Staffordshire Police

Domestic abuse is very common. One in four women experience it in their lifetime and between one in eight to one in ten women encountering it every year. Though less than half of incidents are reported to the police, one call to them about domestic abuse is made every minute in the UK.

In Staffordshire, police received around 18,500 reports of domestic abuse incidents last year. Approximately a third of these calls were from people who had suffered physical and/or sexual abuse.

Why do people act this way?

Abusers choose to behave abusively to get what they want and gain control. Those who carry out domestic abuse often won’t take responsibility for their behaviour, instead blaming someone or something else, denying it took place at all or playing down how bad their behaviour was.

Certain attitudes and beliefs can make it harder for those suffering and their children to seek help when they need it. These include:

• blaming the victim for the abuse
• the idea that staying together for ‘the family' is more important than the safety of women and children
• tolerating the use of abuse
• treating domestic abuse as a private matter.

Perpetrators will often justify their abuse in a number of ways. These may include:

• minimising the abuse, for example saying it was ‘just a slap’
• justifying their behaviour to themselves and blaming the victim
• denying abuse took place or refusing to talk about it and expecting the victim to ‘move on’.