Domestic abuse can affect anyone, regardless of age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation. Domestic abuse can manifest itself in specific ways within different communities.
2.4 In police recorded crime and Crime Survey of England and Wales data, women are more often recorded as victims of domestic abuse, and men are more often recorded as perpetrators. Female victims are also more likely to be identified as high-risk or repeat victims.
2.5 Many men also experience domestic abuse. They can face serious harm and may find it harder to ask for help because of stigma or assumptions about who experiences domestic abuse.
2.6 It is important to remember the experiences of children and young people who are living with domestic abuse. Witnessing domestic abuse is one of ten Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and the 2021 Domestic Abuse Act identifies children as victims of domestic abuse if they see, hear, or otherwise experience domestic abuse between two people where the child is related to at least one of them. Their safety and wellbeing must be considered in any decisions about support for the adults involved.
2.7 As part of our responsibility to safeguard children, Norwich City Council has made a Flourish Pledge to prioritise the safety and welfare of children and young people whenever we are aware of domestic abuse and work closely with other agencies enabling children to access early support.
Definition of “personally connected” – Under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021
Two people are “personally connected” to each other if any of the following applies:
- they are, or have been, married to each other
- they are, or have been, civil partners of each other
- they have agreed to marry one another (whether or not the agreement has been terminated)
- they have entered into a civil partnership agreement (whether or not the agreement has been terminated)
- they are, or have been, in an intimate personal relationship with each other
- they each have, or there has been a time when they each have had, a parental relationship in relation to the same child (see subsection (2))
- they are relatives
For the purposes of subsection (1)(f) a person has a parental relationship in relation to a child if:
- the person is a parent of the child, or
- the person has parental responsibility for the child
You can find the full definition at legislation.gov.uk
2.9 Honour based abuse is a form of domestic abuse. There is currently no statutory definition of Honour Based Abuse in England and Wales, but a common definition has been adopted across government and criminal justice agencies:
‘A crime or incident which has, or may have been, committed to protect or defend the honour of the family and / or community’.
