Domestic abuse has continued to rise on the Isle of Wight during the Covid pandemic.
Figures released by the Isle of Wight’s Community Safety Partnership (CSP) show the number of incidents flagged as domestic abuse by the police rose by 100 compared to last year.
Overall on the Island, more than 1,900 incidents were flagged between April 2020 and March 2021.
Not the full picture
However, it is believed not all victims came forward as on average a victim would endure roughly 50 incidents before they reported it to the police.
Nationally, calls to the domestic abuse helpline rose by 66 per cent and visits to their website 950 per cent, compared to pre-Covid levels.
Nearly half of the victims on the Island were aged between 20 to 39 and the peak age of offenders was between 25 to 39.
More than a third were repeat incidents.
Rise in adolescent-to-parent violence
There has also been an increasing trend in adolescent-to-parent violence, with 44 per cent of abuse in family relationships coming from the son or daughter; more than a quarter of those offences being committed by teenagers, aged between 15 and 19.
All frontline officers and staff working for Hampshire Constabulary have had domestic abuse training with officers having specialist training.
Safeguarding key
A police spokesperson said the training did not just focus on targeting perpetrators, but ensuring victims are safeguarded.
Regardless of whether the victim would like to pursue prosecution, support is offered to them.
The CSP said before Covid it had been working to raise awareness and build confidence in communities, aiming to empower victims to seek support as well as increasing the opportunity to report incidents of abuse.
Continually training community champions
Jayne Hardy, area manager for domestic abuse services, said they were continually training community champions on the Island to support so victims are not ringing a helpline on the mainland.
She said work was continuing in schools to help educate young people on healthy and safe relationships.
Through various campaigns, the CSP said feedback has been positive with an increased reach and self-referrals made to commissioned support.
The Young Persons specific campaign in July, covering themes around coercive control and respect, had a reach on social media of over 62,000 people.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is part of. Read here to find about more about how that scheme works on the Island. Some alterations and additions may have been made by News OnTheWight. Ed
