- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sexual Violence & Abuse in Wolverhampton - A problem profile
Executive Summary
E1 This report provides a problem profile of sexual violence and abuse developed from monitoring data gathered from statutory, non-statutory, and voluntary and community agencies and organisations in Wolverhampton . The audit was commissioned by Wolverhampton Domestic Violence Forum, and funded by the Home Office Interpersonal Violence Fund through Government Office West Midlands.
E2 The aim of the study was to assess the scale of the problem of sexual violence and abuse in the City of Wolverhampton by gathering data from various local data sources. To achieve this aim, the objectives were to: • examine the extent of sexual violence and abuse in Wolverhampton ;
• identify possible solutions; and
• develop an action plan.
E3 In order to provide a comprehensive and well-rounded picture of sexual violence and abuse in Wolverhampton , a data template was designed to capture data from statutory and non-statutory agencies alike. The template was circulated to all participating agencies via e-mail for swiftness of response. Original plans were to input all data into a bespoke database for ease of analysis. However, that proved impossible due to the differences in the format of data that were received. Nonetheless, all data were screened to ensure the exclusion of personal data relating to victim or offender, and clarification (if required) was sought from the originating agency. Finally, data were cleaned for straightforward representation.
E4 West Midlands Police data reported 153 incidents of sexual violence and abuse between April 2008 and March 2009. October and November were the most frequent months for this type of crime (12.4%), with Tuesday and Sunday being the most frequent days of the week. Timing of incidents showed as between 23.00pm and 1.00am. Late night incidents are supported by ACCI data. This could indicate the times of the day where women are more vulnerable and are thus requiring additional police resources. There were nine offenders under the age of 13 who are worthy of additional attention due to the potential risk of escalation of sexually offending behaviour.
E5 Although 16 crimes have been marked by the Police as ‘Victim known to Offender', this equating to approximately 10% of all crimes, data at this time are largely inconclusive in terms of relationship of victim to offender. E6 There are gaps in data on sexual violence and abuse from some organisations and agencies, and also inadequacies of some data monitoring and capturing systems. Many organisations stated they were in the process of updating or changing their systems to include more detailed information, whilst others indicated they would like guidance on what data should be collected and how this should be done. Some organisations also stated that one of the main problems of collecting data on sexual violence and abuse was that clients are typically reluctant to divulge information due to the associated stigma, fear of not being believed, and expectations of poor response from authorities. This has led to difficulty in obtaining the actual extent of sexual violence and abuse within the community. Therefore any numbers reported by these organisations will still only represent the ‘tip of the iceberg' but will nevertheless help to examine extent of the problem.
E7 The disparate nature of the collated data has meant that difficulties arise in attempting to draw the data into a coherent holistic framework. Data are not comparable across agencies and, also, due to stringent confidentiality issues, it is not possible to assess whether the same victim may have been counted twice (or more).
E8 The high number of clients supported by Wolverhampton PCT Sexual Abuse Service, a small and resource-limited service, indicates a severe shortfall in provision of specialist support. Six looked after children were identified as being ‘at risk' due to sexual violence and/or abuse, and Base 25 and Victim Support also identified from their records a number of children who have experienced sexual violence and/or abuse. Furthermore, s exual violence perpetrated against individuals over the age of 65 exists in Wolverhampton as data within this report confirms (WMP reporting two victims over 65 and Victim Support declaring one victim aged 74). E9 It is often the case that crimes of a sexual nature are perpetrated by males against female victims. However, female perpetrators of sexual crimes have been identified in Wolverhampton (three by Victim Support, one by the Youth Offending Team, and five by the PCT Sexual Abuse Service). Furthermore, the Probation service identified that they hold two registered female sex offenders on file. Moreover, male victims of sexual crimes have been reported by Victim Support (8), the ISVA service (2), Base 25 (3), the PCT Sexual Abuse Service (23), ACCI (4), and the University of Wolverhampton student counselling service (24% of 340 = 82). This indicates the need to be fully inclusive in future service provision.
E10 Identification of geographical hotspots in Wolverhampton for incidents of sexual violence was problematic, as data on postcodes was difficult to source; many organisations do not hold that data, and West Midlands Police could not share this information due to restrictions within their data sharing protocol. However, data from the PCT and ACCI showed that the most frequent location of incidents was in the WV6 area. This must be treated with some caution as ACCI is situated in the WV6 area and so clients may access the service more easily due to its close proximity, thereby skewing the results.
E11 Unfortunately, although responses from some agencies were swift, there was a paucity of data gathered within the research process. Although every effort was made to obtain data crucial to the problem profile, it was not always possible for data to be acquired. Comprehensive data are outstanding from Walsall Crisis Point in terms of the SARC and ISVA services, due to substantial issues in staffing and workload at the time. This lack of comprehensive data on sexual violence in Wolverhampton makes difficult the task of formulating appropriate strategy responses.
Dr Angela Morgan and Amanda Rodney
Centre for Health & Social Care Improvement
University of Wolverhampton
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