Latest news with #domesticabuse
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Health
- Irish Times
Domestic abuse victims say their ordeals continue or even worsen despite family law proceedings
Adult and child victims of domestic abuse are being 'retraumatised' during family law proceedings, research suggests, with almost all those affected being subjected to abuse after separation and during court cases. While the prevalence of domestic violence and abuse (DVA) in all family law cases is disproportionately high, the Irish family law system as a whole 'is not sufficiently DVA informed or responsive', according to the research report. Women's Aid , which commissioned the research, said this 'systemic blind spot' left victims feeling disbelieved, silenced and at risk from further abuse. The study, which involved almost 440 victims of DVA, was carried out by Trinity College Dublin and University College Cork . READ MORE Victims described their experience of family law proceedings as 'horrific', 'retraumatising' and 'relentless', with one woman saying: 'It's essentially a stage for the abuse to continue.' The study argues that the courts and the family law system often operate under the 'flawed assumption' that once a couple separate then any violence or abuse is considered to be historical. 'This premise can lead to decisions and judgments that may not fully account for the ongoing risks or impacts of abuse on the victim-survivors, as it overlooks the possibility that abuse can continue even after separation,' it said. Among participants who were victims of DVA, 91 per cent of women and 93 per cent of men indicated that abuse continued or began post-separation and while proceedings were under way. 'The abuse never stopped after separation, it just changed,' one woman said. A common perception among participants was that perpetrators were able to 'play' the system to maintain control or cause disruption to inflict harm on former partners by repeat summoning or through multiple adjournments. Researchers found that the court's 'neutral stance' regularly failed to capture subtle, nuanced patterns of abuse. Most victims also indicated that forms of abuse such as coercive control, emotional abuse, financial abuse and stalking increased post-separation. Victims managing court-ordered access, meanwhile, reported intimidation and threats while handing their children over, with 78 per cent of victims experiencing ongoing problems or abuse connected with access arrangements. To avoid being charged with violating court-ordered access, victims were required to engage with their abuser, which 'frequently provided court-sanctioned opportunities for further abuse to occur'. Some women reported assaults, threats, intimidation and manipulation, while others perceived court-ordered access being used by abusers as an 'ongoing tactic of control and abuse'. Women also reported being wrongly accused of 'parental alienation' when they said their children did not wish to go on visits because of their experiences of DVA. A common theme arising from interviews with child participants was feeling unsafe during access or contact with their father, with a 14-year-old girl saying: 'You just don't know what he's going to do next.' Most children perceived their experiences as being discounted or disbelieved and their wishes being ignored throughout proceedings. Trinity College Professor Stephanie Holt, the chief investigator for the study, said it provided evidence and insights into a 'fundamentally flawed' family law system when dealing with victims of domestic abuse. 'The findings paint a predominantly negative picture of that journey through the family law system for adult and child victim-survivors of domestic violence and abuse,' she said. Sarah Benson, chief executive of Women's Aid, said while there were some examples of informed practices, it was 'completely inadequate when the system itself is not attuned and responsive to the tactics and impacts of domestic abuse post-separation'. Women's Aid is urging the Government to 'fundamentally reform' the family law system in a DVA-informed manner which would include compulsory domestic abuse training for all professionals.
BBC News
12 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Actress urges Somerset workplaces to support domestic abuse victims
An actress and domestic abuse campaigner has said all employers should put measures in place to support victims while they are at Beckinsale, who is based in Somerset, said she would like to see domestic abuse policies introduced in actress, along with Avon and Somerset Police, spoke to employers during a conference at Strode Theatre in Street, where she discussed her own experiences and a film she has made called Love? which depicts behaviours associated with domestic abuse."Once the penny dropped the person who did it to me would do it again I couldn't not do everything in my power to transfer that knowledge to as many people as possible," said Ms Beckinsale. Ms Beckinsale said more practical help and advice should be given to staff so they could help colleagues."The amount of builders I know where they're going into people's homes and they recognise what is going on but they don't know what to do next," she is working with charity Employers' Initiative on Domestic Abuse (EIDA) to highlight the support employers can Supt Kristina Windsor, domestic abuse lead at Avon and Somerset Police, worked with staff at Strode College to host the conference."I only see 20% of domestic abuse victims that ever come across my desk. That's 80% that are suffering I never get to see," she said."Think about the behaviour of your staff member. If they're coming in late or are disengaged, that could be signs of abuse."You can create a safe space where they can speak to you. You can even create somewhere where they can keep things safe." A number of businesses attended the conference. Jill Barker, who owns Middlewick Holiday Cottages in Glastonbury, said: "It's really good for me, I have 32 staff working for me, so just to be able to pick up bits of information that would support them is beneficial." If you have been affected by the topics raised in this article, help and support is available on the BBC Action Line.
