Raising awareness of domestic abuse and sexual violence across Defence

A reflection of this year’s 16 days of activism against gender-based violence campaign.

Over the last two weeks, Defence has been raising awareness of domestic abuse and sexual violence as part the United Nations 16 days of activism against gender-based violence campaign.

Defence’s four senior domestic abuse awareness champions introduced the campaign, explaining why people should know about the support that exists, and about Defence’s commitment to empower those affected by abuse to come forward and get support.

The Safeguarding Policy team also addressed some of the barriers stopping people reaching out for support and explained the various support services available for the Defence community. This includes support for managers, Defence personnel, and their family members.

Defence held various sessions on domestic abuse

Hundreds of personnel attended online workshops and sessions to find out more about the support in place for victims-survivors, and to increase their understanding of the issues at play. Thank you to those of you who presented at and attended these sessions.

A summary of the events

Policy and support staff at Army HQ arranged and hosted several key sessions. The first session was held by White Ribbon and explored ending violence against women and girls through changing long established attitudes, systems and behaviours.

Aurora New Dawn delivered a session on the dynamics of sexual violence, and another on non-fatal strangulation. The latter session covered key issues in relation to the law, risk identification and victim care. The session also highlighted the dangers of this offence and other forms of suffocation, and how perpetrators do this to exert control and intimidation.

Women's Aid led a session on how domestic abuse is experienced from the start of a relationship and the pattern of behaviour that perpetrators use to control their partners. This includes controlling and coercive behaviour. It also touched on how survivors can be safely supported and the importance of record keeping to help criminal investigations and hold perpetrators to account.

Stop Domestic Abuse gave a presentation on stalking, including different types of stalking and the law. They explained how a useful way to consider if behaviour amounts to stalking is if it is: Fixated, Obsessive, Unwanted, Repeated (FOUR).  

You will also have heard how the Defence Serious Crime Command (DSCC) are delivering Domestic Abuse Matters training to Service Police to help them support domestic abuse victims, and how the Defence Serious Crime Unit has been addressing domestic abuse since launching one year ago.

Looking ahead…

The MOD Domestic Abuse Action Plan 2024 – 2029 will explain how Defence aims to tackle domestic abuse over the next five years.

Another action is to set up an MOD data and research group to better understand the prevalence of abuse and apply that knowledge to inform Defence’s response to domestic abuse.

Finally, Defence aims to do a health check of its support services to make sure that best practice is applied. These actions will help to ensure that victims-survivors get the right support – from the moment they seek support for the first time and throughout their journey.

In recognising that no one person, department, or organisation can solve domestic abuse alone, the plan will promote a coordinated response with the voice of victims-survivors at the heart of it. The MOD domestic abuse working group will oversee and implement the action plan.

As this campaign draws to a close, Defence would like to thank those of you who have supported the campaign, and especially to those of you who have shared your experiences of abuse. By sharing learning and resources with colleagues, friends, and family members, more people will know about the support that exists and that there remains no Defence for abuse.