Perpetrators of abuse urged to seek help to change their behaviour
South West based charity FearFree see helping abusers change as key to breaking cycle of abuse
There's a push by a domestic abuse charity for perpetrators of abuse in the south west to seek help in order to change their behaviour.
FearFree, who support survivors and perpetrators across Wiltshire, Gloucester, Bristol and Devon, want us to own our game during the Euro's in a bid to reduce the volume of abuse reports throughout the tournament.
Behaviour change of those carrying out abuse is seen as one of the biggest keys to breaking the cycle of abuse.
Head of Service at FearFree, Gemma Vinton, told Greatest Hits Radio there's a wide range of things people do in relationships that are unhealthy and potentially harmful.
These include physical violence, humiliation, controlling what a partner does, such as visiting friends or having a job and threatening to hurt them or themselves.
"These are all the kind of behaviours that we know exist in relationships but they're not a good thing in relationships," Gemma told us, adding: "They're things that we want to help people to stop doing."
A case-by-case approach for long-term solutions
In their behaviour change courses, FearFree work with people on an individual basis.
"What we'll do with each individual is we'll look at what are the reasons for them, what are the things that are driving them to do these unhealthy aspects of relationships and what can we help that individual to change?" Gemma said.
She stressed that there's never an excuse for abuse - but that there can be many reasons it's happening.
Gemma said: "What we find is that if people do have alcohol or drugs and they have them in quantities, perhaps that they're not not not used to. That can have an impact.
"We also find that a lot of people that come to us seeking to change their behaviours might have experienced traumas in the past, might not necessarily have ever seen what a healthy relationship looks like.
"If someone's been brought up in a in an abusive home as a child they don't necessarily know and understand what a loving relationship might look like."
During the course, the charity will look at the underlying reasons for people potentially demonstrating unhealthy behaviours.
"We go right back to basics as to how do people want to treat each other and what are the potential underlying causes for their behaviours," said Gemma, adding they'll teach practical techniques in handling high levels of emotions as well as looking at longer-term strategies for support.