'Brutal reality' of violence against girls and women

CALDERDALE'S LEVELS OF ABUSE ARE SOME OF HIGHEST

- By JOHN GREENWOOD

TACKLING violence against women and girls was reaffirmed as a priority by councillors horrified by a murder case and worried about numbers of abuse incidents reported in Calderdale.

Coun Danielle Durrans (Lab, Ovenden) told a meeting of the full Calderdale Council that when she raised the issue of violence it did not take long to find people who were willing to share their stories.

Coun Durrans said it was a 'brutal reality' that too many women and girls faced abuse and violence every day, she said, as statistics showed one in four women would experience domestic abuse in their lifetime and every week on average a woman is killed by a male partner or ex-partner.

In Calderdale in 2023-24, nearly 6,000 domestic abuse incidents were recorded, 40 per cent of the cases being repeat cases, said Coun Durrans.

"Women and girls are in fact being harmed again and again.

"The every day fear is real," she said.

Supporting the motion, Coun Ann Kingstone (Lab, Skircoat) said domestic abuse was very much an issue in Calderdale.