Healthy Surrey:

Healthy Surrey

Surrey Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy 2023-2025

Surrey's partnership Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy outlines how we will work with partners across Surrey over the next three years.

Useful numbers

Surrey domestic abuse helpline
01483 776822
9am to 9pm, 7 days a week
provided by yourSanctuary

Surrey Police
999 (emergency)
101 (non-emergency)

Forewords

Expert by experience (Surrey resident)

My daughter was 16 months old when I left him. I had spent months escaping him as he was working from home daily, and I would cry in my sister's kitchen. I felt worthless, empty and broken, and although my daughter gave me a sense of purpose and joy, there was always a huge thundercloud over my every move and thought.

The emotional abuse started years before on reflection. Where he had once treated me as a princess, he now questioned my every word, thought, and he saw me as an unfit mother. Everything I did was wrong. I'd been isolated in another country when we moved there with his work. His behaviour had worsened and he'd stay out all night then, gaslight me about times he had come home.

He said I was mad and I annoyed him, and one night he pushed me into the wall so hard my front teeth were knocked out, I fled to a neighbour in a bloody mess. I spent 4 nights in a foreign refuge before he charmed me back.

When our daughter was born, he became possessive of her, he'd video me breastfeeding as evidence I was doing it wrong, and generally put me down. So I'd go to my sisters and cry and this is where I called one of the numbers my doctor had given me for an outreach service. That night I bundled up bin bags of my things and packed the car telling him I was doing a charity shop drop off.

The refuge was a sanctuary, I had no idea what would happen from here but the support was there for me to become independent of him, find myself again and rebuild relationships. After 8 months I was moved to this second refuge as my ex had moved close to the first one.

I will be forever grateful for all the support the refuge gave me. Over the coming years there were heart breaking court battles and disputes with my ex, but ultimately, I gained my freedom and my independence as you will do to.

If you are reading this, a new chapter has already begun.

Maureen Attewell (Deputy Cabinet Member for Children & Families)

Tackling violence against women and girls, and ensuring the safety of our residents, is a county-wide priority in Surrey. We recognise the detrimental impact of violence against women and girls, and the affect this has, not only on the individual, but the wider impact on their friends, families, and the community. Our vision in Surrey is to ensure everyone is safe from abuse, in all its forms, and that ending violence against women and girls is everyone's business.

For too long violence and abuse has prevented women and girls from feeling safe both in public and private spaces, which restricts their everyday freedoms, ultimately preventing women and girls from flourishing in our community.

We recognise that it is beyond one agencies capacity to end violence against women and girls, and we share a collective responsibility. This strategy, our priorities, and objectives, are grounded in the expertise of our partners, residents, and experts through experience. It is of upmost importance that survivors' voices are at the heart of our responses.

This strategy will work with, and strengthen Surrey's existing Domestic Abuse and Perpetrator strategies, we will continue to collaborate with partners, stakeholders, and Surrey's residents to build trust in our support services and remove barriers for survivors to access specialist provision.

We will continue to improve and adapt our strategy with the evolving needs of Surrey's communities and continue to be guided by the expertise of our survivors. We understand there is work to be done, and with the commitment of our partners we will strive to create the necessary culture change to end violence against women and girls.

Surrey's Vision

Ending violence against women and girls (VAWG) is everybody's business. It requires a change in our society, culture and institutions to address the root causes.

Our vision is that every adult and child subjected to violence and abuse, will be seen, safe, heard, and free from harm caused by perpetrators.

By holistically supporting survivors, focusing the accountability onto the perpetrators, and educating our communities, we will strive towards ending VAWG.

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