Awareness, Understanding, Prevention and Early Intervention
Alpha Vesta recognises a need in many organisations for greater expertise, awareness and understanding around domestic abuse and any related stalking and harassment. Our foundation is based around two key areas:-
- The key role that the workplace can have in fostering understanding and support around domestic abuse and related stalking and harassment.
- A preventative approach and robust early interventions in order to recognise and respond to the warning signs before the full impact or an escalation occurs.
Early warning signs of domestic abuse are subtle but can be detected and responded to effectively. Victims and those around them often find that by the time they realise what is happening, the victim’s confidence is so low and the abuse is so entrenched that it seems virtually impossible to even help them recognise it, let alone respond to it.
This leaves a large proportion of victims’ situations hidden until they dramatically escalate into a crisis.
We believe many of the costs associated with domestic abuse could be dramatically reduced with more preventative work and robust interventions at an earlier stage.
Often high-risk victims will have to leave their homes, families, jobs and support network and go into refuge to keep themselves and their children safe. Some of these cases sadly end up as domestic homicides where any intervention has been too late or ineffective.
References
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Trust for London and Henry Smith Charity
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Home Office Statistics and The Corporate Alliance
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Home Office Draft Domestic Abuse Bill – January 2019