The International Day for the Elimination of Violence is marked by additional training aimed at tackling Domestic Abuse

Thursday 25 November is the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and so it was an appropriate day for the RGP’s Command Team, led by Commissioner of Police Richard Ullger, to be briefed and updated by Pete Williams and Bridie Anderson from Safelives.

Safelives is the UK charity which, last year through the Minister for Justice, provided Domestic Abuse training to every RGP officer from the most junior to the most senior. Also involved in today’s briefings was Inspector Deborah Ashthorpe who leads on Continual Professional Development for domestic abuse champions within Hampshire Constabulary and who has trained 450 staff in this role. As a result of this work, Deborah also developed and led the UK’s national domestic abuse Champions network, setting the groundwork for real culture change across UK police forces in relation to Domestic Abuse.

On Wednesday, the RGP’s Domestic Abuse champions were joined by relevant staff from the GHA and the Care Agency for the Domestic Abuse training day.

A year ago, the RGP champions were specially selected to lead relevant debriefs and to assist with the RGP’s response to incidents. Their focus is consistently on protecting victims, reducing vulnerability, upskilling colleagues and partners to emphasise the importance of supporting victims of domestic abuse.

One of the speakers on Wednesday was Chief Superintendent Katy Barrow-Grint from Thames Valley Police, a police force which is judged to be one of the top police forces in UK for providing a good service to victims of Domestic Abuse. Ch Supt Barrow-Grint briefed the course on the way in which a particularly serious case of Domestic Abuse had been handled by Thames Valley Police.

Commissioner of Police Richard Ullger said,

‘I cannot think of a better day for the Command Team to be updated on this subject than on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. But Domestic Abuse is a complex subject and, as well as violence, this abuse can take many forms such as psychological, physical, sexual, financial and emotional abuse.

‘In the last 18 months, we have provided training on this subject to every RGP officer, we have selected over 20 Domestic Abuse champions, we have established a new Domestic Abuse

Team and a new Victim Support Team. I think this shows the importance that we attach to this abhorrent crime. I am grateful to all our visitors, Pete Williams and Bridie Anderson from Safelives plus Katy Barrow-Grint and Deborah Ashthorpe for sharing their knowledge and experience with us.’

The Minister for Justice, Equality, Health and Care, the Hon Samantha Sacramento MP said,

“I am very proud that we are able to provide this level of training for RGP officers and for key staff from the GHA and Care Agency as stakeholders. It is essential that they all work together on this important matter. I am delighted that we have such highly qualified experts here this week to continue to deliver the training programme and to pass on their knowledge and their expertise. We cannot pretend that Domestic Abuse is not a problem here in Gibraltar so it is essential that we have people trained to recognise it, people trained to deal with it appropriately and people trained to support the victims of it.”

Anyone affected by Domestic Abuse issues can contact the Domestic Abuse team on 20072500 or by emailing domesticabuse@royalgib.police.gi. Confidentiality is guaranteed.