Our new plan for domestic abuse support
Wednesday, 11 June 2025
Following a public consultation, we've launched our new Domestic Abuse Strategy for 2025 to 2030.
In the strategy, we've outlined 5 outcomes that we hope to achieve in the next 5 years, as well as a plan for how we will achieve each outcome.
The 5 outcomes are:
- children and young people have the right support, information and opportunities to talk about and develop healthy relationships
- people experiencing and at risk of experiencing domestic abuse are supported to be and feel safe
- everyone can rebuild their lives and live free from domestic abuse
- individuals that harm can recognise and be supported to change their behaviour and break the cycle of domestic abuse
- communities, professionals are able to recognise domestic abuse at the earliest opportunity and have the confidence to take action
The new strategy also details how we will continue to work with partner organisations to tackle domestic abuse, to ensure anyone experiencing domestic abuse is supported, and to disrupt the behaviour of individuals who cause harm.
1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men report being affected by domestic abuse at some point in their lives. Locally, Domestic abuse accounted for 17% of all crime in Bedfordshire in 2023/24.
Read more about our domestic abuse strategy.
Councillor Steve Owen, our Executive Member for Children’s Services, said:
Domestic abuse is never acceptable. Behind every statistic is a person; someone’s neighbour, colleague, friend or family member. We and our partners across Central Bedfordshire take seriously our responsibility to deliver support to those experiencing domestic abuse, and to ensure people feel safe to speak up and get the help they need.
We’ve worked closely with partners, local organisations and people who have experienced domestic abuse to make sure our services truly reflect what people need to support them. Our strategy continues this work and sets out clear steps that we will act on over the next 5 years to help our residents live lives that are free of domestic abuse.