The desolating secret hidden beneath the undergrowth of Gloucestershire’s rural ‘staycation’ hotspots
By: Maisie Lillywhite
Tags: Domestic Abuse, Gloucestershire, Coronavirus

The thought of life in the Gloucestershire countryside is very much romanticised by many outsiders, who immediately think of quaint cottages, sprawling farmland, and fresh air.

And whilst one can find many of these things in our county, beneath this widely-accepted fantasy lies a dark truth that suffocates just over a tenth of those living in rural England and Wales.

With the easing of restrictions, tourists from across the country are flocking to experience Gloucestershire’s chocolate box-esque Cotswold towns and the magical Forest of Dean.

And whilst they bask in the quietness of their holiday homes, some residents are left screaming in the silence.

The undergrowth of our green and pleasant land is rife with domestic abuse.

Although domestic abuse exists in all settings, there are a number of factors unique to rural areas that make it specifically challenging.

When the first lockdown was announced back in March 2020, there was an eruption of concerned discourse centred around domestic abuse victims, who faced being trapped inside with their abusers for weeks.

Between March and July 2020, and again in March 2021, Gloucestershire Police recorded an above average number of domestic abuse cases in the Cotswolds and the Forest of Dean, two predominantly rural districts within our county.

Jenny Forde is a Cotswold District councillor who has been working to promote awareness of the unique challenges faced by rural domestic abuse victims, a lot of which, put quite simply, are down to the ‘rurality’ of victims’ home environments.

Councillor Jenny Forde

Councillor Forde said: “It’s not just the rurality, there’s lots of things that make it perfect for perpetrators,

“Physically, people are more isolated so can be far away from communities and other areas where they might bump into people, or just be seen by other people,

“The other thing, is that whole blessing and a curse of [living in] rural communities, which can be very strong and we’ve seen the best of them in this pandemic in terms of pulling together, knowing your neighbour, looking out for each other,

“But then also with that comes that kind of pressure that makes it even harder for people to speak out or ask for help.”

In 2019, the National Rural Crime Network (NRCN) published a report, ‘Captive & Controlled’, which detailed the tribulations of domestic abuse that are unique to rural parts of the country.

The ‘everybody-knows-everybody’ mentality that embodies rural villages can provide a great sense of community, but the hypersensitvity of villagers to unusual cars, the sight of which may be mentioned to the abuser, makes it much harder for victims to get support

It was found that, on average, domestic abuse lasts 25% longer in most rural areas, and that, because many positions of power in rural areas are held by men, women are more vulnerable to coercion and control.

In a Twitter poll, 41.3% of respondents initially assumed that domestic abuse happens in suburban areas.

37% believe it happens mostly in urban areas, with just 21.7% thinking it is most prevalent in rural areas.

According to the National Rural Crime Network, there are similar incidence rates in rural areas to those in urban areas, but the sparse population means that there are lower reporting rates.

A common misconception of domestic abuse, Councillor Forde highlights, is that perpetrators are often ‘drunken violent men who go to the pub, come home and beat their wife’.

But the situation is often much more complex than this stereotype, as emotional and mental abuse tactics can be carried out by the most ‘charming’ of people.

Councillor Forde said: “Often perpetrators can be very charming, very popular, very charismatic — part of the reason people are attracted to them in the first place is because they can give off an energy,

“That makes it even harder for the victim, because part of their attraction [to the abuser] is that sometimes this person is wonderful and makes them feel like they’re the centre of the universe.”

During the pandemic, Gloucestershire Police have conducted engagement events across the country to provide an opportunity for victims of domestic abuse to get advice, as well as raising awareness via social media.

The Gloucestershire Constabulary HQ in Waterwells

In the first stage of the pandemic, a vulnerability safeguarding team was established to provide greater support to vulnerable victims, and this included a direct response to victims in rural areas.

Gloucestershire Domestic Abuse Support Service (GDASS) has been fostering a domestic abuse champions network in partnership with Cotswold District Council.

Although these support initiatives are needed, Councillor Forde believes that we should look at the root causes of domestic abuse.

She said: “I know that abuse can happen the other way around, but I am most interested in the way that men treat women,

“That is the majority of cases and that is what’s endemic in our society — it’s very deep rooted and it happens so early on,

“I think, by the time you’re in an established abusive relationship, often with children, it’s just too late, and women getting out of that is so unlikely,

“We know it takes a woman, on average, seven times to leave somebody,

“And by the time that’s happening, it’s almost too late. I feel like we should be doing stuff so much earlier, and not just with women, we need to be doing it with boys as well.”

“This whole thing about, ‘Boys will be boys!’,‘They’re just messing around!’,‘Oh they might say a few things, but just ignore it!’,

“[The responsibility is] back on the woman. The woman needs to be sassy, or the woman needs to have a good put down, or the woman needs to not tolerate it, or the woman needs to ignore it,

“No, they need to stop saying it.”

“We start very, very early on with girls feeling that they shouldn’t take up space, they try and make themselves small, they try and be quiet, they do as they’re told; that then continues as they get older,

“It’s about nipping those things in the bud, and calling out people — what you say and the language you use in a parish council meeting, for example, is really, really important,

“So when people say, ‘I’m just a bit old fashioned’, it’s a little step towards inequality, so I think it does start with those sorts of things. It’s the same with the Sarah Everard case — the guy who murdered her had some other incidents that weren’t as serious, but that’s how it starts,

“I heard a good quote the other day that hurt people, hurt people, and that’s what we need to look at.”