The number of Domestic Violence Protection Orders (DVPOs) granted per household in Greater Manchester has significantly increased in the past year.
Data taken from the Office for National Statistics and the 2021 Census has shown a 60.5% increase in DVPOs per household granted in the area between 2022 and 2023. Figures have more than doubled since 2019, with the data showing a 161% increase.
The North West region has also experienced a sharp spike, with an increase of 39.5% since 2022.
In 2023 Greater Manchester outstripped over half the regions of England and Wales in the number of DVPOs granted, including the South East, the West Midlands, and the North East. Its total for 2023 of 1048 was more than double that of Wales, which had granted 480.
Manager of domestic abuse charity Independent Choices Hayley Brewer said: “If you are a victim there are often more people trying to support you than you might think.”
She praised the work of Greater Manchester Police (GMP) in relation to the spike in DVPO grants in 2023.
She stated: “What I think that the figures are showing is that GMP are taking responsibility and actively looking at working to resolve Domestic Abuse the best that they can.”
The DVPO scheme gives police and magistrates the power to ban a domestic violence perpetrator from returning to the victim’s home or contacting them for a maximum of 28 days immediately following a domestic violence incident.
It was rolled out across the 43 police departments in England and Wales in 2014 along with DVPNs, emergency non-molestation eviction notices issued by police to the perpetrator which enable a victim to receive immediate support from the time of a domestic abuse incident.
Perpetrators who breach the order can wind up being arrested, potentially remanded in custody and brought before the Magistrates Court.
The scheme was introduced in 2014 as part of the Call to End Violence Against Women and Girls Action Plan.
Domestic violence comes under the umbrella of domestic abuse, which encompasses physical, sexual, psychological or emotional abuse, coercive behaviour, and economic abuse, among other variations.
In 2022, the police recorded 1.5 million domestic abuse-related crimes in England and Wales; a rise of around 7% since the previous year.
The true figure is likely to be far higher, since the crime goes largely uncommunicated to the police. It has been estimated that only 24% of sufferers, or their friends and family actually report domestic abuse.
Young people were shown to be at high risk; those aged between 16-19 years of age were more likely to experience abuse than people over 25.
The charity Independent Choices, which runs the Greater Manchester Domestic Abuse Helpline, plays a huge role in offering guidance and support to people of all ages who have been affected by domestic abuse.
Support includes advice regarding legal options, support on housing issues, signposting to other relevant services, and accessing and referring to refuges throughout the UK, including refuges for BAME (Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic) victims.
With a current total of 10 members of staff and seven volunteers, the helpline has been running since 1978 and answers between 3,500 and 4,000 calls per year.
Though half the callers are made up of victims, the other half comprise of professionals, friends, family, neighbours, and even employers; all reaching out for the information and guidance they need to support survivors through their ordeal.
Ms Brewer commented on the recent changes in how police respond to domestic abuse-related crime and the options they provide.
She said: “You can see a rise in people looking at actively finding information and coming forward for the first time, it’s the first time they have felt safe to find these additional options.
“Domestic abuse provisions for Greater Manchester are some of the best in the UK.”
Brewer also highlighted the difficulty as a result of the current housing crisis in finding refuge for survivors of abuse.
Because of this, the charity is more often seeking non-refuge options which are made possible by DVPNs and DVPOs, which give survivors time and space away from the perpetrator to consider their options while working with a support agency – all without having to leave their homes.
At the end of 2023 Greater Manchester Police received the Public Safety Award at the CIR Risk Management Awards ceremony for the second year running.
The accolade was in recognition of the work done by the GMP in managing DVPOs with Geo Alerts, which work to notify Armed Response Officers of DVPOs near to their location when they are on patrol.
The initiative enables officers to conduct victim welfare checks and ensure offender compliance.
Since these checks were introduced several arrests have been made for order breaches. GMP now hope to roll the initiative across the Specialist Operations branch to enable more officers within the reason to conduct DVPO checks.
If you have been affected by the issues raised, you can speak to the Independent Choices Helpline on 0800 254 0909 Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm.
For out of hours support, the National Domestic Abuse Helpline is available 24 hours a day on 0808 2000 247.
Featured image courtesy of Myrddin Irwin via Flikr.
