DOMESTIC ABUSE figures have drastically increased in the Bradford district over the past year, according to recent data.

Staying Put, a domestic abuse charity based in Bradford found when publishing their yearly report, that from 2020, to 2021 they helped 23,267 people through their 'One front door helpline' compared to 7,135 between 2019 and 2020.

Isabelle Salter, Marketing and Communications Manager at Staying Put said that the pandemic is 'most likely' the reason for the increase.

She said: "The numbers have jumped right up, I think it was getting worse anyway and then Covid has just made it so much worse. Generally the whole of the UK have seen cases going up."

Home Office data shows that 53,508 offences were recorded by West Yorkshire Police in 2020-21, making up 21 percent of all offences recorded that year, and nearly 850,000 such crimes were reported across England and Wales.

In West Yorkshire, that is a 150 percent increase since 2015.

Isabelle added that during the initial lockdown people didn't call so often because they "couldn't get away" to use the phone, or because of the virus, they felt safer at home despite the abuse, but now referrals are increasing.

In West Yorkshire, 82 percent of domestic abuse cases were closed due to problems gathering evidence in 2020-21, with 56 percent abandoned because the victim did not wish to support the investigation.

The National Police Chiefs' Council lead for domestic abuse, assistant commissioner Louisa Rolfe, said the "complex and entrenched societal problem" was a policing priority and highlighted an increased number of victims reporting abuse in recent years.

She said forces could still pursue cases to keep victims safe, even when they are reluctant to support prosecution but said arresting offenders was a temporary respite from the problem.

She called for a multi-agency approach to provide effective and sustainable support and solutions.

A Home Office spokeswoman said the Government is committed to ending violence against women and girls, and said its landmark Domestic Abuse Act would improve victim support and strengthen legislation.

She said funding had been doubled for 2021-22 to £25 million in an effort to tackle perpetrators.

Farah Nazeer, chief executive of Women's Aid, said to tackle domestic abuse, society must work together to tackle the "inherent sexism and misogyny which underpin women's inequality and violence against them".

She said: "Women will not report domestic abuse if they aren’t confident they will be believed and action will be taken on their behalf.

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