Domestic and sexual assault victims are focus of seminar

Domestic and sexual assault victims are focus of seminar

21 September 2016

NEWCASTLE’S Burrendale Hotel was the venue last week for a seminar on domestic and sexual assault.

Representatives from over 170 agencies throughout the Newry, Mourne and Down Council area attended the event which was organised by the area’s Policing and Community Safety Partnership (PCSP) in conjunction with a number of other bodies.

They included the South Down Domestic Violence Partnership, County Down Rural Community Network and South Eastern Trust, with psychotherapist Zoe Lodrick the guest speaker. She is an expert in the field of domestic and sexual assault covering subjects such as brainwashing, psychology of offenders and post trauma symptomatology. 

Zoe explained sex offenders target the most vulnerable and said this targeting leads to them becoming even more vulnerable. She outlined there is a cyclical nature to such crimes in that victims of sexual exploitation become victims of domestic violence. 

PCSP chairman, councillor Brian Quinn, described the level of sexual and domestic abuse taking place in Northern Ireland as “very distressing.”

He revealed that in 2014/15, 37.5 per cent of murders in Northern Ireland had a domestic abuse motivation, explaining this is further highlighted in PSNI statistics for 2015/16 which reveal police responded to 28,392 domestic abuse incidents — one every 19 minutes.

Councillor Quinn added: “According to Women’s Aid Federation, every day across Northern Ireland another four women and children will stay in a refuge as they are not safe in their own home. It is important that the agencies present here today come together to help these victims in whatever way they can.”

Sheila Simons, chairwoman of the South East Area Domestic Violence Partnership, described the seminar’s guest speaker as “excellent,” explaining Zoe is able to help her audience have a better understanding of a victim’s experience.  

Sheila added: “Zoe has challenged our perception of how we expect a victim to respond to traumatic events and explained the concepts of ‘coercive control’ and ‘trauma bonding’ whilst highlighting how difficult it is for victims to leave abusive relationships.”

Further information on domestic or sexual abuse or any other community safety issue is available by contacting the PCSP Department on 0300 013 2233 or email pcsp@nmandd.org.