North Yorkshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has appointed a leading campaigner on domestic violence and abuse to chair the Domestic Abuse Independent Scrutiny Panel for North Yorkshire.
Jasvinder Sanghera CBE, a survivor of a forced marriage, has worked in the domestic and violence abuse sector for over two decades as an advocate supporting survivors and an expert advisor to the courts in child, civil and criminal proceedings.
She will take over as Chair of the Scrutiny Panel which works with North Yorkshire Police to review and improve both the investigation of domestic abuse and the support and safeguarding of domestic abuse survivors.
Established in 2018 by the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, the aim is to provide transparency and accountability and to increase public understanding, confidence and trust in how the force investigates domestic abuse and works with partners to support victims and address the behaviour of perpetrators.
In particular in the coming months, the panel will review and, where possible, support improvements in the identification, investigation and prosecution of offences of coercive and controlling behaviour.
Jasvinder Sanghera is a pioneer of changes in policy and practice to improve the response of the authorities to domestic and violent abuse. She has won multiple awards for her work, including Woman of the Year, a Pride of Britain Award and Legal Campaigner of the Year.
Having been awarded Honorary Doctorates from the University of Derby, her home town, and Leicester’s De Montfort University, she was made a Commander of the British Empire in 2013 for her work supporting victims of abuse.
After being named the new Chair of the North Yorkshire Domestic Abuse Independent Scrutiny Panel, she said:
I am someone who has worked for many years to support continuous improvement in the way domestic abuse is investigated and increase the confidence of survivors. This role is an important one for North Yorkshire and I am looking forward to making a difference to those who are impacted by this all too often under-reported and hidden crime.
Julia Mulligan, North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, said:
Domestic abuse remains all too common in our society today with too many suffering in silence and not getting the support they need.
While North Yorkshire Police has made huge efforts to ensure survivors do report the abuse they are facing, and while communities have been encouraged to speak out about their fears of what could be happening behind closed doors, there is a huge amount more to do.
Having someone as respected and determined as Jasvinder Sanghera take up this role is a sign of how seriously everyone in North Yorkshire is taking domestic abuse. Our message to victims is that you will be listened to and believed, our message to perpetrators is that you will have nowhere to hide.
