"Jersey's domestic abuse rate twice as high as UK"

Wednesday 25 November 2015

Police are called to an average of three domestic abuse incidents every day in Jersey according to figures released as they launch a local ‘White Ribbon’ campaign against domestic abuse.

Home Affairs Minister Kristina Moore is launching the campaign by asking Islanders to wear a white ribbon to demonstrate their opposition to violence against women.

The police are running a pop-up shop in the old Sure building opposite Marks and Spencer in town, which will be open tomorrow from 11 am to 2 pm tomorrow, from 11 am to 2 pm next Tuesday, and from 11 am to 2 pm and from 4 pm until 7 pm next Thursday.

Stats released by the police show the scale of the problem in Jersey:

- Domestic abuse represent 16% of all recorded crime.

- Police attend more than 1,000 domestic abuse incidents each year.

- More than half of the incidents involve children.

- Over half of all murders in the last 20 years have involved domestic abuse.

- 42% of serious assaults are domestic related.

- The annual financial cost of domestic abuse has been calculated at £3.4 million.

The head of the police’s Public Protection Unit, Detective Inspector Mark Hafey, is co-ordinating the campaign, says that domestic abuse can be physical, sexual, emotional, psychological or financial.

“Most commonly it is a combination of all of these forms and is likely to get worse over time and increase in frequency,” he said.

“Domestic abuse is primarily a gender-based crime consisting mainly of violence by men against women.

“However we also recognise that it does occur in many forms, same sex relationships, females against males and children/adults against parents and it can severely impact on children and young people as witnesses to the abuse.

“Domestic abuse on any level is unacceptable and we want to ensure Islanders that Jersey has the mechanisms in place to effectively tackle this issue.”