Archers’ story spotlight on domestic abuse

Alongside wheat prices and farming tales Radio 4’s long-running drama The Archers’ has brought a long-running domestic abuse story to a gripping climax. Record numbers listened to an episode last week where Helen Titchener, nee Archer, stabbed her controlling husband, Rob. The storyline also involved her young son Henry, who was psychologically manipulated by his step-father.

For the past 40 years Kingswood-based charity, Survive, has worked with thousands of domestic abuse survivors and their children, but it is now warning that essential services to support the children of domestic abuse victims could close unless funding is found.

‘Benji’ grew up in a house where his witnessed domestic abuse daily – but nobody talked about it.  He saw “horrific violence” which culminated in his step-father punching his pregnant mother in the stomach – an attack which left her hospitalised.

With nowhere to turn and no one to speak to – Beji started to struggle at school and his behaviour deteriorated. Facing exclusion he was referred to a 10 week ‘Back on Track’ course run by Kingswood-based charity Survive. The course helped him to understand that what happened was not his fault and rebuild his life.

“For Benji the course was transformational,” says Helen Chignell, Survive’s children and young people’s services manager. However, she adds that “it’s not an unusual story”.

“Children who witness domestic abuse are traumatised. They often are display aggressive behaviour themselves, don’t get enough sleep, don’t attend school becasue they don’t want to leave the abused parent and have low self-esteem,” she says.

Nationally more than 750,000 children have witnessed domestic abuse; in Bristol and South Gloucestershire alone the charity worked with 1600 children between 2014 and 2015 through school programmes, one-to-one advice and group work.

According to Article 39 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: ‘Children who have been neglected or abused should receive special help to restore their self respect.’ However, the young people services that Survive offer could be lost because of funding cuts.

“The council funds our core services,” says Helen, “but funding from other charitable trusts is about to end and we have to raise the money to keep the services for young people going.”

The charity is launching a fund-raising drive with a charity concert on April 22 to raise money to keep the service going, including its preventative programme for schools ‘Connect with Respect’ which helps children make healthy relationship choices and raises awareness of abuse in relationships.

“We see cases like Benji’s all the time,” says Helen. “Sometimes children just need a little bit of support to turn round their lives and it can go a long way to break what can become a cycle of abuse.”

Survive’s Support Line (is open 9am to 4pm) 0117 961 2999

Free phone 24 hr National Domestic Violence Helpline: 0808 2000 247

Run in partnership between Women’s Aid & Refuge