#To effectively intervene in cultures of abuse and cycles of violence we do actually have to take on that we are responsible to each other

[dxxtruction]

VENT - I feel like if there was better education around abuse and violence, and abuse and violence prevention, we'd be able to interrogate more how it is so much a community, cultural, and systemic problem, and arguably less of an individual one. This does not dissuade any fault individuals have in creating violence and perpetrating abuse, just so no one's confused here. We have to see that violence and abuse perpetrators do take the responsibility for their actions. Obviously. But to open this up to wider responsibility would lead to far better discussions about wtf was going on at the anti-black lynch trail wrt Armand's complicity and level of fault in it.

Far too many people are unwilling to see that he was not the one to orchestrate or plan this, because they'd rather pin violence and abuse all onto a single individual. (Which is dehumanizing btw, to us even because it implies we've accepted these terms for ourselves as well).

This is an expectation I'm aware just isn't possible though, and Interview!Fandom certainly is not ready to confront this. Not everyone was when it came to the abuse Lestat perpetrated in S1 (those who watched an entirely different show apparently and deny how race played a role in the violence and abuse, throughout just everything not just Lestat). So it's just gonna be me and the handful of others IG. Shout out.

(more to this in OP tags)

[just-something-to-read]

Upcoming Domestic Abuse Bill

When Theresa May was Home Secretary - one of her main focus points was that of Domestic Abuse and numerous times she stated that the system failed victims time and time again. When she became Prime Minister - she vowed to establish a new system to protect victims and to criminalise Domestic Abuse, once and for all. In 2010, David Cameron set out cutting essential services to protect Domestic Abuse victims and unfortunately it was Theresa May who was constantly under attack for thee budget cuts. 

Due to her active pledge to fight against Domestic Abuse and violence against women, the UK is negotiating its first Bill (piece of legislation) which will actually see domestic abuse as a crime rather than perpetrators being sentenced for other crimes such as GBH, theft and attepted murder or manslaughter. When launching the call for the new Bill to be pushed through and seriously considered by the House of Commons and House of Lords, May stated that the purpose of the Bill was to “seek to put an end to this abhorrent crime.” (https://nationallegalservice.co.uk/perpetrators-of-domestic-abuse-could-be-electronically-tagged-under-new-proposals-of-a-draft-bill/)

The Domestic Abuse Bill also provides a legal statutory definition of deomstic abuse which covers more than just physical violence.

(https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/58-01/171/5801171.pdf page 1-2 of the document)

The new Domestic Abuse Bill focuses on strengthening police powers in preventing domestic abuse from escalating to an extreme form before the Judiciary services are able to intervene. This is a very similar model that was implemented in New Zealand in regards to accomodation rights given to the victims of Domestic Abuse.

The Domestic Abuse Bill also calls for the creation of a statutory aggravating factor in sentencing - which is used during hate crime court cases. This means that the previous history of the abuser will also be taken into account to assess higher culpability. 

Amber Rudd (former Home Secretary for Conservative Party) said that the Domestic Abuse Bill, “aims to fundamentally change the way we as a country think about domestic abuse, recognising it as a crime that comes in many forms.” (https://www.allaboutlaw.co.uk/commercial-awareness/legal-spotlight/criminal-law-tackling-domestic-violence-in-the-uk-) Which is a massive advantage in changing social attitudes regarding domestic abuse and hoping that people such as Raoul Moat are not glorified by the public for ‘their stance against police’. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/10584777 - criminologist David Wilson’s view on Raoul Moat)

Sandra Horley who is the Chief Executive of Refuge charity had some criticism to the Bill however, warning "It is essential that within the Bill there is a duty to provide sustainable funding for life-saving specialist domestic violence services, in particular refuges. Refuges are much more than a roof over a woman and child’s head – they provide emergency support and save lives." (https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/theresa-may-vows-to-tackle-vile-domestic-abuse-as-longdelayed-bill-introduced)

This funding is very important in establishing essential services and safe spaces for victims/survivors of domestic abuse. Statistics show that under Tory government 44% of Domestic Abuse victims are forced to sofa surf whilst waiting to be given safe accomodation. (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/dec/11/conservative-government-domestic-violence-victims-die) In 2010/2011 domestic abuse funding being provided to refuges was - £31.2million whereas in 2016/2017 it was only £23.9million. These budget cuts meant that vital services such as child support workers, specialist support for women from ethnic minorities and substance abuse specialists have had to be cut from refuge services. This means that victims are more at risk of becoming victimised again, children within the family may find unhealthy ways to cope with the trauma either through violence, self harm or substance abuse and those from ethnic backgrounds may feel like an outsider to the western society views of their culture/religion.

