Agencies Join Forces to Provide Support for Sexual and Domestic Abuse

Agencies Join Forces to Provide Support for Sexual and Domestic Abuse

On 15 September, over 170 representatives from agencies throughout the Newry, Mourne and Down District attended a Seminar on Domestic and Sexual Assault in the Burrendale Hotel. 

The event which was organised by the Newry, Mourne and Down Policing and Community Safety Partnership (PCSP) in conjunction with South Down Domestic Violence Partnership, County Down Rural Community Network and the South Eastern Trust welcomed Zoe Lodrick, psychotherapist, as a guest speaker.

Zoe Lodrick is an expert in the field of domestic and sexual assault covering subjects such as brainwashing, psychology of offenders and post trauma symptomatology. She explained that sex offenders target the most vulnerable and this targeting leads to them becoming even more vulnerable. There is a cyclical nature to these crimes in that victims of sexual exploitation become victims of domestic violence.

Newry, Mourne and Down PCSP Chairperson, Councillor Brian Quinn, said, “This is an excellent seminar and we are delighted to have Zoe Lodrick here today to share her knowledge and experience with us. It is very distressing to see the level of sexual and domestic abuse taking place in Northern Ireland. In 2014/15 37.5% of murders in Northern Ireland had a domestic abuse motivation.  This is further highlighted in the PSNI statistics for 2015/16 which reports that they responded to 28,392 domestic abuse incidents; that is one every nineteen minutes.”

Councillor Quinn continued, “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.” 

Chair of the SE Area Domestic Violence Partnership, Sheila Simons stated, “Zoe is an excellent speaker who is able to help her audience have a better understanding of a victim’s experience.  She 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.”

For further information on domestic or sexual abuse, or any other community safety issue, please contact the PCSP Department on 0300 013 2233 or email pcsp@nmandd.org.