Introduction
Domestic Abuse is a global, national and local issue. The Crime Survey for England and Wales estimated that 2.3 million people aged 16 years and over experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2024. This is estimated at 1.6 million women and 712,000 men.[i]
Domestic abuse is a hidden crime due to underreporting but also that one domestic abuse incident can have multiple impacts on victims, their families, communities and services. Domestic abuse impacts everyone and can be devastating for all.
The economic and social costs of domestic violence and abuse are immense. The Home Office estimated in 2017 the cost to be £66 billion in England and Wales.
It is widely known that domestic abuse is recognised as a gendered crime and predominantly perpetrated by men towards women, in intimate partner relationships as a form of violence against women and girls. However, it is now widely recognised that anyone of any gender, sex, sexual orientation, age, race, or religion can be a victim of domestic abuse, and the Domestic Abuse Act (2021) introduced a recognised definition to encompass those who are personally connected. See Appendix 1 for the definition.
It is critical to provide life-saving safe accommodation and support for those victims and their children that need it following domestic abuse and as they rebuild their lives after the trauma of domestic abuse.
Part 4 of the Domestic Abuse Act requires local authorities to undertake aneeds assessment and strategy every 3 years. See Appendix 2 for further detail on the statutory guidance of the Domestic Abuse Act, including Part 4 and other relevant legislation.
The most recent needs assessment in Hartlepool was published in 2021, followed by Hartlepool’s Domestic Abuse Strategy: Building a System Based on Lived Experience 2022-2025. The purpose of this document is to refresh and review the level of need for domestic abuse services, including –
- safe accommodation
- the extent of unmet need and gaps in provision
- the effectiveness of current service provision
It will also make recommendations of meeting need and using resources effectively and efficiently.
It will build on progress already made since 2021, combining national data and research with the local context of Hartlepool to continue conversations with stakeholders, commissioners and partner agencies about the future of domestic abuse services in Hartlepool and inform the development of the Domestic Abuse Strategy for 2026 and inform the commissioning of domestic abuse services.
The needs assessment has used published statistics including both national and local datasets from a range of organisations and held locally in-house at Hartlepool.
The way data is collected and the level of detail held varies considerably between organisations as does the time periods that data is available for. The timeframe for each dataset is given each time within the report.
The data in this needs assessment covers the period 1st April 2023 – 31st March 2024. Where possible, data from the previous needs assessment has been used as a comparison to review trends and progress.
The term victim and survivor will be used interchangeably throughout this document; however, it is important to recognise that not everyone who has been impacted by domestic abuse will identify as either. Those who cause harm will be referred to as perpetrators of domestic abuse.
Other JSNA topics this topic closely linked to:
- Child Who Offend
- Crime
- Housing
- Mental Health
- Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults
- Sexual Health
- Substance Misuse