August 2025 Newsletter
Hello to all our wonderful Domestic Abuse Champions – we hope you have been enjoying the warmer weather and life is treating you well.
Please see some recent news and updates that you may find of interest.
NiDAS News
URGENT
Opting out of emergency alerts – GOV.UK – Emergency alert on 7th September 2025 @ 3pm. Support victim-survivors to opt out of the emergency alert. Find our more at – https://nidasnorfolk.co.uk/how-to-turn-off-the-uk-wide-2025-emergency-alert/
Shining the Light: Exposing Coercion & Control – NIDAS – We are pleased to announce we have added more spaces for our Coercive Control online learning event on 23rd September 2025 @ 9.30am-12.30pm.
Male Victims: Breaking the Silence – NIDAS – We have spaces for our Male Victims and DA online learning event on 15th October 2025 @ 9.30am-12.30pm.
Honour Based Abuse, Female Genital Mutilation and Forced Marriage – NIDAS – We have spaces for this refresher training on 1st October 2025 @ 9.30am-12.30pm.
Domestic Abuse, Stalking & Harassment (DASH) Training – NIDAS – There are spaces on our DASH refresher training on 3rd November 2025 @ 9.30am-1.30pm.
Stalking & Harassment – NIDAS – We have spaces for Stalking and harassment training on 12th December 2025 @ 9.30am-12.30pm.
Work for Leeway – Leeway have 2x Standard Risk Caseworker job vacancies.
Facts and Figures
Honour Based Abuse Has the Lowest Conviction Rate of All Flagged Crimes Across England & Wales In CPS 24/25 Data Summary – Karma Nirvana – The Crown Prosecution Service released its 2024/25 data summary this week, showing that Honour Based Abuse has the lowest conviction rate of all flagged crimes in England & Wales, despite an overall increase in convictions of 3.7%.
Karma Nirvana helpline data report 2023-2024 – From April 2023 to March 2024, we handled 2,962 cases and 9,536 contacts, reflecting a net 13% increase compared to the previous year. This averages 795 contacts and 247 cases per month. 49% of cases were new, 38% were existing, and 13% were not stated. Additionally, 12% of cases mentioned that English was not their first language, and 10% of cases had no recourse to public funds, meaning 1 in 10 cases could not access certain welfare benefits and public housing. Most victims with known ages were between 18-45 years old, with 36% between the ages of 18-25, and 27% between 26-35. There were 93 cases concerning children under the age of 15, with 8 under the age of 10. KN_Report_2324-FINAL.pdf
Industry News
Police
Train police in how pets are used by domestic abusers, says charity | Domestic violence | The Guardian – Campaigners want officers to learn about ‘clear links’ between harming animals and harming humans.
Surrey Police crack down on jogging harassment and catcalling – BBC News – A female police officer who volunteered to run in plain clothes to catch catcallers has said their behaviour “makes me feel really sort of icky”.
PC Abby Hayward, who works for Surrey Police, said she was honked at twice during a 5km (3-mile) undercover run.
The force’s ‘Jog On’ campaign sees female police officers running in targeted locations, with uniformed officers on hand nearby to deal with perpetrators who catcall or shout sexually suggestive comments.
Housing
– New changes to remove local connection rules for young care leavers and victims of domestic abuse to access social housing. Vulnerable people given greater access to social housing – GOV.UK
Economic Abuse
Ground-breaking partnership supports survivors forced into debt to secure over £3 million in financial gains – Surviving Economic Abuse – A ground-breaking partnership between Money Advice Plus (MAP) and Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) has transformed the response to economic abuse among the debt advice, domestic abuse and financial services sectors. Over 2,700 victim-survivors received specialist support with a further 150,000 accessing life-saving information through online resources.
Progress But Not Protection – Surviving Economic Abuse – We know from our work with victim-survivors that perpetrators weaponised the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) as a tool for economic abuse, often withholding or attaching strings to payments around key moments, like the summer holidays, to cause maximum harm.
