Domestic abuse victims making multiple reports are failed, women’s minister admits

Domestic abuse victims who make multiple reports to the police of violence and abuse carried out by their partners are being failed, the women’s minister has admitted.

Speaking to The Independent, Anneliese Dodds warned that violence against women is “stubbornly high” but charge rates for such crimes are “extremely low”.

Ms Dodds, currently in Washington with chancellor Rachel Reeves, said the impact of such violence was also having a devastating impact on children caught up in the abuse.

“For some women, unfortunately, home can be an extremely dangerous place,” she said. “We are determined to change that. That is why we said we will put domestic abuse specialists into every 999 control room so that we can have a joined-up approach.

“So you end that situation where women are reporting repeatedly that they have been subject to domestic violence, but no one is joining the dots and making sure that they are protected.”

The move to place domestic abuse specialists in emergency control rooms in England and Wales is one of a raft of measures being rolled out to fulfil the government’s manifesto pledge to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.

Ms Dodds said the whole Labour team is determined to ensure they are tackling domestic abuse. “It has an impact on women, also on their children,” she added. “It really holds women back. There is a strong moral case, but I have to say there is also an economic case for taking action on this too, and we are determined to make sure that we are moving things forward.”

Ms Dodds lent her backing to The Independent’s Brick by Brick campaign which has been launched in partnership with charity Refuge to build a house for women and children escaping abusive partners. 

Plans are already underway for building a second home after the initial target of £300,000 for the campaign was smashed and more than £350,000 in donations has poured in.

“Everyone deserves a safe roof over their head. No one should have to fear for their safety at home,” Ms Dodds said. “I fully support The Independent’s fantastic Brick by Brick campaign and commend the campaign for already surpassing its original £300,000 target. This campaign will make a huge difference to the lives of women affected by domestic abuse.”

The Independent recently reported that more than half of domestic abuse survivors face homelessness after being turned away from refuges due to a chronic national shortage of spaces. Figures show around six in 10 women fleeing domestic abuse who requested a space in a refuge in England between April 2022 and March 2023 were denied a place.

Sir Keir Starmer also gave his personal backing to the Brick by Brick campaign recently in an exclusive interview with The Independent – with the PM promising he and his cabinet would donate to the campaign. Dame Joanna Lumley, Dame Helen Mirren, Olivia Colman, Sir Patrick Stewart, David Morrissey and Victoria Derbyshire are among the famous faces backing The Independent’s appeal.

Every five days in England and Wales, an average of one woman is killed by a partner or ex-partner. While one in four women will be subjected to domestic abuse in their lives in England and Wales, someone will turn to Refuge for help as often as every two minutes.

Fears have recently been raised that domestic abusers are “slipping through the net” of the government’s early release scheme for prisoners and survivors could be put at grave risk.

Discussing the 14 years of Tory rule before Labour came to power in July, she warned of “really disturbing developments” in regards to women's safety and women’s health being “deprioritised”.

“We have also seen women's economic opportunities not being opened as they should have been,” she said. “The new Labour government has got a really clear reform agenda for women – making changes across a range of areas so that women can fulfil their potential and that is going to be important not just for those women but for our whole society, communities and our country as well.”