It is physical, sexual, psychological and/or financial violence that takes place within an intimate or family-type relationship which forms a pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour.
These are all examples of Domestic Violence
- Name calling or putdowns
- Enforced isolation from family or friends
- Withholding Money
- Actual or threatened physical harm
- Sexual Assault
- Being too scared to leave
- Threats to find and kill you
- Being denied food, warmth or sleep
What is the Specialist Domestic Violence Court (SDVC)?
The SDVC deals with all domestic abuse cases in the Cleveland area. Running alongside the court itself is a large amount of ongoing work between Criminal Justice agencies and other partner agencies aiming to:
- Support victims of domestic abuse
- Improve information sharing to ensure more offenders are brought to justice and their victims are safe from further harm.
- Deal with domestic abuse perpetrators through the SDVC and specially designed perpetrator programmes.
Who is involved?
In Cleveland the agencies involved in the SDVC are as follows:
Independent Domestic Violence Advisor
One of the most crucial elements of the SDVC is the Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA). The IDVAs are specially trained advisors who work alongside criminal justice agencies to provide specialist support to victims of domestic abuse through the Criminal Justice System (CJS)
There are currently IDVAs operating in Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland, Hartlepool and Stockton supporting victims of domestic abuse through the court process and after.
