The problem of domestic abuse is to be tackled at a conference to be held by the Violence Reduction Unit.

The National Domestic Abuse Conference, which will be held at The Hub in Edinburgh on Wednesday, 19 November, brings together people working with victims and offenders of domestic abuse to share and develop good practice in order to build better links between services.

Among those speaking at the conference is Dr Mairead Tagg of Greater Easterhouse Women’s Aid. Also appearing are Mhairi McGowan, Service Manager of ASSIST, which provides information, advocacy and support to those who are survivors of domestic abuse and are involved with the Specialist Domestic Abuse Court, and DS Tom Carty of the North Lanarkshire MARAC project. MARAC – Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferencing – identifies victims of domestic abuse who are most at risk of experiencing further violence.

The conference will be opened by Tom Halpin, Deputy Chief Constable for Lothian and Borders and ACPOS lead on Domestic Violence.

Chief Inspector Cameron Cavin, Anti-Violence Campaign Co-ordinator with the VRU, said:

“Domestic Abuse comes in many forms, but at its core is the need for power, the ability to control or dominate a partner. This can be perpetrated by either physical or emotional abuse and it is rarely a one off event.

“This type of violence has profound implications on the health and wellbeing of not only the victim but the wider family unit, both in the short and long terms. But because it often happens behind closed doors, this type of violence is also frequently invisible.

“Our aim is to bring together partners working in the field of domestic abuse to look at how we can work together to reduce domestic abuse by focusing not only on the victim but also on the offender to reach the common goal – improving the safety of those at risk.”

The conference comes ahead of a domestic abuse crackdown, which will take place in December 2008.