Domestic abuse 10,000 incidents in just a year
MORE than 10,000 domestic violence and abuse incidents and an estimated 6,200 sexual assaults took place in Bristol last year, a report reveals.
The shocking figures prompted city council cabinet members to implore older women to seek support, many of whom have suffered in silence for decades having never spoken of traumatic attacks.
A report to councillors said there were 10,021 recorded domestic abuse crimes and incidents in Bristol in 2018/19, according to police data.
There were huge variations across the city, with the five wards with the highest number of reported incidents listed as Hartcliffe & Withywood, Filwood, Lawrence Hill, Avonmouth & Lawrence and St George Central.
The cabinet papers said it was believed more than 60,000 Bristol adults had experienced domestic abuse since the age of 16, the vast majority by their partners.
Of the 17,000 estimated victims aged 16 to 59 in the last 12 months, at least 11,000 were female.
The report said: “It is estimated that up to 6,200 could have experienced sexual assault in the last year, approximately 4,000 women.
“In 2018/19 there was a total of 1,025 sexual offences recorded in Bristol, a rate of 2.2 per 1,000 (population).”
It is thought one in five offences are not reported to police, the report said. The highest number of sexual offences were in Central ward, followed by Ashley, Hotwells & Harbourside, Lawrence Hill and Hartcliffe & WIthywood.
Recently deputy mayor Asher Craig and cabinet member for adult social care Cllr Helen Holland helped to launch Chilling
Silence, a report by the South West Rape Crisis Centre Partnership into sexual violence against older women.
It revealed about 176,000 females over 55 in the region had experienced sexual violence at some point in their life but that they were far less likely to speak openly about it.
Cllr Holland told Bristol City Council’s cabinet it was “never too late” for older victims to get help. Women who have bottled those things up for decades, there is still a chance to talk about it.”
Cabinet member for women, children and young people Cllr Helen Godwin said: “The impact of domestic violence on families, children and future generations is huge, so it’s really important we continue as a council to prioritise it.
“The rates are way too high in Bristol for domestic and sexual violence and for domestic homicides.
“Seeing how domestic violence affects through the life-course is even more reason for us to continue on our push around adverse childhood experiences and to ensure that our practice is trauma-informed because childhood trauma plays out at all stages in life.
“We really must do everything we can to break that cycle.”
Cabinet agreed to begin the process of re-procuring the council’s support services for victims until at least 2026, as the current contract expires in July next year.
Cllr Craig told the meeting: “The majority of the users of these services are women but there is a small but not insignificant number of men and indeed older women over 65 who are also victims.
“I want to remind anyone who is a victim or if you know anyone who may be a victim of sexual violence and abuse that you are not alone and those services are there to support you.”
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The rates are way too high in Bristol for domestic and sexual violence and for domestic homicides.