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Domestic Abuse: A culture of ‘non intervention’

By Nikki Allen

Domestic Abuse has been widely publicised in recent months with various storylines in our soaps and the success of the Clare’s Law pilot scheme in Manchester.  There have also been  a number of social experiments for Domestic Abuse.

The most recent and hard hitting of the social experiments is one carried out in Sweden. It shows a male and female actor portraying a domestic abuse situation. It is very hard hitting and true to life. In one scene the male actor threatens to kill the female and violently grabs her by the neck. They played out the experiment in an elevator.  In total out of the 53 people that entered the elevator, only one person intervened. It therefore begs the question what would you do in that situation?

Sadly there seems to be a culture of non intervention and this is something we need to work together to change.  With domestic abuse incidents on the  rise and there being one domestic abuse call to the Police every 30 seconds it is worrying to think that people allow this to happen in front of them.

Domestic abuse takes many forms it is not just about physically assaulting someone. It is emotional, psychological, sexual and financial abuse. Sometimes a victim can’t see a way out or support to help them. There is! There are various domestic abuse charities out there that help people find their way out of that relationship and support them in starting a new life. There is also access to Court Orders to stop the abuser continuing with their campaign of harassment.