Armed Forces: Domestic Violence
Defence

Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence

(1) what work has been done to identify the extent of domestic abuse in military quarters;

(2) what research his Department has commissioned on the role that alcohol plays in domestic abuse in military quarters.

Andrew Robathan (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans), Defence; South Leicestershire, Conservative)

The focus of our work, to date, on domestic abuse in the armed forces and service community has been on raising awareness about domestic abuse and advice on what to do if it is occurring.

The chain of command has an overarching responsibility to ensure that appropriately trained support staff are available. A domestic abuse protocol is in place between the Service Police and the Hampshire Constabulary that sets out arrangements for handling domestic abuse incidents, with reported cases recorded on the civil police record management system. Consideration is currently being given to rolling out similar protocols for all garrison areas.

The Kings Centre for Military Health Research has conducted some research looking at the levels of domestic violence in military populations following homecoming from a deployment, as well as the role of alcohol misuse. Their findings will be published in due course.