Duchess of Cornwall warns against silence on domestic abuse
THE Duchess of Cornwall has warned that coercive control is characterised by silence as she called for the “taboo” subject of domestic violence to be brought out into the open.
She said new laws alone could not change behaviour, calling upon men to join the conversation and speak out against the “heinous” problem of domestic abuse.
Dame Cressida Dick, the Met Police commissioner, praised the Duchess for her work on such a difficult issue, noting that it was not always the most fashionable subject to talk about.
But the keynote address to the Women of the World Festival in London was almost overshadowed after photographs of the Duchess of Sussex on a private visit to the National Theatre were released shortly afterwards, despite assurances from Buckingham Palace that she would not be doing anything that clashed with the event. The photographs were placed in the
Evening Standard after what is understood to have been a personal request from Meghan.
The Duchess of Cornwall spoke powerfully on the issue of domestic violence in a passionate speech in which she warned of the “corrosive” effect that the pervading silence can foster.
“We all need to understand what coercive control is, how insidious it is, and how often it leads to repeated violence,” she said.
“At a recent Safelives event, Suzanne Jacob said: ‘We need to change the conversation from, ‘Why doesn’t she leave?’ to ‘Why doesn’t he stop?’. How right she is.”
The Duchess noted that it was not only men who abuse and it is not only women who are abused. “We need to acknowledge that society also plays a part,” she said.
“Maybe it’s too simplistic to say that it fosters a culture of violence and early sexualisation. But the society in which we live is the backdrop for our behaviour. Young people don’t set out to become abusers. We need to teach our young men and women what healthy and loving relationships are, and that it is never ‘OK’ to treat anyone with less than respect.”
She told the audience at the Royal Festival Hall that the “taboo” subject must become part of the national conversation, launching the hashtag #everyonesproblem.
Meanwhile, the Duchess of Sussex has been undertaking a final flurry of visits before she returns to Canada, where she and Prince Harry will be based permanently when they step down as working royals.
Although Buckingham Palace aides said the details of one such engagement – at a school in Dagenham – would be held back so as not to clash with the Duchess of Cornwall’s work, pictures of Meghan’s visit to the National Theatre emerged regardless.
The Duchess is understood to have released a photograph of herself at the venue’s Immersive Storytelling Studio “because she believes the studio and its work is so important to showcase”.
Meanwhile, Prince Harry was joined by Lewis Hamilton as he opened The Silverstone Experience in Northants.