Nationally, the police recorded 1,500,369 domestic abuse related incidents and crimes in England and Wales in the year ending March 2022. Additionally, 86% of women aged 18-24 have been sexually harassed. There is an urgent need for programmes focused on reducing violence against women and girls.
YCC’s Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Programme (DAPP) seeks to increase the safety of women and children, and the quality of life of everyone in the family, by working with men who recognise that they have been abusive towards an intimate female partner and who want to stop that behaviour. Domestic abuse includes physical violence, emotional abuse, or any other form of coercive control.
Alongside the course, YCC provides an integrated support service for partners/ex-partners (or other person identified as at risk).
Women and children are at the heart of the project. We enable their voices to be heard within a domestic abuse perpetrator programme.
Sadly despite the high levels of domestic abuse and demand for this programme in Kirklees, throughout 2022 and 2023 YCC has steadily lost funding for this vital service. This started with the early termination of Ministry of Justice contract and culminated with a loss of funding from Kirklees Local Authority earlier this year. Additionally, West Yorkshire was not awarded any funding for this work from the Home Office funding round earlier this year. This means that for the past four months, YCC has had to draw on its own reserves to ensure that the programme is still provided and victims are still supported.
Today the BBC has reporting on this crucial issue and you can read more about it HERE.
YCC spoke to Jason[1] who attended the programme to hear his story, in his words. We asked him what different the intervention made to his life and why it should be funded in the future.
To learn more about DAPP click HERE.