Mansfield District Council, which is already accredited, and Bassetlaw District Council, which is nearing completion.



In order to seek accreditation, the council is required to submit evidence of their commitment and processes in supporting those impacted by domestic abuse and key employees will be interviewed as part of the process to ensure that the necessary polices are fully embedded across the organisation. Newark and Sherwood District Council has a dedicated project officer from Nottinghamshire Women’s Aid working with the council, and all staff and elected members will undertake domestic abuse awareness training and relevant departments will undergo more detailed training to ensure that suitable support and signposting to appropriate agencies is undertaken. At the district council’s cabinet meeting on Tuesday, it was proposed that this policy is approved to have a four-week public consultation period, where the policy will be shared with the council’s Tenants Engagement Panel, Engaged Tenants, and key stakeholders including Nottinghamshire Women’s Aid and Equation, the commissioned provider for male victims, perpetrator programmes, and multi-agency training.

During the meeting, Jack Kellas spoke passionately about the policy seeming to refer to victims as female and the abusers as male, and that as men were also victims of domestic abuse too, that more gender neutral language should be used in the policy. John Robinson countered that the “evidence is clear, if you look at the people who are murdered [by their partner] the majority are women and the perpetrators are men”, and Rowen Couzens also pointed out that of the 108 people murdered by their partners last year, 83 were women. But Mr Kellas argued that domestic abuse is not a “gendered crime” and that not having more gender neutral language in the policy could discourage male victims from coming forward to get help.

“There’s a stigma around men’s mental health and on being a victim of domestic abuse. I’m not saying the data estimates that more men than women are victims but the language in this policy doesn’t in any way support male victims of domestic abuse. “We need to recognise that all can be a victim of domestic abuse and it is not acceptable.

” Paul Taylor said: “Whether you like it or not we live in a male dominated society where the power is with men and we live in a society where females are victims a significant amount of the time and we men need to take responsibility for what has happened.” Rowen Couzens added: “I don’t like gender neutral language unless it’s helpful and in these statistics it’s shocking and I’m glad I work in an environment with decent men, everyone should have the opportunity to live with decent men but not skirt around the fact that most victims are women and by extension, children and I welcome this. In this instance I am against gender neutral language, there is a place for gender neutral language and where there isn’t.

” Support for those seeking help from domestic abuse is available by contacting Nottinghamshire Women’s Aid at www.nottswa.org or calling 01909 491330; Newark Women’s Aid at www.

newarkwomensaid.com or calling 01636 679687, and male victims can contact Equation at www.equation.

org.uk or calling 0115 960 5556. The policy will be available on the district council’s website shortly for any public consultation comments.

.