Crackdown on teen relationship abuse
A bid to crack down on young people experiencing abuse in their relationships has been launched by Sussex Police.
In the latest stage of the force’s Talk To Us, We Can Help campaign, which is focusing on encouraging people to report incidents of domestic abuse, Sussex Police is keen to hear from young people of both sexes who are experiencing such abuse.
At present most calls for help over domestic abuse do not come from teenagers, but police and partners believe they can still face problems in their relationships and are seeking to bring this issue more into the open.
Detective Sergeant Laurence Cartwright said, “Domestic abuse can be in many forms – not just physical harm, but intimidation through controlling behaviour, harassment and threats. It is difficult for people, perhaps more so for young people who are not used to being in a relationship, to recognise that the way their partner is behaving towards them is actual abuse and is not acceptable. What we would like people to do is talk to us or if they can’t talk to us, then talk to someone. Abuse is something you do not have to put up with.
“Domestic abuse is a widespread social problem that affects a variety of people. It doesn’t always involve or start with physical violence and can include all sorts of controlling behaviour. There is a lot of help available, not only from Sussex Police, but 24-hour National Domestic Violence Freephone Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
The latest initiative is part of the continuing Sussex Police campaign to encourage more reporting of a range of personal crimes including domestic abuse. In December a 24-hour ‘tweetathon’ was viewed by more than 75,000 people and around 8,000 people tuned in during the live web-chats with 129 questions submitted. During the same period more than 110 people reported incidents of domestic abuse, a 100 per cent increase over the usual daily average.
The new Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne said, “I was elected on a manifesto pledge to tackle domestic abuse and this is one of my key priorities during my first year in office. The aim of this campaign is to raise awareness and to prevent teenagers from becoming victims and perpetrators of abusive relationships. We want them to think about what is unacceptable behaviour in relationships and be able to direct them to places for help and advice.”
Anyone seeking advice can call the CRI Domestic Abuse Service on 01424 716629.
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Tuesday 18 June 2013
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