A mum who silently endured years of domestic abuse has heaped praise on a Plymouth scheme to safeguard children which is now being funded by Home Office and rolled out across the country.
Operation Encompass was the brainchild of a Plymouth husband and wife team. but now Home Office chiefs have awarded it £163,000 so that it can spread to other areas of the country.
Devonport police officer Sgt David Carney-Haworth and his wife, Torpoint Nursery and Infant school head teacher Elisabeth, are the couple behind Operation Encompass. Because of their jobs they were able to see how children were affected by witnessing abuse and find a way to help.
Now Plymouth Live has spoken anonymously to one of the first mums helped by it.
Back in 2011 the couple created a scheme which sees police share reports of domestic abuse incidents where children have been present, with key adults at the schools they attend.
The calls are to be made before the youngsters arrive at school the following morning, giving teaching staff time to prepare and offer whatever support the child needs.
The scheme has since been rolled out across more than half the police forces in England and Wales, including Devon and Cornwall Police who finally signed up to the initiative in January this year.
Operation Encompass has attracted plaudits from Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners, as well as education and child psychology experts.
Devon and Cornwall Police's top cop Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer highlighted the value of the scheme, revealing at its launch in his force of his own childhood experiences of domestic violence within his family.
In February this year David and Elisabeth were invited to discuss the scheme and its benefits with MP Victoria Atkins , Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Home Office for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability.
As a result the Home Office today awarded the charity £163,000 to support the roll-out of the initiative to every force in England and Wales and allow Operation Encompass to carry out an audit of existing systems and the effectiveness of the supportive interventions in place for children.
Why one victim said the scheme makes 'a huge difference'
One Cornish mother, whose two children attended Torpoint Nursery and Infant School, said just the fact that Operation Encompass existed at the school meant she was finally able to reveal the years of abuse she had suffered and the damage it was doing to her children.
The mum, in her 30s, is not being identified by Plymouth Live to protect her.
She said it had taken her years to realise she was in an abusive relationship, but on calling the domestic violence service helpline she finally recognised what was happening to her and began to take steps to leave.
She said: “My mum made me aware of the situation. She called me to say my headteacher, Elisabeth, was talking about Operation Encompass on the (BBC1) Victoria Derbyshire programme .
“I saw Lis explaining it and I realised I could tell her and it would be okay.
“I came in the next day and she was stood at the school gates. I said I needed to talk about Operation Encompass and we went into her office.
“She was amazing.”
The mum said much of the abuse she suffered was coercion and financial control, but it had become increasingly aggressive and violent and she realised she was at increasing risk.
Despite this, she had never called police and thus the Operation Encompass process was never triggered.
She said: “A few times I could have and should have called police. I should’ve known something was wrong.
“If I had the knowledge and power I now have, I probably would have called them.
“Women who are stuck in these long term emotionally abusive relationships are women trying to hold it together.
“We cover it up, we minimise it, pretend it’s not happening or we simply don’t know this whole area of abuse.
“Operation Encompass means we know there’s somebody in there [the school] who understands.
“Your fear is that there will be no-one who understands. It’s drummed into you that it’s your own fault, but if there’s an awareness that there’s somebody who understands, who gets it, it helps enormously.
“It was a real eye-opener for me. Lis was finishing my sentences when I was explaining my situation.
“Having trained key adults in school, because of Operation Encompass, means women will feel less scared, less guilty, less ashamed to talk about what’s happening at home.
“I was sending my children into school crying sometimes, saying they were ‘a bit tired’, making excuses because I didn’t want to say they were woken up in the middle of the night because Daddy was throwing things or Daddy was shouting.
“It’s a completely different level of compassion and positive care.
“Operation Encompass makes a huge difference. Having that label on a school means they know and understand about domestic abuse.”
Creators of scheme say Government money will support child victims
Elisabeth said: “Imagine arriving at school after hearing or witnessing domestic abuse – you have not slept, had no breakfast, don’t have all your school uniform and your home is in disarray. Now you are expected to sit in your classroom and learn.
“This is happening in our schools every day and the current procedures in many police forces do not allow for the reporting to schools of domestic abuse incidents in a timely fashion.
“This funding from the Home Office will assist in ensuring that Operation Encompass is embraced fully by all police forces and that the partnership between the police and schools will enable them to work towards providing trauma-informed support.”
David added: “We know if you are a child exposed to domestic abuse then you will suffer emotional and psychological harm and it will have negative consequences on their health, education and wellbeing.
“This funding will help make sure Operation Encompass will be in every force, in every school, for every child. Our children deserve no less.”
While the scheme currently operates in some form in 33 forces the cash award will ensure it is embedded within the remain forces, with plans to include other groups such as the Royal Navy Police.”
Statistics have found that as many as 1 in 5 children in the UK are witness to or exposed to domestic abuse and those affected by this horrible crime are 4 times more likely to go on and experience or perpetrate domestic abuse later in life.
Minister backs Plymouth scheme with cash
Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability Victoria Atkins said: “I am so proud to award funding to this vital initiative.
“The passion David and Elisabeth have shown in developing Operation Encompass is inspiring and demonstrates how such a simple solution can support so many children.
“It is heartbreaking to think that a child’s education is suffering through no fault of their own. By police and schools having this system in place we can ensure these youngsters have the immediate support they need.
“This shows the government’s commitment to providing help to children affected by domestic abuse and we will build on this as we introduce the draft Domestic Abuse Bill.”
