Domestic violence victims in Lancashire suffer an average of 35 incidents of abuse before reporting a crime to the police, it has been claimed.
In a debate on the issue in Parliament, Lancashire MP Andrew Stephenson said he had been given the figure by Lancashire’s Probation Service.
Mr Stephenson, who represents Pendle and called the debate in the House of Commons, said: “Lancashire probation service told me only yesterday that it estimates that an average of 35 incidents of domestic violence occur before a victim contacts anyone—the police or another agency—for help.”
He called for a debate on the issue after campaigning for a change in the law as part of the Justice for Jane campaign, named after Lancashire nurse Jane Clough, who was raped and murdered by her ex-partner, Fulwood man Jonathan Vass, in July 2010.
He said: “Domestic violence is close to my heart, because I have seen at first hand how it tears families, communities and people apart.”
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