Women’s Aid told The Indepedent that in 2016 saw 78 women and 78 children were turned away from refuges in a single day.  (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/women-refuge-budget-cut-quarter-domestic-violence-victims-children-support-a8003066.html) This has put victims in a difficult position because those who were meant to help, were unable to do so and the fault is at the government. 

However, the calls from domestic abuse charities regarding Funding has fallen on deaf ears - on the current written documentation of the Bill (which is currently at the Report Stage:House of Lords which will commence on the 08/03/2021) there is no definite figure or even a statement regarding the amount of funding being pledged to help provide domestic abuse services by the government - but instead is open to interpretation to the Commissioner and the Home Secretary:

“5 Funding 

(1) The Secretary of State may make payments to the Commissioner out of money provided by Parliament for the purpose of enabling the Commissioner to meet expenditure incurred in the exercise of the Commissioner’s functions. (2) Payments are to be made at such times, and subject to any such conditions, as the Secretary of State considers appropriate. 

(3) The Secretary of State may pay, or make provision for paying, to or in respect of the Commissioner— 

(a) remuneration;

(b) allowances; 

(c) sums by way of or in respect of pensions.

6 Staff etc 

(1) The Secretary of State must provide the Commissioner with— 

(a) such staff, and 

(b) such accommodation, equipment and other facilities,  as the Secretary of State considers necessary for the carrying out of the Commissioner’s functions. 

(2) Before providing any staff, the Secretary of State must— 

(a) consult the Commissioner, and 

(b) obtain the Commissioner’s approval as to the persons to be provided as staff. 

(3) The Secretary of State must consult the Commissioner before providing any accommodation, equipment or other facilities”

(https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/58-01/171/5801171.pdf page 3-4)

This means that it is the duty of the Secretary of State to consider what funding is deemed necessary and what services would be considered necessary as well. This causes issues because the Secretary of State may not be aware of the full scale of Domestic Abuse and how to appropriately fund or accomodate those needing and/or providing the service. The only balance for the Commissioner regarding funding is that they must be consulted before providing any services and approval must be obtained before providing staff. 

The Commissioner is also not allowed to borrow money which means that if the Secretary of State does not provide enough funding - budgets will become scarce (such as the current standing) and services will struggle to provide effective support for Domestic Abuse victims. This is already an issue within the Refuge services of Domestic Abuse since in 2019/2020 - 60 refuges in England received no local authority commissioned funding. (https://www.womensaid.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Fragile-funding-landscape-the-extent-of-local-authority-commissioning-in-the-domestic-abuse-refuge-sector-in-England-2020.pdf page 5) 

In Wales, the only statistics I could find regarding funding was 2016/2017 which shows that 58% of services saw their funding cut in 2015/2016 and a further 50% saw further cuts in the following year. (https://www.welshwomensaid.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/State-of-the-sector-report-2016-FINAL.pdf page 19)

The Covid-19 pandemic increased discussions regarding domestic abuse and pushing for extra funding from the government to help with any increase of support needed. As of November 2020 18.5% of bedspaces in refuges were acquired through non-commissioned funding. Without this extra funding spaces would increase from 24.5% shortfall to 42.5% shortfall. (https://www.womensaid.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Fragile-funding-landscape-the-extent-of-local-authority-commissioning-in-the-domestic-abuse-refuge-sector-in-England-2020.pdf page 5)

Women’s Aid published a report showing just how devastating the lack of funding actually is on the services provided for victims of domestic abuse and their children:

48.8% of domestic abuse services had no dedicated funding (2018/2019)

53.5% stated that thier biggest challenge was funding cuts and funding uncertanities

20.3% of victims were declined help due to lack of space and/or capacity.

(https://www.womensaid.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/The-Domestic-Abuse-Report-2020-The-Annual-Audit.pdf page 33)

Refuge workers have also warned that the demand versus capacity challenge has also caused; staff to be overloaded with case loads, survivors being turned away and long waiting lists in some CBS services (3-6 months)

(https://www.womensaid.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/The-Domestic-Abuse-Report-2020-The-Annual-Audit.pdf page 39)

If this Domestic Abuse Bill is such a landmark and such an amazing change for domestic abuse victims - why is the most crucial and important aspect being made open to interpretation and being covered in red rape? Without funding for crucial services (especially those that focus on helping children and young people) it opens victims up to continue the cycle and some even returning to their abuser because the verbal rhetorics were ‘true’. In many ways, this Bill is a landmark and amazing step forward but when funding is literally at the bare minimum and victims are being turned away - especially during a pandemic - it seems like smoke and mirrors when funding hasn’t been made a focal point in the Bill.