Plymouth Community Homes (PCH) is committed to supporting the 16 Days of Action Against Domestic Abuse campaign which takes place on 25 November, running through to 10 December.
Hear from Jonathan Cowie, our CEO as we sign the pledge against domestic abuse.
Our main aim for the campaign is to raise awareness about domestic abuse across the South West, with a focus that it affects all genders, ages, ethnicities and sexualities.
According to the latest release of the ‘Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview: November 2023’, the Crime Survey for England and Wales estimated that 1.4million women and 751,000 men aged 16 or over experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2023.
Within the city of Plymouth in the year ending March 2024, domestic abuse related crimes accounted for 22.1% of all recorded crimes, 6.3% higher than the national average.
We are supporting our partners across the city, including Plymouth City Council, Devon and Cornwall Police and other charitable organisations to amplify their campaign message.
In light of their campaign, Plymouth City Council have also created a specific webpage to support this year’s ‘16 Days of Activism’, encouraging organisations, businesses, charities and those living in the city to stand up and say ‘Enough’ to Violence Against Women and Girls.
Safer Devon and Safer Cornwall have also created specific webpages to support this year’s ’16 Days of Action’, sharing a number of events and activities taking place across the South West.
On Friday 29 November, Devon and Cornwall police are hosting a webinar to provide an overview of the Devon and Cornwall Police: Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy 2024 - 2027 to professionals across the city, with a focus on stalking.
First Light are continuing their #Pledge4Change campaign, where they made three vital pledges during the 16 Days of Action. Their pledges are: Create Change #WeSeeYou, No Voice Left Unheard #WeHearYou and Empower Everyone #WeBelieveYou.
Last year, Plymouth launched its Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (DASV) Strategy and Action Plan 2023-2026. Supported by Plymouth City Council officers, the multi-agency partnership (set up to address DASV and VAWG) refreshed its vision, mission, values and strategic objectives.
Other national events also take place during the 16 days, including White Ribbon Day and International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women which is on day one as well as Human Rights Day which is on day 16 of the campaign.
The Public Health England backed campaign aims to bring the conversation about domestic abuse to the table – through staff training we can ask our housing officers and repairs staff to spot the signs of abuse in our homes.
To find out more information about our approach to domestic abuse, how you can stay in your home, or where to turn if you need to get away visit our specific domestic abuse section.
Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance Accreditation
PCH is committed to achieving the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance (DAHA) Accreditation, which will showcase our dedication to embedding the standards of good practice for responding to domestic abuse within the organisation and beyond.
PCH has an internal steering group with representatives from different departments across the organisation who lead on providing necessary domestic abuse support and guidance to residents and staff. The group have been collaborating to work towards the UK benchmark for how housing providers should respond to cases of domestic abuse and over the next few months we are entering into the next milestone of this journey to achieve our certification.
Over the next 16 days, we will be sharing information about domestic abuse and pledge our support.
