Mid and East Antrim public meeting hears 40,000 domestic abuse referrals were made to schools across the province
A public meeting of Mid and East Antrim Policing and Community Safety Partnership (PCSP) has been told of support available to women and child victims of domestic violence.
Gillian Robinson, chief executive, of Women’s Aid Antrim, Ballymena, Carrickfergus, Larne and Newtownabbey, said 31 women have been murdered in Northern Ireland since 2020 making it “one of the most dangerous places to be a woman” with one in four women affected by domestic abuse.
“If children are of school age, the PSNI will contact the child’s school to let them know if they have been victims of domestic abuse overnight,” Gillian said. “During the past four years, 40,000 referrals were made to schools in Northern Ireland.”
Women’s Aid refuges, Virginia House and Ruth House, in Ballymena, are “always full” Gillian said. Virginia House provides refuge accommodation for women and children with three self-contained apartments for families and ten en-suite bedrooms with shared kitchens, laundry and recreation facilities.
Ruth House provides six apartments where women and children including older teenagers can be accommodated in their own family living environment.
“Women and children come to us for a few days or a few months, sometimes longer. We want all women and children to feel they are in a nurturing, therapeutic environment,” Gillian added.
Specialists work with women in refuge to identify their individual needs and develop a support plan focusing on safety planning and protection measures. one-to-one support and information, enabling women to explore options and make informed choices as well as providing practical support to help access services including housing, benefits, Social Services, healthcare and education, financial services, police and legal support.
They also support mums to help children settle in to the refuge to “make every child feel welcome, safe and secure” and work with mums to develop a support plan focusing on positive parenting, healthy eating, sleep routines, family activities and play as well as providing one-to-one therapeutic support for children and young people, to help them cope with the trauma they have experienced.
Years Earlier
“Every single woman who contacts Women’s Aid says two things – it was a friend or colleague who encouraged me to make the call and I wish I had made the call years earlier,” Gillian noted.
She pointed out healthy relationship programmes are being delivered to primary seven and year 11 pupils at schools in Antrim and Newtownabbey and Mid and East Antrim. “Prevention of abuse is critical,” she stressed.
Daniel Carlisle, community engagement and partnerships officer, White Ribbon NI, told the meeting of his role in bringing conversations about respect, equality and consent into classrooms, youth clubs, sports teams, businesses, boardrooms and across community and justice settings.
White Ribbon NI, which is part of a global movement, was launched in November 2021 with the goal of ending violence against women and girls.
White Ribbon NI says 98% of women in NI have experienced at least one form of violence in their lifetime. Violence against women and girls includes domestic abuse, sexual violence, harassment, stalking, coercive control and other forms of violence and abuse.
The charity states it is preventable and believes violence against women and girls “does not appear out of nowhere” and prevention means starting early.
“To end violence against women and girls, we need to challenge the attitudes, behaviours and inequalities that enable it,” White Ribbon NI says.
White Ribbon NI works with businesses, schools, sports clubs, workplaces and communities to “turn awareness into action, engaging people to challenge harmful attitudes, promote equality and become part of the prevention movement”.
‘Listen, Learn, Lead’ is White Ribbon NI’s interactive prevention workshop, designed to “move participants beyond simply understanding violence against women and girls towards recognising the role they can play in creating change”.
It explores “root causes and societal factors perpetuating violence against women and girls and equips participants with practical tools, including bystander intervention techniques, to effect change in their everyday lives”.
Workshops can be delivered across a wide range of settings, including schools; sports clubs; workplaces; community organisations; youth groups; justice settings and public services.
“We want to get across to as many organisations as possible. Any organisation in this country, we can go to speak to, we will go to speak to,” said Daniel.
- Women’s Aid can be contacted on 028 25 632136 or Freephone 24hr Domestic & Sexual Abuse Helpline 0808 802 1414.
- Contact White Ribbon NI at https://www.whiteribbonni.org
Separately, at the meeting, Chief Inspector Siobhan Watt, Police Mid and East Antrim, outlined details of a ‘PSNI Connect’ initiative which she described as a free community messaging service provided by police to receive local updates and connect with neighbourhood officers.
Chief Inspector Watt indicated the system is already in use by police forces in the UK. It operates via email but is expected to move to an app. However, she stressed it is not a reporting tool and it is not a replacement for 999 or 101 calls.
“It is a free messaging service that enables residents , community groups, businesses etc to keep in touch with local police.
“Members will receive updates on the work police are doing in their community and for members to tell police their concerns and areas they would like police to focus on and target action.
“Police will share information about work ongoing in their area and provide information on anti-social behaviour and crime spikes as well as providing information on crime prevention and personal safety. It is almost Neighbourhood Watch online.
“Officers can have a private two-way conversation with members. Contact will be private and will not be seen by others. It will give people more confidence and reassurance to engage in private with police. It gives people a voice and allows us to give a really targeted response.”
However, she stressed the new system will “not take officers off the ground from face to face engagement” and can be operated “on the move”.
Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporter