Teaming up to take on abusers

Domestic abuse co-ordinator Lindsey Wheelhouse with Det Insp Paul Hatton of Oldham Police

’Tis the season to be merry, but for some families there is no cheer at Christmas because of domestic abuse.

The festive season can create more tensions in the home as drinks flow freely and relations with spouses or family members come under stress.

Agencies across Oldham are working together to make home a safer place for local victims of abuse with a range of initiatives, while a new domestic violence court will open in the new year.

Janice Barker found out more about who steps in when domestic partners fall out.
THE next few weeks will be a haze of Christmas present buying, works’ parties, shopping for food and drink, having a tipple with friends and family, getting the tree decorated, making sure the lights still work and keeping the children happy.

If you add a strained domestic relationship into this pressure cooker atmosphere, no wonder this is a key time for domestic abuse to happen.

It can be physical, sexual, financial or psychological, and does not have to be a man abusing a women — men are also victims, while growing young men abuse their mothers and even sibling rivalry between brothers and sisters can become serious abuse.

That is why there will be an extra response this year on the weekends leading up to Christmas, when specialist police officers and the newly appointed Independent Domestic Abuse Advisers (IDAAs) will be out and about together, plus the police domestic violence enforcement car.

Every Friday and Saturday night the specialist officers will be able to advise and inform their colleagues across Oldham when they respond to reports of abuse.

The IDAAs will also be there to reassure victims, and to help them stay safe, especially if children are involved.

There are two in Oldham, appointed in June, helping people who call Oldham police to report a domestic incident.

In their first four months they had 57 referrals, from many agencies not just police, one of them a male victim and 15 from the black and ethnic minority communities.

The IDAAs deal with high-risk cases and work with Lindsey Wheelhouse, Oldham’s domestic abuse co-ordinator, who is a civilian and part of the Community Safety Service, but is based at Oldham Police Station.

Her role is wide ranging, making sure all the agencies involved, from health to housing and probation to police, are talking to each other.

With a background in community safety work and a Home Office domestic violence project, she makes sure there are no gaps in local knowledge which could allow cases to slip through the net.

She said: “Victims can disclose they have domestic abuse problems in many ways, and it is no use someone saying to them, ‘I’m sorry for you, but that’s not part of my job’.

“They should say, ‘I know someone who can help’.

“The IDAAs help people to look for triggers which will spark the abuse, think which room they will be safest in, if there is an emergency exit if he or she needs to flee, and to remind them to get their valuable documents together, passports or information about the children’s school, and cash for the payphone or a well topped up mobile phone.

“They advise them to have a code word so that if they phone friends or family they will know there is trouble and to call police.

“They help people to expect the unexpected, and build people’s confidence to help them to help themselves.

“They assist people through the criminal justice system, even going to court with victims, and also help with civil law if victims take out injunctions, and act as victims’ advocates with other agencies.”

High risk cases are discussed at monthly multi agency risk assessment conferences (MARACS), which are chaired by Det Insp Paul Hatton, of Oldham CID.

They consider whether abuse is escalating, whether there is a risk because of pregnancy or children in the home, and they also use a national model to check how threatened the victim feels, and if that threat is getting worse.

Fourteen cases dealt with by the IDAAs were referred to a MARAC.

Examining an average of eight cases a month, the conferences make sure the right agencies are talking to each other.

Det Insp Hatton said: “The primary objective is to safeguard the victims by everyone getting around the same table, discussing issues, sharing information and coming up with an action plan.

“It’s of great benefit and there is total confidentiality.”

The case conferences and the new IDAAs have laid the groundwork for a new special domestic abuse court which will sit at Oldham Magistrates’ Court, every Wednesday, in the new year and feature specially-trained magistrates and prosecutors to deal with domestic abusers.

Lindsey added: “It is all about building confidence and believing the victim, to make sure they can disclose what has happened in a safe and secure environment.”

Anyone needing help with abuse can call the National Domestic Violence Helpline on 0808-200 0247, or Oldham Family Crisis Group on 0161-628 4991.