69% of all domestic abuse going unreported

A NEW public health report says that 69 per cent of all domestic abuse cases in Solihull are believed to go unreported, despite year-on-year increases in the number of cases which have been flagged up.

The number of children living with domestic abuse is an area of particular concern for the council, with 41 per cent of child social work assessments identifying domestic abuse as an issue.

That figure is said to be “rising significantly” each quarter.

Michelle Hughes, Head of Commissioning and Performance, said: “We are still seeing a high number of child social worker assessments identifying domestic abuse as a factor. We have a new domestic abuse strategy in place and we are looking at specialist support that we can put in place for young people.”

Ms Hughes said that although the number of domestic abuse incidents reported to the police is starting to settle, that number is still higher than in pre-pandemic years.

Domestic abuse has been a major issue across the country as lockdowns saw reported incidents reach record highs.

The Office for National

Statistics said that in the year ending March 2021, the National Domestic Abuse Helpline supported 49,756 people who reported domestic abuse - a 22 per cent increase from 40,859 in the previous year.

The ManKind Initiative, a helpline for male victims of domestic abuse, also experienced burgeoning cases in the same time frame. It received 23 per cent more calls to its helpline per month and 61 per cent more visitors to its website per month than the previous year.

Cllr Tony Dicicco, Cabinet portfolio holder for Adult Social Care and Health Portfolio, said: “There is lots of good work going on with domestic abuse.

“Obviously, Covid has exacerbated the issues around domestic abuse with people spending more time together potentially and also money worries that might have affected family life. It has so much effect on family life – not just the people suffering directly but also children who suffer indirectly, so we need to try and understand and improve that situation.”