Credit crunch fuels domestic abuse rise
Last updated at 12:42, Tuesday, 13 January 2009
The credit crunch is causing Cumbrians to lash out at their partners, prompting a rise in relationship breakdowns, says a leading charity
Although traditionally the worst time of year for break ups and divorces, early reports suggest the number of people splitting up in the area has rocketed to a record high in the past couple of weeks.
And the cases relationship counsellors are dealing with have become a lot more serious.
John Paton, Chief Executive of Lancashire and Cumbria’s Relate counselling charity, told the News & Star: “Worryingly we are seeing an increase in domestic violence cases, which seems to stem from the financial issues couples are facing.
“The stress from money problems is causing people to lash out more. It is undoubtedly the worst time for break-ups.”
He added: “There is a mixed bag of people coming to see us, but we’ve noticed a lot of self-employed individuals in particular are coming for help. They seem to recognise the hard times ahead and this has had an effect.”
Carlisle counsellor Frank Beattie, of Marriage Care, believes the number of couples visiting the charity’s bases in Penrith, Cockermouth and Carlisle has increased by more than 50 per cent when compared to this time last year.
And the issue cropping up time and time again is money.
He said: “It is definitely worse than ever. “Money is generally one of the biggest problems people have in a relationship so you can imagine how bad it is at the moment.
“We’re not even that far into the recession, which makes it all the more worrying. Some couples are lashing out, so people should keep an eye out for signs of domestic violence.”
Domestic abuse charity Let Go also saw a record number of domestic violence cases over the festive period.
Although official statistics have not yet been released, manager Penny Scott believes the charity – which has offices in Carlisle and Penrith - has dealt with four times more referrals over the past month in comparison with last Christmas.
“Usually this is a very quiet time for reporting domestic violence because people want to get Christmas over and done with first, but this year we struggled to cope. While there is no concrete evidence as of yet, we’re getting the impression that the rise in violent incidents is connected to financial worries.
“We want to stress that people who are arguing because of money reasons have places to turn. We encourage people to take advantage of the Citizen’s Advice Bureau’s debt counselling service. Impact Housing Association also offer a very good support service.”
Lancashire and Cumbria Relate centre can be reached on: 01772 717597 or www.relate.org.uk.
First published at 11:28, Monday, 12 January 2009
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk
SHARE THIS ARTICLE
I can understand how increasing financial worries can contribute to abuse/domestic violence problems. When it comes to abusive behaviour its all about the 'trigger' for such behaviour. For people who suffer from uncontrollable anger problems, there is always an issue to start off the pattern of behaviour wheather it be, untidy house, coming home late or..the mortgage payment bouncing. The credit crunch it not being used as an 'excuse' for violence in the home, but merely pointing out that for some people it could be a trigger.
View all comments on this article
Have your say
I completely agree with the comments above and the domestic violence service, Letgo, does not see financial worries as having any sort of causal relationship with violence or abuse. People suffering from abuse in this area should not worry that there is a misunderstanding - I agree with Anon that the credit crunch is neither reason nor excuse for violence. I believe that studies in the USA where they hit the recession before we did here have not confirmed any sort of link.
Posted by Penny Scott on 23 April 2009 at 22:45