Somewhere right now in Bedfordshire a woman can't leave her home because her partner is so controlling

Somewhere right now in Bedfordshire a woman can’t leave her home because her partner is so controlling.

And she’s so afraid of the consequences of what would happen if she dared to make a phone call even to a parent.

Bedfordshire’s police and crime commissioner (PCC), Festus Akinbusoye, said this is someone that “really worries” him and he wants to make sure that help can reach any victim of domestic abuse in any way it can.

In the first part of a three-part series on domestic abuse, commissioner Akinbusoye talks about how Bedfordshire Police is helping survivors.

“I am very worried about the scale of this, the latest year-to-date figure was 4,612 cases, that’s a lot,” he said.

“And in my mind, I’m thinking even if half of these were repeat cases, that’s about two and a half thousand cases, or there about.

“That is a lot of women, men because men are victims as well. I don’t care what the gender is, and sometimes it’s children, sometimes it’s elderly parents who are the victims of this abuse.

“The reality is that this should not be happening and I want to see this fall, massively in Bedfordshire.

“But I think there can be a cultural aspect to this, there’s also victims not being sure if they will be believed.

“There’s also the isolation that may come from stepping forward and asking for help, what happens next.

“The victim could be saying well if I report this to the police what happens to my kids.

“It’s just a very tragic situation, and as we approach Christmas I really want my officeand the police force to step up the campaign to raise awareness about domestic abuse.

To help victims of domestic abuse, the PCC said the number one task is to make sure the chief constable makes it easy for people to report domestic abuse, and that the force believes these reports.

“So the fact that we’re seeing more people reporting this suggests that something is working,” he said.

“We’re increasing the level of outreach by different Bedfordshire Police teams.

“The Emerald Team, who deals with the domestic abuse and sexual violence, they attend different community events.

“When I go to a place of worship I raise this as well, when I go to a community event and I get a chance to speak I’d raise it, because I don’t want anyone to just say ‘oh well, it’s part of our culture, that’s how women are treated.’

“Not in England, sorry, we don’t do that.

“So whether it is cultural, religious or whatever, there is no justification, in my opinion, for domestic abuse,” he said.

Women being abused can call the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge, on 0808 2000 247 for free at any time, day or night.

Other providers of help and assistance can be found on the NHS Domestic violence and abuse webpage – www.nhs.uk/live-well/getting-help-for-domestic-violence/

If you are in immediate danger, call 999 and ask for police.

If you can’t speak and are calling on a mobile press 55 to have your call transferred to police.

The Chrysalis Centre is a local partnership whose programme of interventions sets out to break the cycle of domestic abuse.