APCC welcomes the call for a Perpetrator Strategy
Following Drive’s launch of both a Call to Action asking the government to publish a Perpetrator Strategy and the evaluation of the Drive pilot programmes, APCC Victims Lead, Julia Mulligan, North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner said:
"Over the past eight years or so, PCCs have worked hard to transform support services for victims of domestic abuse. This has helped encourage people to come forward and receive the support they need to recover and cope from their ordeal. PCCs will continue this important work.
"However, when it comes to perpetrators, we certainly have much more to do. Domestic abuse is still far too often characterised as a feature of a ‘toxic relationship’, with the insidious implication that somehow the victim contributes to their own abuse. This must change, and perpetrators need to be seen for what they are - controlling, abusive individuals, very often with multiple victims and a history of abuse.
"There is also now a significant body of research into perpetrator behaviour which gives real insight into the risks and nature of abuse, to which successful programmes such as Drive contribute. We therefore very much welcome the call for a Perpetrator Strategy and will play our part in ensuring that perpetrators are dealt with much more effectively locally and across the criminal justice system."