Social Landlords Can Help Protect Victims of Domestic Violence

Statistics on domestic violence haven’t really changed since the 1980s with, on average, two women per week murdered following domestic violence, and one man being murdered every week. To change these statistics, everyone’s help is needed, including social landlords. The One Voice Never Silenced Campaign is gathering increasing momentum on social media and provides a pool of resources to help organisations better protect victims of domestic violence.  The aim of the campaign is not to criticise the work or practices of any organisation, but to work together to improve standards and eliminate the margin of human error. The One Voice Never Silenced website has a page specifically dedicated to improving protection within the social housing sector and lists practical measures which are cheap and simple to implement. Find out more on the One Voice Never Silenced website.

'Putting Victims First - More Effective Responses to Antisocial Behaviour'

Written ministerial statement.

Secretary of State for the Home Department (Theresa May): I am later today (22 May) publishing 'Putting victims first – more effective responses to antisocial behaviour'. It sets out the government's plans to deliver on the commitment to introduce more effective measures to tackle antisocial behaviour, and puts them in the wider context of the our reforms to the policing and criminal justice landscape and work to turn round the lives of the most troubled families.  The mistake of the past was to think that the government could tackle antisocial behaviour itself. However, this is a fundamentally local problem that looks and feels different in every area and to every victim. Local agencies should respond to the priorities of the communities they serve, not to those imposed from Whitehall. The government does, however, have a crucial role in supporting local areas. We will do that by:

    *focusing the response to anti-social behaviour on the needs of victims

    *empowering communities to get involved in tackling anti-social behaviour

    *ensuring professionals are able to protect the public

    *focusing on long-term solutions

Download the report from the Home Office website.