Women’s Aid respond to new research by the Centre for Women’s Justice on police perpetrated domestic abuse

Sophie Francis-Cansfield, Head of Policy at Women’s Aid, said:

“Women’s Aid is alarmed by new research findings from the Centre for Women’s Justice, which shows shocking levels of police perpetrated domestic abuse. Officers accused of domestic abuse are all too often facing promotion, not prosecution. Research like this highlights the urgent need for institutional reforms to policing, so that abusers are removed from their ranks and survivors are prioritised.

We know that there is an issue of deep-rooted misogyny and sexism within our police forces, which has resulted in women and girls being failed. Over the last few years, we’ve seen various policy commitments which aim to eradicate these toxic cultures, but in reality, there has been very little meaningful change. Reports from women continue to be ignored, while perpetrators are promoted into more powerful positions.

It is no surprise that women’s confidence in the police remains so low, with only 1 in 5 survivors reporting their experiences of abuse to the police. To strengthen women’s trust, they must feel safe enough to report abuse, but this will only be done if senior police leaders acknowledge a need for change, with a robust response to police perpetrators and improved responses to survivors and violence against women and girls more widely.

We echo calls from the Centre for Women’s Justice for more research into police perpetrated domestic abuse, in order to establish what actions need to be taken and how effective policies are at eradicating this heinous form of violence against women and girls.”

Notes:

• You can read the full report – Police Perpetrated Domestic Abuse: Has anything really changed since the 2020 super-complaint by the Centre for Women’s Justice here.