Stalking report published by HMIC

 

stalking

 

 

 

 

 

A report called ‘The Victim Journey’ investigating stalking and harassment has been published by Dr Holly Taylor-Dunn, Professor Erica Bowen and Professor Liz Gilchrist from the Centre for Violence Prevention at Worcester University. The work was commissioned by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate Constabulary and covers in-depth qualitative interviews with three themes: the nature of stalking and harassment disclosed by participants, the impact of stalking and harassment on the victims and the views and experiences of investigation by the police and where relevant the CPS.

The key messages from the report were that the nature of stalking has a significant impact on the physical, emotional and psychological well being of the victims. The majority of the participants had made major changes to their daily routines to avoid offenders. Half the women felt unsafe and many had installed security systems. The report concluded it is imperative for police to be given time to talk to victims about the impact of stalking and harassment.

Please follow the link to read the report in full here.

 

New resource launched to support women experiencing domestic violence

women speak out

Dr Emma Watson Head for the Centre for Gender and Violence research has co-led a project that includes over 30 audio interviews with women describing domestic abuse. She says “Personal stories open a ‘window’ into real-life experiences, providing insight to others. We are extremely grateful to the women who chose to speak out about their experiences of domestic violence and abuse. Although speaking about these experiences can be difficult, the women wanted to help others in similar situations and to let friends, family and professionals know how best to help if they think a woman is being abused.’

The accounts document different types of abuse including physical, emotional, financial and sexual abuse. The women are from a range of different cultural backgrounds and are aged between 20 – 62. Their accounts also focus on cohersive controlling behaviour and the importance of making a safety plan when preparing to leave abusive relationships.

Please find more information about this resource here.