BBC News
17 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Sheffield women's charity Vida secures funding to halt closure
A women's charity under threat of closure for more than 18 months says it has received "crucial funding" to secure its immediate which provides support to victims of domestic abuse in Sheffield, said it had received £250,000 to fund its ongoing work.A spokesperson for the charity said it had been supported by a number of groups including the Brelms Trust, Lloyds Bank Foundation, and Synergy Karen Hague said the funding would allow Vida to "maintain its essential counselling, therapy, and recovery programmes preventing the imminent closure that had threatened it's future". Vida, which started life in the mid-90's as Sheffield Domestic Violence Forum, launched a petition in 2024 calling on Sheffield City Council to provide emergency funding after cuts jepoardised its ability to provide at the time, the council said it could not directly fund the charity but would do "all we can" to support it to find other funding the temporary funding boost, Ms Hague said securing multi-year funding remained the long term goal for the charity, which needs to raise about £250,000 a year."Every year is a challenge trying to secure funding," she said."We will apply to the Lottery, who have been generous funders of our service in the past, but we really need to influence government to invest in long term mental health services."Ms Hague has backed calls by the Women's Trust for the government to invest £27.5m annually to assist survivors of abuse on their recovery journey. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
The Sun
a day ago
- Health
- The Sun
My mum murdered my dad – he's not a monster but I fought to free her and forgive her for brutal killing
A MAN who fought to free his mum from jail after she murdered his dad has spoken out about how he forgave her for the brutal killing. David Challen, 38, campaigned relentlessly to free his mum Sally from prison in 2019, nine years after she killed his dad Richard - her husband - by bludgeoning him with a hammer. 9 9 9 Despite Sally having suffered decades of coercive control by her husband, David says Richard was "not a monster", adding that he was "deeply complex". In August 2010, Sally, a 56-year-old housewife, brutally murdered Richard, her 61-year-old husband of 31 years, at their home in Claygate, Surrey. Sally was eventually convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison, before her murder conviction was quashed and she was released from jail in 2019. Now, ahead of the release of a new book David has written on his family's ordeal, the 38-year-old has recalled his battle to free his mum. Speaking to The Sunday Times, David said reading about the decades-long abuse of Gisèle Pelicot by her husband and dozens of other men gave him flashbacks to the own suffering his mum experienced. He explained: "It highlighted the normality of these men in our society. "My dad was not a monster. He was deeply complex. "If society labels them monsters, it's washing its hands of how they are created." After Sally was jailed, David began to unearth chilling details about how his dad had subjected Sally to decades of domestic abuse - keeping it hidden from him and his brother James. They discovered how their mum had been dragged down stairs, been raped by Richard on a family holiday to Los Angeles, and had attempted suicide at age 21. My wife threatened me with a knife & beat me with bottles Sally had been subject to coercive control - a pattern of abuse where someone is made to feel dependent, isolated, or scared. She was even forced to hand over her salary throughout her painful ordeal. These discoveries prompted David to begin years of ardent campaigning, eventually leading to an appeal which reduced her conviction to manslaughter. Helped by a law passed in 2015 which recognised psychological manipulation as a form of domestic abuse, Sally walked free from HMP Send, Surrey, in 2019. The landmark case saw Sally's murder conviction quashed due to new psychiatric evidence, with her final sentencing acknowledging the impact that years of controlling abuse had on her. As a result, roughly three thousands murder convictions are being reassessed by the Criminal Cases Review Commission to factor in examples of coercive control - with at least five cases having been reopened. 