"Domestic abuse doesn’t happen around here!"

How many times have we heard people say something like that?  We have some very beautiful villages in Derbyshire, some idyllic chocolate box countryside views with Dovedale bringing millions of tourists into the area each year. But behind those beautiful images there is abuse, no matter how much we try to ignore it.   

According to the Office of National Statistics, 7.9% of women and 4.2% of men suffered domestic abuse during 2018, and these are only cases which are reported. 

The “Captive and Controlled” report from the National Rural Crime Network, discovered that domestic abuse tends to last 25% longer in rural areas. This is for a number of reasons, one which I will talk about in another blog is that close knit communities mean that victims are afraid to speak out as everyone in these little villages know each other.  They all know either your parents or grandparents or auntie and uncle and if they don’t know your family, they will know the perpetrators family.   

Because many services are centralised it can be harder for a victim to know where to get help or even if they know where to get help, poor telephone signal in the countryside around Derbyshire can mean that even just making the phone call for help is harder. 

In some families, it’s not even realised that behaviour is abusive, it’s just the way it’s always been. 

All of these, and other factors, added together mean that abuse lasts longer in rural areas. 

Thanks for reading, 

Emily

Kindly funded by Derbyshire's Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner