Rochdale Safer Communities Partnership launches transformed domestic abuse strategy

Date published: 26 November 2016

Rochdale Safer Communities Partnership launched a transformed domestic abuse strategy on Friday that coincided with White Ribbon Day, an international day of awareness that asks men to stand up to violence against women.

The strategy is designed to tackle domestic abuse in the borough, featuring services to support people affected by abuse, as well as offering more help for perpetrators to stop.

The event was opened by Councillor Janet Emsley, who said: “Over the last two years, we have seen many changes on the domestic violence front with improved processes and services. Despite these developments, there are still gaps that we need to fill by working together.”

Councillor Janet Emsley (seated right) with domestic abuse survivor Sarah Cooke (seated left) with (standing) Nicky Howarth from Early Breaks, Jane Honeyford and Jenny Miller, Freedom Facilatators from Rochdale Connections Trust

She then introduced each key speaker, starting with Sarah Cooke, from Rochdale, who spoke about her experience of domestic abuse.

Sarah, who had been experiencing abuse from her partner for seven years before she left him, said: “I was 16 when I met my partner. After one year, his behaviour began to change. He kept asking if I was seeing anyone else, he would check my phone for other guys’ numbers, and would ask guys what they were looking at when we were out in public if they looked at us. I’d try and tell him it was our height difference, but he would still ask them for fights.

“In 2011, I wanted to leave him, I wanted to do something with my life and he was holding me back. He took my rights away and I was a completely different person. We did split up, but he came back, telling me he was sorry and he only did it because he didn’t want to lose me and that he loved me.

She went on: “The attacks got worse after I had my son. He would shout at him, when he was only a baby. He would throw things at me, missing my son by one inch. He tried to push me down the stairs.

“When I was 22, I started fighting back. I started talking back to him and telling him I wanted help with my son, because he didn’t give me any. He just wanted money from me and to sit around for hours doing nothing.

“I got my own place and told him he wasn’t allowed to stay, he could only visit. He didn’t like that and ended the relationship and immediately got with someone else.

She added: “He didn’t deserve my love or anything from me. I thought maybe it had been my fault. I decided to do something about it and went on these courses. I’d stayed with him because I’d had no confidence, and I didn’t know what he could do next, what he could do to my son. I thought Social Services might take him away.

“The police were very good with me, I thought they might not believe me, but they never called me a liar and they managed to keep him away, but my case was dropped.

“I hit rock bottom; I was depressed and angry. I was angry at everyone, my family, myself, and police because I felt let down by the system."

Sarah added her thoughts about making school children aware of what a constitutes a healthy relationship plus the signs and symptoms of abuse, including the ‘nicknames’ her partner used to call her.

She said: “People think abuse is just beating people up, but it’s not. If I had known the signs, I would’ve seen what my parents saw. I feel there should be more classes for men and women about it.

“To finish off, my name is Sarah Cooke. I’m 25-years-old and I’m a domestic abuse survivor.”

Sarah Cooke

This was followed by a speech from Jim Battle, Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for Greater Manchester. He said: “Sarah’s experiences made everything incredibly real, and it underlines what this strategy is really about.

“I’m proud to say domestic abuse is at the top of our agenda and that we’ve seen these changes in Rochdale.

He then clarified the presence of a yellow sofa outside. He said: “The aim of the yellow sofa is to get people talking about it. It looks very simple, but the main message is very powerful. A sofa is something we all recognise, something we’re all comfortable with.

“We’ve been taking that sofa around Manchester for the ‘Sitting Right With You’. If you’re not comfortable with domestic abuse or violence, speak out about it.”

Chief Superintendent of Rochdale, Chris Sykes, gave an overview about Rochdale’s Domestic Abuse Strategy. He said: “It’s at the top of our agenda. It is a crime, an awful one that covers a terrible span of coercive, psychological, financial, physical and sexual abuse and violence.

“The strategy won’t just be a document on a shelf. It will be constantly looked at to review gaps to improve these gaps next year and the year after that.

“Statistics change, literature shows around one in three women experience domestic abuse, and one in six men. Domestic violence affects 2.1 million people and each week, two women are killed by a partner or ex-partner.

“It is a crime with huge consequences. We want to do more early intervention to stop cases becoming high risk through our 'Programme Strive' and behavioural programmes.

Further speeches followed from Gail Hopper, Rochdale Borough Council Director of Children’s Services, Kath Cullen and Emily Nickson of the Council’s Early Help Team, Jane Myers of Adult Care Services, Alison Kelly of Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale CCG. These speeches served to highlight the impact of domestic abuse on children, support available for adults who may or may not be separated, and how GP Practices could support victims.

Steve Sweeney, Director of the White Ribbon Campaign UK, presented Gail Hopper with a White Ribbon Award plaque.

Steve Sweeney, Director of the White Ribbon Campaign UK, presents Gail Hopper with a White Ribbon Award plaque

More speeches followed from GMP’s Chief Inspector John Harris who addressed Programme Strive, Nicola Keogh about community peer support and Anna Callaghan from Relate GMS about the behaviour change programme, Striving for Change, which aims to work with perpetrators of domestic abuse and violence.

Second and third years at Hopwood Hall gave a dramatic performance about the impact of domestic abuse before Councillor Janet Emsley closed the event.