Rise in calls to Wiltshire helpline during Euros

CEO of FearFree Claire Marshall said that the consumption of alcohol was a “huge accelerant” in abusive relationships and that the “significant” rise in contact to the charity was “immediate”.

Ms Marshall noted that referrals in the county are still “double pre-pandemic levels” and that abuse in Wiltshire is happening “right on your doorsteps”.  

According to the CEO, the spike corresponded to individuals contacting the helplines to find out what support was available, explore their options and receive advice in dealing with their partner’s substance abuse.

FearFree receives between 70 and 100 referrals a week in Wiltshire.

FearFree is working to break the cycle of domestic abuse and sexual violence. (Image: FearFree)

Ms Marshall said: “That’s a lot for a local service.

“It’s a broad spectrum of contact, from people who are concerned about their partner’s behaviour, to people whose life is at risk.”

She added that demand is “as high as ever”, particularly for children who have witnessed or experienced abuse.

With 80 per cent of abusers having suffered an abusive past themselves, the charity also encourages those causing harm to reach out for judgement-free help.

Despite an increase in victims stepping forwards, Ms Marshall believes that violence against women and girls remains “hugely prevalent” with “woefully underreported statistics”.

She concluded: “The difficulty we have in the sector is domestic abuse charities, sexual violence charities, the police, social care, and the criminal justice system are all so far beyond capacity, it’s hard to grasp.

“And all of those are the organisations and institutions that are dealing with abuse and the societal problems that go with it.

“The prevalence is increasing, the awareness is increasing, but the system is broken, and all of the people involved in trying to solve these issues are wildly under resourced and wildly underfunded.”

Cllr Ian Blair-Pilling, cabinet member for public health at Wiltshire Council, said: “During the European football championships in June, partner agencies across Wiltshire, including Wiltshire Council, supported a campaign by Wiltshire Police to raise awareness of the impacts of domestic abuse, with a particular focus on encouraging those perpetrating to come forward to access support services. 

“This campaign may have contributed to an increase in calls for support to services at this time; although, records from our support service Fearfree identified that service enquiries were mostly received from victims and relatives.

“Along with the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, the council commission Fearfree to provide specialist support services for domestic abuse. 

“The service, which runs alongside our out-of-hours services, provides holistic support to victims, survivors, their children and those that behave in a harmful way.

“Someone is always available on the phone to offer support and advice if there are any issues.”

Wiltshire Police received 10 reports of domestic abuse linked to football during the Euros and made three related arrests.

DCI Lucy Thorne, lead for violence against women and girls at Wiltshire Police, said: “We know that it can take some time for victims to feel ready to reach out for support, so we do understand, those reports do not give us a true picture for what happened within homes during the football tournament.

“During this period, we worked closely with our support services to ensure we provided the best service to those victims in Swindon and Wiltshire, and I am comforted to see that even if victims didn’t feel they could report these incidents to police, they did to our support services.

“Nobody should ever have to suffer domestic abuse – and if you’re scared, there is help there.”

For support during the week, call Fearfree on 01225 775276, or use the out of hours helpline 01225 712880.

In the case of an emergency, call 999.