NEWSROOM

The new strategy builds on the achievements of the 2023 - 2025 Domestic Abuse Strategy. Telford & Wrekin Council acknowledges all genders are affecting by intimate partner abuse, but that women and girls are disproportionally affected, so have created the new Strategy with a local response to the Government's national Freedom from Violence and Abuse strategy, published in December 2025, which aims to halve violence against women and girls over the next decade.

The strategy's overarching aim is to work together to end domestic abuse and violence against women and girls in our communities, in all its forms, ensuring that everyone affected can access the help and services they need.

The refreshed strategy retains the four strategic pillars that have proved effective since 2023, with four specific commitments under each pillar:

Partnership: strengthening collaboration at all levels, including through the Domestic Abuse Local Partnership Board and Domestic Abuse Forum; amplifying the voices of survivors through the Lived Experience Advisory Forum (LEAF); improving data collection across safe accommodation providers; and refreshing the safe accommodation needs assessment.

Prevention: educating young people about healthy relationships and sexual violence; expanding the White Ribbon campaign into schools and communities; improving the safety of women and girls in the night-time economy; and providing screening and interventions during pregnancy and after childbirth.

Provision: promoting local support services and the helpline number; strengthening pathways between domestic abuse services for adults, children and young people; increasing the availability of safe accommodation, particularly one- and two-bedroom units; and target-hardening survivors' homes through security and surveillance measures, so they can remain safely in place.

Pursuing and Protection: supporting victims through court proceedings and civil remedies; challenging perpetrators through evidence-based behaviour change programmes; implementing all recommendations from the independent Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) review; and enforcing appropriate legal orders to disrupt and prevent abusive behaviour.

The refreshed strategy aligns with the national Freedom from Violence and Abuse strategy, with the Council working to implement its focus on prevention and early intervention, improved support for those affected, and the relentless pursuit of perpetrators - all within existing resources, as no additional government funding has been made available to local authorities for local implementation.

Councillor Kelly Middleton, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Unlocking Opportunities for All, said: “This strategy represents our collective determination to make Telford and Wrekin a place where domestic abuse and violence against women and girls is not tolerated in any form.

“Over the past three years, we have built strong partnerships, listened carefully to survivors, and delivered real change in our communities. The 2026–2028 strategy builds on that progress with clear commitments and a shared purpose.

“No one should face abuse alone, and we are committed to ensuring every person affected has somewhere safe to turn.”

To read the strategy, please visit https://www.telford.gov.uk/media/z4wpsql0/domestic-abuse-strategy-2026_2028.pdf

To find out more, head to www.telford.gov.uk/DA