A national campaign to support people experiencing domestic abuse looks set to get the backing of Wyre Forest District Council.

District councillors are considering signing up to the Make a Stand Domestic Abuse Pledge launched by the Chartered Institute of Housing in partnership with the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance and Women’s Aid last month (May 2018).

The move is supported by Wyre Forest District Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, Health and Well-being Chris Rogers and will be discussed by members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Thursday 5 July before being considered by the Cabinet later in July.

By signing the pledge the district council will promise to fulfil four key commitments. These involve adopting and embedding a policy to support residents who are experiencing domestic abuse; promoting both national and local domestic abuse support services; supporting staff who are experiencing domestic abuse and appointing a champion to spearhead the council’s activity.

Councillor Rogers said: “Domestic abuse is a significant issue in Wyre Forest, not only causing harm to victims and their families but also creating challenges for public housing and health services and the criminal justice sector.

“In Wyre Forest it is the second most likely reason given for homelessness, causing damage to children’s development and having  a long term affect on people’s health and wellbeing.

“Domestic abuse is currently being examined by the Connecting Families project in Wyre Forest and a strategic group, led by the Chief Executive, has been established.

“As a council we are already well on the way to meeting many of the commitments  as we already provide information on domestic abuse services through our website and Customer Service Centre, via our Domestic Abuse pathway leaflet.

“We also have a policy and procedure on domestic abuse in place for staff. Signing up to the pledge will recognise that work and provide a firm foundation to continue to tackle domestic abuse in Wyre Forest.”