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Domestic Abuse

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The Domestic Abuse Strategy

Domestic violence and abuse is a serious problem in our island communities of Guernsey and Alderney. It occurs right across our society and it has devastating consequences for the victims and their families.

Domestic Abuse accounts for one in five cases of violent crime in the United Kingdom and two in five cases of violent crime here. In Guernsey there have been four unlawful killings as a result of domestic violence since 1999.

Every week around fourteen incidents of domestic abuse are reported to the Police in Guernsey, yet violent incidents in the home are believed to be seriously under-reported. Children are very much the silent victims of domestic abuse. They may witness it or be subject to it but often their voices are not heard. In 30% of incidents reported to the Police children were present. These experiences can affect their emotional, psychological, physical and sexual development and the abuse can have long-lasting consequences for them in childhood and in later life.

A Domestic Abuse Strategy for Guernsey and Alderney was approved by the States of Guernsey in 2009. The vision of the Strategy focuses on meeting the needs of all victims who experience abuse through the development of better, more equitable, accessible and effective services; and on working towards the development of a society in which domestic violence and abuse is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. The ultimate goal is to put in place all practicable measures towards the elimination of domestic violence and abuse.

Is Domestic Abuse a crime?

Domestic abuse may include a number of different behaviours and consequences, so there is no single criminal offence of "domestic abuse". However, many forms of domestic abuse are crimes - examples of domestic abuse crimes include harassment, assault, attempted murder, rape and criminal damage. Being assaulted, sexually abused, threatened or harassed by a partner or family member is just as much a crime as violence from a stranger, and can often be more traumatic and dangerous.

Not all forms of domestic violence are illegal - some forms of emotional abuse are not defined as crimes. Even so, these types of violence can also have a serious and lasting impact on a victim's sense of well-being and that of any children living in the household.

Protecting yourself and your children from domestic abuse

If you are living in an abusive relationship and are worried about your safety and the safety of your children (if you have them), help is available. Everyone has the right to feel safe and not live in fear because of attitudes or actions taken by other people.

Working with you to increase your safety

Are you at risk?

Has your partner ever:

behaved in a jealous or controlling way?
said or done anything of a sexual nature that makes you feel bad?
physically hurt you?

Do you think:

about leaving your partner?
that the abuse is getting worse?
that you might experience more abuse?
that your partner might harm your children?
that your partner might kill you?
that you are being stalked?

If you have said yes to the majority of these questions you may be experiencing domestic abuse.

Domestic abuse is the misuse of power and control in the form of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, verbal, sexual, financial or emotional) inflicted on one person by another where they are or have been intimate partners or family members, irrespective of gender or sexual orientation.

It may help to remember that you are not alone in this - it is estimated that one in four women and one in six men are abused at some point in their lives.

You don't have to deal with this on your own. The Guernsey Police take domestic abuse extremely seriously and will be able to act quickly. You can contact the Police on telephone 725111 and ask to speak to a member of the Public Protection Unit who can give specialist advice and support about domestic abuse.

If you don't want to call the Police, call a local domestic abuse service such as the Guernsey Women's Refuge or the Victim Support and Witness Service for support and advice or talk to a friend or family member that you can trust about your feelings. The worst thing you can do is stay quiet and allow the situation to continue. A full list of relevant contact numbers is attached below.

In an emergency - for example, if you are being threatened with violence or attacked, or are in fear of this, then call 999 immediately.