Our bold three-year strategy will drive legal and policy reforms and systemic change in frontline, financial, and public services to support victim-survivors, disrupt abusers, and prevent economic abuse. This will help ensure that victim-survivors and their children can achieve economic justice, safety, and freedom. https://survivingeconomicabuse.org/about-us/our-strategy-2025-2028/
RiTA – Rural Initiatives Tackling Abuse – exists to drive rural equity, amplify survivor voices, and strengthen safety, accountability, and community resilience in the face of domestic abuse and violence against women, girls, and all children (VAWG/C). We work in partnership with local leaders, service providers, and communities to create lasting, place-based change, ensuring no one is left behind because of where they live or who they are. https://www.rita-ruralinitiativestacklingabuse.co.uk/
Home Affairs Committee
Tackling violence against women and girls: funding Third Report of Session 2024–25 HC 741
Summary
Violence against women and girls (VAWG) remains a widespread and escalating problem. Despite repeated government strategies, VAWG still accounted for 20% of all recorded crime in 2022–2023. The Government’s commitment to halving VAWG within a decade is welcome, but achieving this goal requires a coordinated, well-funded, and clearly defined approach. This inquiry builds on a National Audit Office report, published in January 2025, to test whether the Home Office is funding the interventions that have the most impact on reducing VAWG. The lack of a standardised definition of VAWG across government, policing, and the third sector continues to hinder consistent measurement. This in turn affects funding decisions. We recommend that VAWG is given a clear definition in the Government’s forthcoming strategy. While the Home Office has acknowledged the need for cross-government coordination, funding remains fragmented and poorly aligned with evidence of what works. New cross-departmental boards have been established, but transparency is limited and trust in the department’s ability to lead remains low. We are not convinced that the department has the capacity or imagination to deliver on its target. The disjointed and competitive nature of VAWG funding places a heavy burden on service providers, particularly smaller and specialist organisations, which often lack the capacity to navigate complex bidding processes. Without consistent mapping of funding across central and local government, duplication and gaps persist, undermining service delivery. Short-term funding cycles prevent long-term planning, disrupt staffing, and limit the ability to evaluate services. A shift to three to five year funding cycles is essential to provide stability and improve outcomes for victims and survivors. Data collection requirements are inconsistent and often overly burdensome, especially for smaller providers. We found little evidence that the data currently collected informs funding decisions or reflects service effectiveness. 1‘By and for’ services—designed and delivered by and for marginalised communities—are essential but face systemic barriers to funding. We recommend a national ringfenced fund with a simplified application process to ensure these services can continue to meet the needs of the communities they serve. Prevention is critical to reducing VAWG in the long term. We recommend the Government partner with universities and the third sector to build the evidence base for effective prevention and ringfence funding for this work in future spending reviews. Without determined and coordinated action by ministers the Government will not meet its target to halve VAWG in a decade https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/48755/documents/255530/default/
Rape Crisis
Severe underfunding means that two-thirds of Rape Crisis centres could be forced to cut vital services soon, with 53% saying they expect to have to reduce their counselling services.
Three centres have now been forced to shut their doors completely in the last 12 months, with more than a quarter (27%) of remaining centres fearing they may have to do the same.
Meanwhile, 14,000 survivors of sexual violence remain on our centres’ waiting lists, with some facing wait times of over a year until they can access the support and help they need.
Rape Crisis member centre Managers and Directors have also reported that it has become even more difficult to secure unrestricted funding, which is vital for centres to function.
The need for funding is now extremely urgent – Rape Crisis centres simply cannot continue to run without it.
https://rapecrisis.org.uk/news/more-than-half-rape-crisis-risk-counselling-cuts/
Together We Stand Up to Suicide – The Baton of Hope: 17th September in NORWICH –
The Baton of Hope is the UK’s largest-ever suicide prevention initiative — born from tragedy, driven by courage, and fuelled by hope.
In 2023, the Baton of Hope embarked on its first nationwide tour, visiting cities across the UK. Now, in 2025, the Baton of Hope tour is coming to Norwich and we are honoured to host this powerful event on 17th September.
Our local team, proudly led by Norwich Samaritans and supported by those who are bereaved, affected, or passionately committed to suicide prevention, is making this possible. The tour here in Norwich is locally funded through our generous partners and sponsors, and community fundraising.
To find out more visit our about page, view our support available to you, or contact us.
Together, we can bring hope to every corner of our city — and beyond. https://www.batonofhopenorwich.co.uk/
How to get help from the Client Hardship Service – Complete our online hardship support request form. Client Hardship Service (CHS) – How to get help from the Client Hardship Service – Norfolk County Council
Respect
Respect perpetrator helpline – Webchat service now available every weekday, Monday – Friday 9am-10am
Respect Men’s advice line – Webchat service now available every weekday, Monday – Friday 9am-10am
Vacancies
We’re Hiring! – August 2025 – Karma Nirvana – Karma Nirvana is proud to be at the forefront of tackling Honour Based Abuse across the UK. We are offering two exciting opportunities to join our National Helpline team as a Helpline Call Handler
Work for Leeway – Leeway have 2x Standard Risk Caseworker job vacancies.
Further Learning
Building Resiliency on PURPOSE Tickets, Thu, Oct 16, 2025 at 3:00 PM | Eventbrite
Early Years and Domestic Abuse Tickets, Tue 14 Oct 2025 at 10:00 | Eventbrite
Basic Substance Misuse Awareness with CGL Tickets, Thu 28 Aug 2025 at 10:00 | Eventbrite
Women’s Aid handbook for friends, family members, neighbours, and colleagues of survivors. The Friends and Family Handbook provides practical support and information for anyone worried about someone in their lives.https://www.womensaid.org.uk/information-support/friends-and-family/
Our NSPCC Helpline domestic abuse project lead, Paddi Vint, spoke with Lauren Seager-Smith, CEO of the For Baby’s Sake Trust, about this research and what we can learn from it. Podcast: Protecting babies from the effects of domestic abuse | NSPCC Learning – Research by For Baby’s Sake suggests that domestic abuse was a factor in almost 50,000 babies a year being referred to children’s social care in England between 2021 and 2023
