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Around 230 women are turned away from women's refuges every day and front line services for women experiencing domestic abuse are facing severe cuts according to recent research - as a result many more women are being put in danger. The same research has also revealed that, in recent years, thousands of women have been forced to leave their homes to escape violence.
As these cuts take effect more and more victims will have to rely solely on the police to protect them or worse still have no help at all.
It is staggering that more has not been said about these cuts - except when we remember that terrorised women don't tend to speak out and probably don't vote as often as other citizens. Worrying about their own lives and possibly those of their children tends to do that! If you have no confidence and no sense of self worth then lobbying your local MP is much harder.
I was a police officer in London for over 20 years and like many of my ex colleagues have a good deal of experience of the results of domestic violence - from harassment to assault to rape and murder. In some cases I don't think there is any difference between this sustained abuse and more conventional terrorism - both are aimed at intimidation and control - and both can lead to people losing thier lives.
The police had to improve the way that they dealt with this type of crime and I think they did get better at it through the 1980s, '90s and early 2000s - but of course there is no such thing as 'good enough' in something like this.
One thing is clear in my mind though - relying only on the Police to keep victims safe is definately not good enough - they have too few officers and too many responsibilities. The idea that you can reduce these other services and instead rely more on police responding to calls for help from the victims when an attack has already begun is cruel and a failure of the state to protect its citizens from crime. As a result of these cutbacks victims are now more likely to stay longer in these dangerous situations leaving them and their children exposed to harm.
Some of the perpetrators are so remarkably determined to pursue their victims that police intervention is seen only as a temporary hurdle to them - their obsession and drive is hard to believe unless you witness it.
There were (and probably still are) other schemes being developed that involve greater security for victims who stay at home - and it would be good to think that these were a good substitute for relocating victims to a shelter, for instance, but I doubt that this is true in the worst of cases.
According to recent reports around two women are killed every week in England and Wales through domestic violence - if this was the result of the other type of terrorism we would hear much more about it. This type of terrorism is the hidden type - not so politically sensitive - not too many votes to be gained?
The police (or ex police in my case) cannot take any moral high ground in this of course - the Police history on tackling domestic violence is not good enough - but it needs to be said again - cutting these services will endanger the lives of victims.
The government and local authorities have to make cuts - all the main parties agree - but severe reductions in the front line services to women facing life threatening abuse is not justified.
This is a matter of life and death in some cases - in others it's about fear and violence - but in all the cases it is about failing these most vulnerable of our fellow citizens.
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The stark hypocrisy is that if the choice comes down to putting the boot into the poor, vulnerable people or giving tax breaks to millionares the Tories will go through electoral hell to protect their friends in the city, but not spare a thought for a woman in fear for her life.
Tories say "Britain must be open for business" - leaving us morally bankrupt as a consequence.
This apparently pleasant and green District appears to cares little for the most vulnerable, given the fact that the Tory led Councillors have slashed the budget for the victims of domestic violence, and invented their own 'best practice' to corroborate their actions, that are not in line with any expert and professional advice and guidance.
Here in West Berkshire, the Tory led Council, sadly supported by some officers, that should know better, have placed a very low price on the safety of the victims of domestic abuse. This figure is not in the millions, or even hundreds of thousands, but £50,000. For the sake of £50,000 the Council has withdrawn vital services that could well lead to further victimisation of some of the most marginalised in society, as well as even their Death! Whilst this budget has been slashed, the Council has placed £400,000 into its 'slush fund'.
My advice, is come and visit the pleasant sites of West Berkshire, but do not think of living here in a District with such an uncaring political regime.
It has been proven many times over that women are far more likely to instigate physical violence in a relationship, and that if a woman is in an abusive relationship she is also far more likely to have successive abusive relationships than men. Of course you will probably be outraged that this suggests that women seem to be the problem in the majority of cases because your liberal brain has been told that women are always the victims and you enjoy basking in self congratulation for standing up for them.
The women's movement has gone far enough. Problems still exist for both sexes but the time for putting women ahead of men is over now.