Working together to tackle domestic abuse
Councillor Paulette Hamilton, cabinet member for health and social care, talks about why tackling domestic abuse is everyone’s business.
There are far too many heart-breaking stories about people – mainly women – suffering domestic abuse; and there are also inspirational stories about people surviving this abuse and going on to thrive and help others.
I’d like to live in a world where we don’t have domestic abuse stories of any kind for the simple reason that we don’t have domestic abuse – it is a stain on any mature and civilised society. However, while it is currently a sad reality, what matters is how we prevent it, how we help people who suffer from it, and how we educate people about it.
Tackling domestic abuse is everyone’s business, but as a city council we can lead the way and ensure we all work together to eradicate it.
It can cause untold harm to individuals, families and communities. Although here in Birmingham we have a strong history of working together to tackle this social ill, people remain at risk. As our public services are shrinking we need to find new ways of keeping our communities safe.
We have to make that culture change that influences the behaviour of individuals and organisations for future generations, meaning children and their families are liberated from fear, insecurity and harm, giving them a chance to lead a safe, happy and fulfilled life.
Our ultimate goal is to have a city free from domestic abuse but this depends on achieving changes in attitude and behaviour across all ages and cultures, and will depend on all communities taking a lead.
We can only do this together, and we must do this together.
Our proposed domestic abuse prevention strategy can be found here.
