Domestic violence should not be tolerated – David Ford

The Minister was responding to the publication of a Northern Ireland Crime Survey on Experiences of Domestic Violence published today.

The Minister also expressed disappointment at the level of under-reporting and encouraged victims to come forward in order get support and to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The statistical bulletin has shown that in NICS 2010/11, 28.8 per cent of identified victims believed their worst incident of partner abuse was ‘wrong, but not a crime’, a further 12.6 per cent accepted it as ‘just something that happens’ and 68.9 per cent of all ‘worst’ cases of domestic partner abuse were not reported to the police.

David Ford said: “Over recent years we have made considerable progress on addressing domestic violence. Improvements such as the 24 Hour Domestic Violence Helpline, Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conferencing for high risk victims and improving access to legal aid for domestic violence victims are just some many positive developments.

“Nevertheless the findings of this survey clearly indicate that much more needs to be done to get the message across to both victims and perpetrators of these heinous crimes that domestic violence is wrong, unacceptable and should not be tolerated; to encourage victims to report such crimes to the PSNI; and to raise awareness of the support services which are available to victims.”

David Ford continued: “The PSNI is very much aware that domestic violence is an under-reported crime. I am therefore disappointed but not surprised by the under-reporting identified in these statistics. It is known that domestic violence is an issue in our society, as it is across the world, but the true extent will only be known when victims come forward, report violence and abuse to the police, get the support they need and help bring the perpetrators to justice.”

The Department of Justice and the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, who have joint policy responsibility for tackling domestic violence, are currently developing a new Domestic and Sexual Violence and Abuse Strategy, taking us to 2020.

David Ford concluded: “I am committed to driving forward further improvements in our response to domestic violence. A consultation on the draft Domestic and Sexual Violence and Abuse Strategy will be launched later this year and I would encourage everyone to engage with this consultation in order to ensure that the new strategy focuses on the relevant areas so that we can collectively continue to effectively address these crimes that have such an impact on victims and their families.”