Northamptonshire ‘Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Strategy’ to be considered by North and West Northamptonshire Councils in May
01 May 2026
The Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Strategy 2026-2030 has been developed with input from both professionals in the field and lived experience of victims and survivors. It will be presented to Executive Members across Northamptonshire in the coming weeks.
The aim of the county-wide strategy is clear, to make North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire a place where abuse is neither tolerated nor hidden, where victims are believed and supported, and where perpetrators are consistently challenged and prevented from causing further harm.
Domestic abuse and sexual violence affect people across all communities. It is estimated that there are around 10,400 female victims of domestic abuse each year in North Northamptonshire and 9,950 in the West. Based on the Crime Survey for England and Wales (2022) approximately 49,262 women in North Northamptonshire and 47,510 in the West will experience abuse within their lifetime, from the age of 16.
While women and girls are disproportionately affected, the strategy also recognises that men and boys can experience domestic abuse and sexual violence, often facing additional barriers to recognition and support.
It is estimated that 14% of victims in North Northamptonshire will be men and boys and 35% in the West of the county. Over their lifetime we estimate that 24,613 men in North Northamptonshire and 23,560 in the West will experience domestic abuse.
The proposed strategy sets out five shared priority areas that the North and West Northamptonshire Community Safety Partnership will work together to achieve. It also explains how these priorities were developed and how progress and impact will be measured.
The following have been identified as the five key objectives:
- Early intervention and Prevention: Prevention is central to this strategy. This means challenging sexist attitudes, countering misogynistic content online, and equipping teachers, parents, and caregivers to talk to children about healthy relationships and to challenge harmful behaviours. In Northamptonshire partners want to focus on children and young people to ensure they are supported and given the right knowledge around harmful behaviour.
- Support and Protection for all victims/survivors: Ensuring safety and access to support for victims and survivors by strengthening trauma informed, victim centred services that respond to individual needs and help prevent further harm.
- Trust and Confidence in Services: Building trust and confidence in services, so victims and survivors feel able to come forward knowing they will be heard, believed, and treated with dignity and respect.
- A Co-ordinated Community Response: A co-ordinated community response brings together statutory services, voluntary organisations, and local communities to work collaboratively, recognising that tackling domestic abuse and sexual violence requires a shared, co ordinated approach.
- Holding Perpetrators to Account: Abuse will never be tolerated. The partnership is committed to challenging harmful behaviour wherever it occurs and holding those responsible to account, to prevent further abuse and keep people safe.
In the creation of this strategy, all parties have undertaken a considerable amount of joint work alongside our partners, including Domestic Abuse service providers and victims.Cllr Gregory Wilcox, North Northamptonshire Council’s Executive Member for Communities
Both councils are incredibly aware of the importance of raising awareness of domestic and sexual abuse across communities, supporting victims and their families in a joined up and sensitive way whilst holding up those who perpetrate abuse to account. Abuse of any kind must not be tolerated and we plan to make sure that we do all we can with the powers we have to prevent this harm.
Domestic abuse and sexual violence are often complex, hidden crimes, and we know that many victims and survivors never come forward. That is why this strategy places such strong emphasis on understanding not just the data, but the real experiences behind it.Cllr Charlie Hastie, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities at WNC
Alongside monitoring the delivery of actions, the Partnership will track a clear set of activity indicators and outcome measures to help us understand how effectively the system is working and where improvements are needed.
However, numbers alone never tell the full story. We will always balance quantitative data with lived experience insights, practitioner learning and wider contextual evidence, ensuring our approach remains victim centred, informed and responsive.
Our ambition is to create safer communities across West Northamptonshire—where victims are supported to rebuild their lives, services are trusted and accessible, and those who cause harm are challenged and held to account.
The Strategy covers the period 2026 to 2030. Both North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire have a dedicated joint Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (DASV) Partnership board within their wider Community Safety Partnership frameworks.
This joint approach enables both areas to work collaboratively towards the shared objectives set out in this strategy, and to ensure a consistent, coordinated response to preventing and addressing domestic abuse and sexual violence.
The Joint DASV Board will carry out a mid-point review in 2028 to assess progress, and ensure the strategy remains effective, evidence led, and informed by the lived experience of victims and survivors.
The proposed Strategy will be considered by North Northamptonshire Council's Executive Members on Tuesday, 12 May at 10am and West Northamptonshire’s Cabinet on Tuesday, 5 May, 2026.