Breaking the cycle

Survivors of domestic abuse in Bristol face lengthy delays accessing vital support, as frontline agencies struggle to meet rising demand against a backdrop of sweeping public service cuts.

While recent landmark legislative changes demonstrate a political will to address an issue that destroy lives and costs the UK an estimated £66 billion a year, campaigners warn that without adequate funding, efforts to turn things around will fall short.

At the start of an ongoing investigation into the impact of domestic abuse and gender-based violence, Bristol24/7 speaks to some of the people behind the statistics.

A colourful scarf around her neck, hands gesticulating mid-speech, Jacqui Searle talks with tenderness and passion about the issue that almost ended her life.

The retired nurse turned campaigner suffered years of emotional abuse and coercive control at the hands of her ex-husband, before things escalated into physical violence.

Sitting at a table in the bustling Greenway Café in Southmead, she recounts what she went through.

“He was in control of my money and it’s so insidious how the control builds up over years and you don’t realise it,” says Jacqui.

“The first time I was physically hurt, he had come back from the cricket club drunk and argumentative, so I went upstairs. A few minutes later, he came stomping up and pulled me off the bed, threw me on the floor and stamped on me. We heard my ribs crack.”

Jacqui knows all too well how isolating the cycle of abuse can be and has co-founded a new peer support group in Southmead, along with another survivor, Toni, supported by Team Southmead community group.

“It’s about empowering women who have been pushed down, who feel they are worthless,” says Jacqui.

Deana Perry, secretary of Team Southmead, adds: “There is a massive impact on the children which is another reason why we so want to do something. Nobody wants to talk about it, so they become isolated.”

Jacqui Searle (right), with Dean Perry of Team Southmead, has set up a new survivors support group

The volunteer-led group aims to help fill a gap in provision that sees survivors finally speak out, only to face a six-month wait for counselling support. The danger of them returning to the perpetrator in this time is high.

When she finally confessed to her GP, Jacqui was referred to Next Link, an organisation contracted by Bristol City Council to provide support services for women who have suffered domestic abuse.

“Next Link saved my life,” she says. “Because it was escalating and if I had stayed with him, I’m sure I would have ended up dead.”

Next Link supported 2,313 women and 964 children last year in Bristol – and the numbers are rising.

Sarah O’Leary is the service manager for Next Link and Safe Link, a subsidiary that provides support for anyone who has been a victim of sexual abuse or rape.

She says that Bristol continues to prioritise life-saving provision and was one of the first areas to have a complex needs safe house. There is also a safe house specifically for black, Asian and minority ethnic women, who can often face greater barriers to accessing support.

Next Link organises an annual candle lit vigil as part of the campaign for the elimination of violence against women and girls

“What’s come with that is increased demand, both in the number of people needing our services and also the number of complex cases,” explains Sarah.

“We are seeing a trend in the numbers increasing quarter on quarter, so that’s where the pressure is for our workers. There has also been cuts to other services which has an impact, for example; mental health services.

“The changes in universal credit have been quite tricky to deal with.” She adds that it is vital people do keep coming forward to seek help.

The biting impact of austerity has taken its toll, and fear of financial hardship is a yet another factor keeping victims from fleeing.

A report by Women’s Aid, published in March, revealed that more than two thirds of survivors surveyed experienced economic abuse – a form of coercive control that has devastating and long-lasting consequences.

For Jacqui, isolated from her adult children and with nothing to call her own, it took years to leave. It was only after she finally fled that colleagues admitted they had thought something was wrong.

“You feel so ashamed of what’s been done to you,” she says. “I went to work on Monday after that first time and said I was putting curtains up and I slipped on a stepladder.

“I used to go to work with cuts on my lips or eyebrow, and I’d say it was because one of my grandchildren had banged me.

“It was only after I ended that relationship that my colleagues said they thought something was going on – but no one talks about it.”

A landmark draft domestic abuse bill in January 2019 prohibited abusers from cross-examining their former partners in court, as part of a raft of reforms designed to safeguard and support survivors and their families.

The new legislation also introduced the first statutory Government definition of domestic abuse to specifically include economic abuse and controlling non-physical abuse.

Two months later, the Government published its strategy to end violence against women and girls – although, this has been criticised for its failure to include all survivors, particularly those who have migrated to the UK and are unable to access mainstream services.

While campaigners have welcomed the willingness to put these issues to the fore, they say that without adequate funding, efforts to instigate real change will fall short.

Helen Mott says victims of domestic abuse are being failed at every turn

Dr Helen Mott, an activist and campaigner for women’s rights, is a founding commissioner on Bristol’s Mayoral Commission for Women and sits on the commission’s task group on women’s safety.

She chaired the Bristol Fawcett report in 2015, which revealed 43,340 women in Bristol are likely to have been raped or sexually abused at some point in their lifetime, and 68,800 are likely to experience domestic violence. It examined the impact of cuts on women in the city.

“We have known for many years now that the cost of domestic abuse to the UK economy is staggeringly high.  And we know that investment in prevention saves money,” says Helen.

“But the Government is simply failing to provide the funding to local government and to local services that is required to enable us to go upstream to implement a programme of prevention.

“Beyond this, victims of domestic abuse are being failed at every turn by the absence of adequate and specialist service provision to help them escape the abuse and rebuild their lives.”

She continues: “I believe that here in Bristol we have the political awareness and vision, as well as the expertise in our universities and service organisations, to make significant inroads for the prevention of domestic abuse.

“We could stop domestic abuse at the overwhelming levels it is happening at in the city, we could stop the human tragedy from this crisis in public health and human rights.

