Kirklees Council makes 'urgent' effort to eradicate domestic abuse as 'shocking' stories emerge

Coun Carole Pattison, cabinet member for learning, aspirations and community, outlined the council’s updated strategy against domestic abuse at this weeks cabinet meeting on Tuesday, January 17.

The news comes against heightened concern over the activities of rogue Metropolitan police officers. This week David Carrick, an armed protection specialist, pleaded guilty to more than 80 sexual offences over 18 years, making him one of the UK’s worst rapists.

This follows the outrage in 2021 when another Met officer PC Wayne Couzens kidnapped, raped and murdered Sarah Everard.

It was revealed that just over a fifth of crimes recorded across West Yorkshire are related to domestic abuse with the figure expected to be much higher as incidents of this kind often go unreported.

Coun Naheed Mathers, cabinet member for the environment, welcomed the report saying: “I wholeheartedly support all the areas covered. It’s definitely and will always be needed.

"Earlier I was talking to my younger daughter who lives in London and she was saying if she sees a police officer she has to run the other way because she’s always scared. I had to explain that not everyone’s the same but we’ve got to be able to support those suffering, the victims, their families, and our communities must feel safe.”

Coun Pattison explained that the council had expected to refresh its policy in 2021 but received unexpected funding from the government that meant the whole strategy could be put under review.

The councillor also spoke of the importance of implementing the strategy in full and the council doing its best to rid Kirklees of domestic abuse, violence and misogyny. She said: “Following the very welcome additional funding from the government we have been able to take a slightly different route to tackling domestic abuse which is more about prevention and early intervention than previously.

“I do have to say though that I cannot recommend this without saying domestic abuse, misogyny and violence against women and girls are the most heinous crimes and the most prolific as well and just yesterday’s announcement about the policeman from the Met just shows how ingrained this is in our society and how it is so difficult even to trust those people we should be able to trust in situations such as these. It’s just not right.”

According to the council report, one in three survivors of abuse said they had to give up their home as a result of domestic abuse with 32 per cent of homeless women saying domestic abuse contributed to their homelessness.

Coun Paul Davies, cabinet member for corporate services, said: “The impact on domestic violence in terms of not just the victims herself or himself, there’s also a huge impact on children and sometimes people forget that impact not just in the immediate sense, but what it does in term of the future life chances of those children and in particular the way in which we unfortunately and tragically see quite often young boys copy that behaviour in the future.”

Coun Davies recalled shocking incidents he’d heard whilst sitting on the council’s children’s scrutiny panel including stories of machete wielding men climbing through windows after relationship breakdowns threatening children in front of their mother and mothers being physically and sexually attacked in front of children.

Coun Bill Armer (Con, Kirkburton), a retired police officer said: “In today’s society we have many different relationships and we have male/male relationships and male/female relationships and in both of those males can be the victims of domestic violence. I don’t think we should forget that.” He also mentioned David Carrick condemning his actions as “totally disgusting”.

Council leader Shabir Pandor added that we can’t play the strategy down, especially on the back of yesterday’s “really appalling” announcement.

He said: “The majority of men stand fully shoulder to shoulder with women and it’s completely out of order that a few men who actually resort to that kind of behaviour, we need to speak out as a community and men need to speak out.”

He added: “One victim is one too many and we will make sure we try and eradicate it as much as we can.”

The new strategy received unanimous support and will be implemented from 2022 until 2027.