In December the partnership held a domestic abuse workshop looking at the impact in Walsall and how we can better support victims and perpetrators.

We know there has been a rise locally in the number of incidents of domestic abuse reported, particularly during covid, and we have committed to making Domestic Abuse a key priority.

The aim of the workshop was to bring together key stakeholders to understand the extent of domestic abuse, what’s already happening to tackle this across Walsall and how we as a partnership can add any value.

During the workshop we were given a snap shot of the West Midlands wide figures for the number of domestic-related abuse incidents and crimes recorded by the police for year ending March 2021.

There were:

  • 85,714 domestic abuse related incidents and crimes recorded which equates to 29 incidents and crimes for every 1,000 people in the population
  • 65% of domestic abuse related incidents and crimes were subsequently recorded as crimes
  • 2,083 domestic abuse related legal decisions made by the CPS
  • 1,603 domestic abuse related charges which equates to a charge rate of 77%

There were number key speakers who shared information on the services they are involved in related to domestic abuse support.

This included:

  • Family Safeguarding Programme – a programme of support for families with a range of issues including domestic abuse
  • Domestic Abuse Champions – a programme of work supporting employees in the workplace as well as helping employers recognise the signs their staff may be experiencing domestic abuse
  • Safe as Houses – a programme of work for whg customers to support victims of domestic abuse including providing accommodation and helping people to stay in their home
  • Black Country Women’s Aid – primarily support high risk victims of domestic abuse but support all victims regardless of level of risk

The workshop was really informative and highlighted that there is so much good work going on in Walsall but sadly despite this numbers of domestic abuse related incidents are rising.

It was agreed by partners around the table that there was scope for the partnership to add value and links would be made with the Domestic Abuse Strategy Board to see how we can support and align to their priorities.