ALL eyes were on Alton last Friday when its magistrates court became the first in south east England to deliver a specialist domestic violence programme. The court is one of just 25 courts in England and Wales to pilot the scheme aimed at bringing more offenders to justice. The Home Office picked Alton after recognising the efforts of a multi-agency steering group in tackling the difficulties and special concerns faced by victims and witnesses of domestic violence when using the court system. The steering group has representatives from the police, magistrates' court, the Crown Prosecution Service, domestic violence forum, Victim Support and the probation service. At the launch at The Grange Hotel, dozens of people, including members of the steering group, gathered to celebrate the programme which aims to put victims at the heart of the justice system. Steve Williamson, Her Majesty's Court Service area director for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, said: "It is about putting the victims of domestic violence right at the heart of the justice system. This programme is a key part of our work in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to increase the number of offences brought to justice and to increase public confidence in the justice system. "It sends a very strong message right across the county that none of us will tolerate this crime and I believe this acts as a deterrent. "Alton is one of only 25 courts nationally that has this programme and we are the only one in the whole Government Office for the South East region. The court has been leading on domestic violence for over a year now. "What this (recognition) has allowed us to do is to build up the expertise of magistrates with domestic violence cases, improve support from the police to victims, create an independent domestic violence advice role and provide significantly improved facilities for victims and witnesses. "Early figures are very positive and suggest that we have got a higher proportion of guilty pleas from those cases that go through the Alton courts." Representatives sat motionless as domestic violence survivor Helen Nelder spoke about her experiences and showed a series of scenes from her hard-hitting play Worn, which portrays one woman's experience of domestic violence and how it affects her three children. Helen said: "As a survivor of domestic violence myself, it has been difficult to revisit that part of my past that I rarely admit to, but I had to write Worn because I wanted people to understand how it feels to be in this situation and how hard it is to leave. "Although 80 per cent of women do eventually leave and never go back into another violent relationship, we must remember that leaving is not the end of the problem for many women. It is one of the first difficult and dangerous steps to take on the way to reclaiming your sense of self and ultimately your life." Helen was training to be a teacher when she suffered domestic abuse at the hands of her fiancé. She said: "The violence is shocking. It is very hard to convey what it feels like to be hit by another human being, especially one who says he loves you and he is doing it for you. "The violence not only hurts you on the outside, it shakes you up emotionally and mentally." Her experience about 15 years ago has made her determined to increase awareness and understanding of the unacceptable crime. "I would like to see a national campaign because I still think people are relatively unaware of domestic violence. We might hear about it once a year, during campaigns to coincide with Valentine's Day, but I think the general public still perceive it as something that happens to other people. "We need a national campaign. It needs to be as unacceptable as child abuse and drink- driving." She added: "The court here is a brilliant start and I hope there will be many more throughout the country. These courts do save lives. "We should already know and understand why women can't just leave. It's not that simple. The question we should be asking is what can we do to prevent this happening and if it is happening what can we do to protect women and children in what should be a place of safety, their own home?" l A survivor of domestic violence tells her story - see page 10.