9 9 9 In his new book, The Unthinkable: A Story of Control, Violence and My Mother, due to be released on Thursday, David showcases his struggle to come to terms with his father's abuse, and how it's affecting his life even now. David also highlights how more needs to be done to protect victims of coercive control. Speaking on the BBC show Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg about how his dad's abuse had become "normalised" in their family home, David explained how he "couldn't understand" at first how his mum had murdered Richard. Domestic abuse - how to get help DOMESTIC abuse can affect anyone - including men - and does not always involve physical violence. Here are some signs that you could be in an abusive relationship: Emotional abuse - Including being belittled, blamed for the abuse - gaslighting - being isolated from family and friends, having no control over your finances, what you where and who you speak to Threats and intimidation - Some partners might threaten to kill or hurt you, destroy your belongings, stalk or harass you Physical abuse - This can range from slapping or hitting to being shoved over, choked or bitten. Sexual abuse - Being touched in a way you do not want to be touched, hurt during sex, pressured into sex or forced to have sex when you do not consent. If any of the above apply to you or a friend, you can call these numbers: The Freephone National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge on 0808 2000 247 for free at any time, day or night Men who are being abused can call Respect Men's Advice Line on 0808 8010 327 or ManKind on 0182 3334 244 Those who identify as LGBT+ can ring Galop on 0800 999 5428 If you are in immediate danger or fear for your life, always ring 999 Remember, you are not alone. 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men will experience domestic abuse over the course of their lifetime. Every 30 seconds the police receive a call for help relating to domestic abuse. He said: "She'd done the worst act anyone possibly could do. [She] took away my father." Following the change in the law regarding coercive control, David, now a domestic abuse campaigner, said he finally had a way to describe the "insidious nature" of his dad. David added that not having a name for the abuse had "robbed us of our right to have an ability to protect ourselves." He explained that he had to dig up his past in order to "find the child" he had left behind. David continued: "But I knew I was born into this world with a gut feeling that [there was] something inherently bad about my father, and I never knew why. "I normalised the coercion and control in my home, this life of servitude that my mother lived under... sexual violence was routine." 9 9 9
BBC News
2 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Abuse was normalised in our Surrey home
"I had a pristine frontage of a middle-class home - no one thought it could happen behind those doors, but it did."David Challen successfully campaigned to free his mother, Sally Challen, from prison in 2019, almost nine years after she had killed his father, Richard, with a had suffered decades of coercive control at the hands of her husband, which David said had become "normalised" within the family home in the wealthy suburban village of Claygate in now a domestic abuse campaigner, has now written a book, called The Unthinkable, about the family's experiences, and said more needs to be done to protect victims. Speaking to Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg on BBC One, he said: "She'd done the worst act anyone possibly could do. [She] took away my father."I couldn't understand it, but I knew something had been rolling... something was happening and I just didn't have the words." A law passed in 2015, which recognises psychological manipulation as a form of domestic abuse, helped secure Mrs Challen's release from prison after she had been jailed for life for murder in control describes a pattern of behaviour by an abuser to harm, punish or frighten their victim and became a criminal offence in England and Wales in December 2015. David said this description had set him and his mother "free"."It gave us a language to describe what was going on in that home, to describe the insidious nature that is mostly non-physical violence," he having a name for the abuse had "robbed us of our right to have an ability to protect ourselves," he now uses his experience of "intergenerational trauma" to help others, with a book telling the family's story being released on Thursday. "I buried my childhood with my father, so I had to dig up the past to find the child I had left behind," he said."It was the child that I always hid because I didn't know how he experienced that world."But I knew I was born into this world with a gut feeling that [there was] something inherently bad about my father, and I never knew why."I normalised the coercion and control in my home, this life of servitude that my mother lived under... sexual violence was routine." If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, help and support is available via the BBC Action Line. He said he wrote the book to "give voice to what it's like to grow up in a home where domestic abuse wasn't the word - it was coercive control and it didn't appear on my TV screens".But, a decade on, "we're not tackling it enough", he added."I continue to speak out because I don't want these events to happen again."
