Police chief features in Queen's domestic abuse documentary

Chief Inspector Sharon Baker from Avon and Somerset Police survived domestic abuse

The Queen meets a domestic abuse survivor
Author: Jason BeckPublished 22 hours ago

A senior Avon and Somerset Police officer is to feature in the Queen's new documentary about domestic abuse.

Chief Inspector Sharon Baker is a domestic violence survivor who set up a network to support colleagues.

After sharing a video about her experiences, the police officer was shocked to receive responses from more than 130 colleagues who said they had also survived domestic abuse.

Speaking at a screening of the documentary at Buckingham Palace, Ms Baker said: "I had kept quiet for so long, for several reasons - one of them was that when I looked around, nobody was talking about being a victim in policing.

"I didn't, so no-one looked like me. No-one sounded like me.

"And that made the isolation worse.

"And I then got a glimmer that there might be more. I thought, well, what if there is more?

"I thought, it must just be me, so it's my fault, and there's no one else who's a victim, so it's my weakness.

"And that actually part of the problem is our culture, that we're not talking about it."

"We've done a lot of work internally now, changed our policies," she said.

Since Ms Baker set up the support network at Avon and Somerset Police, she said more colleagues come forward every week to say they are survivors.

"The whole message in our organisation is - you will be believed, you will be supported.

"So it's changing the culture - it's OK to talk about being a victim and a survivor now."

The force recently set up dedicated refuge accommodation for staff members experiencing domestic abuse, Ms Baker added.

The Queen has vowed she will "keep trying" to end domestic violence, until she is "able to no more", in the documentary.

Camilla told the film that domestic abuse was a "heinous crime" and she was determined to continue raising awareness of the issue.

The Queen was followed over the course of a year for the ITV1 and ITVX documentary looking at her work in this field, including private meetings with survivors and a visit to a refuge centre.

One in five adults experiences domestic abuse in their lifetime, and it is estimated that around three women die by suicide as a result of domestic abuse every week.

Every 30 seconds, someone calls 999 about domestic abuse, however it is estimated that less than 24% of the crime is reported to police.

Her Majesty The Queen: Behind Closed Doors will be shown on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player on November 11.

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