Foreword

We are proud to present west Cheshire's refreshed Domestic Violence and Abuse Strategy 2021-2025 on behalf of the partners across the borough who work to protect and support those affected by it. This strategy builds on the strong foundations created by the previous Domestic Abuse Strategy 2016-20. Following the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 we have created this refreshed version that takes account of the new duties within the Act.

The Domestic Abuse Act means that there is now a definition of domestic abuse enshrined in law, emphasising that domestic abuse is not just physical or sexual violence, but can also be emotional, coercive, or controlling, and economic abuse.

Domestic abuse can happen to anyone, regardless of characteristics such as gender, age, sexual orientation and ethnicity. It can also be committed by anyone. Abuse not only affects the person who is being harmed, it also has a detrimental effect on children who witness or live with it. For children living with domestic abuse, they experience huge amounts of trauma, which can have severe negative impacts on their development, as well as causing life-long effects. This is one of the many reasons the Council takes a trauma informed approach to working with children and their families.

We know that domestic abuse can have devastating consequences. Nationally domestic abuse is reported in the media on a weekly basis and locally we have seen some incidents within recent years that have led to the death of the victim, including an adult child who murdered his father and a wife who murdered her husband, both of which led to domestic homicide reviews. Sadly, some people are also driven to take their own lives as a result of the impact of domestic abuse.

The issues of domestic abuse are closely linked to the wider issues relating to culture in this country. There have been many recent cases of violence against women and girls in the news which have struck a chord with many people around the world. On average, one woman is killed by a man every three days in the UK. This figure is staggering.

Within west Cheshire, we have long recognised the importance of developing services to support those experiencing domestic violence and abuse and have continued to strive for the best outcomes for our residents. This has enabled us to combine a strong multi-agency response to those who are harmed and those who harm.

In west Cheshire, we want all residents to live lives free from domestic abuse. This vision was developed in collaboration with those impacted by domestic abuse and with partners across west Cheshire. We wanted this strategy to be supported not only by a sound evidence base, but by the views and experiences of people who have lived through the circumstances and services that we are talking about. The views of participants have been invaluable and can, we hope, be clearly seen throughout; and we would like to take this opportunity to thank them all for their openness and honesty.

The purpose of this document is to set out our strategic approach and how we intend to continue and develop the good work already happening across the borough. We also hope that it will serve to raise awareness of what domestic abuse is and what services and communities working together can do about it and will result in west Cheshire being an even safer and happier place to live. We want west Cheshire to be a place where domestic abuse is spoken about openly and residents who are harmed can access the services they need.