Gwent Police aim to learn from abuse survivors

For 30 years Mike Harrison kept secret the abuse he had suffered as a school child.

The day he reported it, he no longer felt in control.

"It was out there, I'd opened a can of worms and I couldn't stop it any more," he said. "It had been 'my thing' for so long. As a grown-up to then tell your story is not easy - but I'm glad I did."

Over the last 18 months, the support and counselling he's received has enabled him to better deal with the trauma.

So much so, that he was invited by Gwent Police to be on the panel to recruit a survivor engagement coordinator for the force.

The force is the first in Wales to create such a post, with the aim of improving the service by learning from victims of sexual and domestic violence.

Newport-born Mike, who has also set up a peer support group, explained that even the first phone call was crucial.

"I used to ring 101 because I didn't know anybody else to ring and it took me a week of someone answering the phone, and me putting the phone down - not ready, the wrong voice, the wrong person.

"I think it was a Friday someone answered the phone and I could tell them."

He'd been assaulted by older pupils at his school in Liverpool but never felt able to tell anyone.

"Being a child, to try and deal with that was near on impossible, I wasn't equipped to deal with it at that age."

He only felt able to speak to the police about it last year, but they were unable to prosecute.

Last year the Gwent force saw - on average - 41 domestic abuse-related incidences a day. There were 561 rape or sexual assaults during 2018-19 - a rise of 30% on the previous year.

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Liz Lowther was the successful applicant for the new role. She has previously been an advocate, supporting victims of sexual and domestic violence throughout the criminal justice process.

She said police need to be aware of the different ways trauma affects people.

"It brings all of it to the forefront of their mind, if we don't deal with that properly and give them the support they need, it's stuck there and can cause all sorts of destruction," she said.

"It could be they've been abused by the person they love and really don't know where to turn and that can impact the way they make decisions. It may be that they withdraw their statement - it's about understanding that, and asking what has led them to where they are.

"The fact my position has been created within Gwent Police shows how much the force believes in making these changes," she said.

'Confidence and courage'

The role was created by Gwent's Police and Crime Commissioner Jeff Cuthbert.

"What we have introduced in Gwent so far has resulted in an increase in successful prosecutions - about 13% of all cases that are brought have resulted in successful prosecutions, that's the highest rate within Wales and indeed is higher than the national UK average," Mr Cuthbert said.

"We are beginning to make a positive impact but there's a way to go. I want to see a higher proportion of successful outcomes than that."

Deputy Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman said: "I think the amount of confidence and courage it takes to pick up the phone and make the first contact is critical.

"The trust and relationship that's built from the off is incredibly important, so if we don't get it right, it means we've lost that one individual - and that one individual could be somebody that's in real danger - so I think it's really important we get it right first time."

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