Help for victims of abuse in Selby area

The Daisychain project was set up by Selby District Association of Voluntary Services (AVS) in 2001 to help anyone affected by domestic abuse by providing support, assistance and accommodation.

Now, Daisychain will be operated by the York and North Yorkshire Independent Domestic Abuse Services (IDAS), which has already receives between 20 and 30 referrals each month.

Chris Davies, from IDAS, will now manage the service in Selby.

He said: “Although the majority of the referrals we receive come from the police a number come from other agencies and also individuals who approach us themselves. We support people to understand what has happened to them and importantly who is responsible for it, and look at their options. This can in some cases increase the number of incidents then reported to police.

“Additional domestic abuse services that IDAS are now responsible for include the Independent Domestic Violence Advocate who provides support to victims who are going through the court process because of offences perpetrated against them by their partner or family member and the Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA) who supports victims of rape and sexual violence.”

Between April and December 2012, there were 649 incidents of domestic violence reported to police in Selby, and in 15 per cent of cases, children were present.

Last week, The Press reported that reports of domestic violence in Selby were within police targets, the number of repeat incidents reported was higher than police had expected, leading Police and Crime Commissioner Julia Mulligan to call the figures “concerning”.

Linda Slough, chief officer at Selby District AVS, said: “It is time to focus on our core service of supporting and developing local voluntary and community groups within Selby District. I see this as a great opportunity to develop domestic abuse services for women and children within Selby district.”

To contact the service, phone 01757 290040, 0300 0110110, or by emailing info@idas.org.uk