“But the current response – good as it is where it does exist – does not reflect the scale of the problem and we do not have enough paid staff in the city whose job it is to do the necessary long-term strategic work and preventative work.”

A total of 10,085 domestic abuse crimes were reported to police last year in Bristol by 4,330 victims – 3,102 of which were female. Forcewide, there has been a steady increase in reports of controlling or coercive behaviour.

Superintendent Tina Robinson, force lead for domestic abuse, says tackling the crime is an ongoing priority for the force and police and crime commissioner. While figures indicate an increase in confidence in reporting, she admits there is still more work to be done to encourage people to come forward.

“We recognise the harm caused by domestic abuse,” says the superintendent.

“The impact of domestic abuse encompasses more than physical injury. It affects survivors’ wellbeing in terms of health, finances, employment, education and housing. Domestic abuse has a significant effect on children even when they are not the victim.

“Our statistics show that people are increasingly more confident about reporting domestic abuse – which includes any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are, or have been, intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality.

“We have always understood that domestic abuse is under-reported and welcome having a more accurate picture. However, we’re aware that we have more work to do and some survivors are still reluctant to come forward. We would also like to understand how we can encourage third parties to report domestic abuse where they know it is happening.”

Officers use Domestic Violence Protection Notices and Orders to protect survivors after they report an incident. These enable them to access support, without interference from their abuser in cases where the suspect has been released pending further enquiries.

Yet cuts have seen the force shrink by a quarter since 2010 as it struggled to make £78m in savings. Meanwhile, costs have increased by £64m.

It is a similar picture across the board.

Amid severe challenges, Bristol is taking a citywide preventative approach to eradicating domestic abuse and sexual violence – with recognition that a failure to do so has lasting and devastating consequences.

Helen Godwin says domestic abuse needs to be treated as a societal issue

Setting out the stark situation in Bristol, Helen Godwin, the council’s cabinet member for women and children, recalls a recent meeting with a social work team that reported of the boys going into care, 100 per cent had witnessed or lived with domestic violence.

The council, along with citywide partners, is implementing an ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) strategy. This focuses on prevention and early intervention and is a holistic approach that has been widely welcomed.

As part of this, the Bristol Ideal, a set of standards for schools to follow to tackle domestic and sexual violence, should be in every school.

“We are doing work in the round,” says Helen. She believes the impact of austerity – and strain it has put on struggling families – not only makes the risk of domestic abuse greater, but is also acting as a barrier to prevent people from leaving.

“I think the housing crisis is a huge issue because where do people go?” asks Helen, adding: “We have to unpick how we think about domestic violence. The onus is always on the woman to leave. Ultimately, it’s a societal problem.”

Asher Craig says the council will continue to shine a light on the issue of domestic abuse and gender-based violence

Asher Craig, cabinet member for communities, including public health, adds: “In Bristol we are committed to preventing gender-based violence.

“We will continue to work with partners to shine a light on this issue and take steps to ensure people living and working in Bristol know and understand that there is a zero tolerance approach to gender-based violence and abuse.”

The city also has a specialist independent domestic violence advisor, who provides support for male survivors. This service is commissioned by Bristol City Council and provided by Victim Support.

Charlotte Gage, who runs the Bristol Women’s Voice initiative Bristol Zero Tolerance, says a citywide approach to all forms of gender-based violence is vital, but warns that important work is increasingly reliant on volunteers and unreliable funding streams.

In 2018, survivors of domestic abuse in Bristol faced homelessness when safe refuges were closed suddenly. Charlotte is working with housing organisation Acorn on an investigation to ensure this doesn’t happen in future.

“They were not providing adequate services, but closing them down quickly has huge repercussions,” she tells Bristol24/7.

Charlotte Gage of Bristol Women’s Voice says services are increasingly reliant on volunteers

Looking at the situation across the city, Charlotte continues: “Ultimately, there is not enough service provision. For women fleeing, there are never enough beds and those who need support face six-month waiting lists.

“The work I do in raising awareness of these issues always leads to more people coming forward because people realise they don’t have to stay in abusive relationships or even let it get to that stage. But then we don’t have the services to meet that need.

“The reality of cuts, and austerity, is there is not enough money so we end up with services in competition.”

With child sexual abuse cases coming to public attention nationally and the global #MeToo movement, Charlotte says it has become more acceptable to have conversations about the issues around domestic abuse and gender-based violence.

She argues perceptions still need to shift away from it being a ‘women’s issue’ to recognition that it is everyone’s problem, with a need for more people – not just survivors – to speak out against it.

“Bristol Zero Tolerance is a preventative initiative,” explains Charlotte. “I do training around domestic abuse so people can spot signs and offer help at an early stage or help someone to get out early, or before it escalates.

“Our street harassment work is looking at how harassment in public places feeds into a culture where it’s deemed OK to be abusive in domestic situations, so it’s about stopping it escalating into domestic abuse.”

Charlotte acknowledges there is a big drive to understand more about gender-based violence and domestic abuse within both the council and police, but action remains limited by lack of money.

“There’s a will to help, but in terms of fronting up to it, the money is not there,” she confirms, adding that if a full cost analysis was done on running the services with a fully paid staff alone, they simply wouldn’t exist.

“Funders want something interesting and exciting,” says Charlotte. “And this isn’t interesting and exciting, it’s a basic service that’s saving lives.”

Visit www.bava.org.uk for the full list of support and services available in Bristol.

Read more: ‘Support needs for survivors of sexual violence can’t be met with available public funds’