Nazir Afzal: Domestic abuse support a 'postcode lottery'

Victims of domestic abuse and sexual exploitation receive less support if they live in rural areas of Wales, the Welsh Government's adviser admitted.

Nazir Afzal, advising on domestic abuse and sexual violence against women, said there was a "postcode lottery" of victim support services.

But Mr Afzal added Welsh people were "really good neighbours" who were more aware of problems in their communities.

He told BBC Wales News he was working to standardise services across Wales.

Mr Afzal, the former chief Crown prosecutor for the north-west of England depicted in the BBC One drama Three Girls, has prosecuted some of the most high profile sexual abuse cases in recent years.

He spoke to the BBC before giving a speech at the Ethnic Minorities and Youth Support Team (EYST) Wales conference entitled 'building resilience to extremism and exploitation'.

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"If you are in rural Wales, you aren't going to get the level of service that you get in urban Wales," said Mr Afzal, adding that the Welsh Government was looking to "tackle some of the postcode lottery issues".

He said he is looking at best practice across Wales and ensuring that agencies in other parts of Wales utilise that.

"It is not about creating something new, it is about ensuring what we have is adapted everywhere," he added.

Home Office figures show that more than a third (36%) of all recorded violent offences in Wales in the 12 months to June were domestic abuse-related, which is the highest in Wales and England.

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And 15% of all recorded offences over the same period were domestic abuse-related, up from 12% in 2016, and again higher than across the border.

'Victims are suffering'

Asked whether Wales has a problem with domestic violence, Mr Afzal said: "I don't think Wales is any different to anywhere else in the UK."

Every week across the UK, two women are killed by their partners or ex-partners and 10 women take their own lives due to domestic abuse, Mr Afzal said.

The part of Nazir Afzal in the BBC one series Three Girls was played by Ace Bhatti

Calling for a "whole government approach", he added: "You have got to look at how education deals with it, how health deals with it, how other departments deal with it.

"It is shameful that victims are suffering the crimes they are suffering on a daily basis."

At the time of his appointment, Mr Afzal said he wanted to make Wales "the safest place to be a woman in Europe".

Asked how people can help make this a reality, he said Wales "should be a nation of good neighbours".

"I think the Welsh people in particular are really good neighbours - you know each other, you often know who lives nearby and you know who is suffering," he added.

"Time and time again, domestic abuse is what leads to adverse childhood experience, domestic abuse leads to all the pain and suffering that we are seeing in our society, and I think if we tackle that issue, we will tackle so many of society's ills."