Urgent warning as domestic abuse will spike over Christmas in ‘sad and distressing’ trend
DOMESTIC abuse will spike over the Christmas period with victims urged to seek help.
Half of all cases dealt with by the Crown Prosecution Service over Christmas are domestic abuse related, shocking new figures show.
Data shared with The Sun from their out of hours service shows that 3,577 out of 6,446 cases were related to crimes such as coercive control in December 2023.
That is an increase from 3,095 in 2022 and 2,963 in 2021.
Prosecutors believe that financial pressures, social gatherings, and alcohol abuse all contributed to the rise in incidents in December.
Kate Brown, National Lead for Domestic Abuse for the CPS, which decides whether or not a suspect can be charged, urges anyone in danger to still call the police even on Christmas Day.
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She told The Sun: “We don't stop for Christmas, we're there to help people.
“People should not be hesitant about coming forward and thinking that during the Christmas period nobody's around to help them.
“We're here to actually make sure people are charged efficiently, quickly, remanded into custody.
“It is sad and distressing to know that as a lot of people are preparing themselves for fun and a good time at Christmas, we've got victims who will be approaching the Christmas period worried and anxious that there may be an escalation of domestic abuse during this period.
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“Domestic abuse is very rarely a one-off event, it's probably a culmination.
“We know that there are lots of misconceptions about domestic abuse, that only happens to certain types of women and it does predominantly happen to women, but it can happen to anybody. And these are our daughters, our aunts, our mothers, our grandmothers.
“All of us need to be alive to the potential for an increase in domestic abuse during this time and be there to support the people that we love.
“As a member of society, we should be worried that 50 per cent of the cases that are charged over the Christmas period involve some form of domestic abuse. That's a reflection on us as a society.”
The Labour government has made it a key pledge to half violence against women and girls in the next decade.
Earlier this year Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced that domestic abuse specialists will be embedded in every 999 centre to ensure victims get the best possible response when reporting serious crimes.
Tracey Easton, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Direct, the out-of-hours team, said that they are prepared to see the number of cases referred to them for domestic abuse incidents rise in the next week.
She said: “Domestic violence referrals of incidents tend to spike over the Christmas period.
There may be various reasons for it.
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“People are more sociable and get together over that period but it is a pattern that we're seeing against the general domestic abuse pattern.
“We operate overnight, every night between 5pm and 9am and every weekend we work and Christmas Day and Boxing Day and every other bank holiday and we are fully staffed and fully available to make serious charging decisions for the police.”
HOW YOU CAN GET HELP:
Women's Aid has this advice for victims and their families
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
- Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – [email protected].
Women’s Aid provides a - available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.