The soon-to-be-published Tees-wide Perpetration Strategy will make sure domestic abuse perpetrators are held to account for violence and abuse committed against women and girls (VAWG).
The strategy will reinforce the message that causing harm is wholly the responsibility of the perpetrator.
Historically, VAWG work has focused on victim-survivors and what they should do to keep themselves safe.
It has focussed on victim-survivors’ responsibility to leave violent relationships, to safeguard their children and to support the justice system to bring perpetrators to justice.
This approach has reinforced victim-blaming attitudes and responses, which place unfair responsibility on victim-survivors.
The new Perpetration Strategy outlines the strategic commitment of partners to coordinate around tackling perpetrators and to collaborate with communities to tackle the attitudes that enables VAWG to continue.
Commitment to a multi-agency strategy that engages communities has been agreed between the PCC, Cleveland Police and leaders of the four local authorities across Cleveland.
The strategy’s key priorities are to:
Prevent – by encouraging people to recognise, respond and refer concerns as early as possible;
Protect – by identifying perpetrators and holding abuse behaviour to account;
Pursue – by using protective measures to disrupt and prosecute perpetrators.
It will call on all agencies and communities to play their part.
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) estimates that over 2,307,000 people aged 16 and over have been victims of DA in the last year.
Further data shows that Cleveland has the second highest rate of domestic abuse-related crimes, with a recorded rate of 24 per 1,000 population.
A total of 20,218 domestic abuse-related incidents and crimes were recorded in Cleveland in the year ending March 2024 – although this does not reflect incidents of domestic abuse that go unreported.
There were 35 arrests per 100 domestic abuse-related crimes in Cleveland in the year ending March 2024 – down from 41 in the previous 12-month period. The national average was 41.7%.
In the year ending March 2024, there were 981 prosecutions relating to domestic abuse in Cleveland, which resulted in 747 convictions (76.1%). The national average for convictions was 75.7%.
Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland Matt Storey said: “Perpetrating domestic abuse is a crime and perpetrators should be wholly held to account as well as supported to change their behaviours.
“For too long, VAWG has been considered a ‘victim-survivor problem’ focusing on misplaced accountability regarding how they keep themselves safe from harm, rather than driving visibility and activity towards holding perpetrators to account.”
“We are focused on delivering real and sustainable change, strengthening the co-ordination of services, learning from the latest research, and continuing to listen and respond to the needs of victim-survivors, and the communities within the Tees area.”