Against Domestic Violence and Abuse is the recently adopted name and image for the Devon Domestic Violence Partnership. This was set up in November 2002 to bring together the statutory and voluntary agencies within the county to tackle the problem of domestic violence. Its two primary aims are:

To increase the level or reporting of domestic violence - in 2003/4 there were 8144 incidents reported to the police

To reduce the level of repeat victimisation - in 2003/4 there were 1237 repeat victims

These figures, whilst startling high, still mask the real scale of the problem. Research commissioned by the Partnership applying accepted prevalence levels, estimated the real scale of the problem would mean that there are something like 33,000 incidents occurring in Devon each year.

Domestic violence and abuse can begin at any stage in a relationship and is essentially about the abuse of power and control by one person over another within that relationship. This power and control may include physical violence, emotional or psychological abuse, sexual violence and abuse, financial control and social isolation. Anyone can be subjected to domestic violence in a variety of close family or intimate relationships. It cuts across all boundaries of social class, age, race, disability, sexuality and lifestyle.

What has ADVA been doing?

Since the launch of the Partnership strategy in November 2002 much work has been done to try to reduce the impact of domestic violence within Devon. This has been greatly helped by the establishment of a multi-agency pooled budget which has enabled the following services and projects to take place.

• Women's outreach support service in each district
• Free phone helpline for male victims
• Pilot community based programme for male perpetrators
• One day training course delivered to 1,000 workers across all agencies
• Two day specialist course for people working with children
• Trialling of a one day course on Domestic Violence in Lesbian, Gay Bi-sexual and Transgender relationships
• Intervention programmes for children living with domestic violence
• Children's support worker in North Devon
• Publicity and Awareness materials for schools and youth settings to raise awareness
• Production and trialling of curriculum materials in schools aimed at developing healthy relationships
• Research to identify the educational, social and emotional impact on children who live with domestic violence
• Awareness and publicity materials and campaigns to raise awareness about domestic violence and encourage those affected by it to seek help

Also on devon.gov.uk

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