Violence against women statistics

WQ.122/2021

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS BY DEPUTY L.M.C. DOUBLET OF ST. SAVIOUR

QUESTION SUBMITTED ON MONDAY 15th MARCH 2021 ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 22nd MARCH 2021

Question

With reference to the answer to Written Question 8629, will the Minister provide updates on the following –

1. updated statistics for the last 5 years relating to levels of violence against women and girls in Jersey, including rape and sexual assault, and how many of these crimes have resulted in prosecution and conviction to date since 2012;
2. an update on any actions taken by the department in the last 5 years to increase detection and resolution of these types of crime, in addition to future work planned in this area;
3. an update on the progress of inter-departmental discussions to develop intervention and prevention strategies for violence against women and girls and on any progress towards a cross-departmental strategy for tackling violence against women and girls; and
4. information on how the department has supported the work of Jersey Action  Against Rape (J.A.A.R.) since its establishment in 2015, including any funding or training offered to J.A.A.R., and what insights the department has acquired from the work of J.A.A.R. during this time?

Answer

1. See Appendix
2. Specific actions taken by the department in the last 5 years includes:

• Substantial Investment in support services, including the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) and Jersey Domestic Abuse Service (approx £800k/annum)

• Provision of capital funding of £2.2 million for a new purpose built facility for adults & children who are sexually abused.

• Publication of the Victims Charter and funding of Victim's First Jersey (£130k/annum) to support all victims of crime.

• Enactment of the Sexual Offences Jersey Law 2018 to make provision for new sexual offences, including FGM, up-skirting and voyeurism.

• Enactment of the Criminal Procedure Jersey Law 2018 to improve the victim experience of the criminal justice system and to give vulnerable victims and witnesses greater protection through special measures such as pre-recorded evidence and the ability to be cross examined by video- link at the SARC.

• Drafting is currently underway of a new Domestic Abuse Law which for the first time will creating a statutory definition of domestic abuse, emphasising that domestic abuse is not just physical violence, but can also be emotional, coercive or controlling, and economic abuse.

3. As yet there has been no inter-departmental discussions to develop a specific strategy for tackling violence against woman and girls. There is, however, inter-departmental working through the Safeguarding Partnership Board which looks at developing intervention and prevention strategies in the areas of domestic abuse and child sexual abuse.

4. Dewberry House (SARC), Jersey Domestic Abuse Service (JDAS) and the Charity JAAR are the three main services which provide specialist support to victims of Sexual Assault.

Since 2017 when Dewberry House opened the three services have worked in collaboration to ensure support pathways are accessible to victims. Employees of JAAR and volunteers have attended professional open days at SARC and meetings have taken place between service managers across the three providers. Shared training by a psychotherapist who specialises in sexual trauma has also taken place.

From 2017-2020 SARC commissioned a contract of service to support the charity by providing funding for counselling for any referrals sent from either SARC or JDAS to JAAR. The total of this was £21,250 over the 3 years. The contract has now expired and the status of this contract is under review.

The three services enjoy a good relationship and work well to support victims of sexual assault by offering choice and options.

Appendix