Reports of Mick Philpott's awful crime omit the phrase 'domestic violence'

[LeftishBrit]

Polly Neale in The Guardian:

This case is not the result of a family claiming benefits or living in a council house. At Women's Aid we know only too well that domestic violence happens at every level of society. Philpott is a serial perpetrator of domestic violence, who repeatedly targeted women to abuse and control. The number of children he had with his partners has been described in the media as a means to access increasing levels of child benefit, but in our experience a perpetrator of domestic violence may try and keep his abused partner pregnant as a further means of control.

The judge, Mrs Justice Thirlwall, addressed Philpott's history of domestic violence in her sentencing remarks, referencing his three relationships before his marriage to Mairead, and the "life-long damage" he had caused. Referring to one of his ex-partners, Thirlwall said: "You controlled her through physical and sexual violence, threats and emotional abuse."

We now know that his wife lived in fear of him, as did his girlfriend Lisa Willis who had fled to a refuge with her children to escape him. He was violent to them and was clearly a dangerous man. The point at which a woman tries to leave a violent relationship is the most dangerous time, as was later shown in this case. He stabbed his ex-girlfriend and was
wife and girlfriend were backed up by their knowledge that he had been found guilty of the attempted murder of a previous partner...

We need to have greater support for those experiencing domestic violence, yet local services are facing the impact of spending cuts and welfare reform that threatens to undermine their funding, including measures that will impact on women seeking refuge with more than two children. We should increase help for abused women and children living with domestic violence so that they can safely escape life-threatening situations...

(More at link)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/04/domestic-violence-mick-philpott

[Warpy]

1. He should have been put into a cage years ago

but assaults against women are still somehow acceptable to too many people out there.