Refuge places 1,071 rotten apples outside New Scotland Yard and asks, ‘How many more bad apples?’
Refuge, the country's largest single supplier of specialist domestic abuse services, placed 1,071 rotten apples outside New Scotland Yard...
Refuge, the country’s largest single supplier of specialist domestic abuse services, placed 1,071 rotten apples outside New Scotland Yard this morning, Friday 20th January, reflecting the number of Met officers who have been, or are currently, under investigation for allegations of domestic abuse or violence against women and girls.
Following the abhorrent revelations, once again, of crimes against women committed by serving police officers this week Refuge CEO Ruth Davison asked ‘How many more bad apples’? and called for immediate root and branch reform of the police and the way they deal with violence against women and girls and domestic abuse.
Ruth Davison, Refuge CEO said:
“This is not one bad apple; this is a systemic problem across policing. How have these perpetrators of abuse been allowed to enter and remain in positions of power for so long? What happens next must change the culture of policing for good. A force which breeds violent misogyny is not a force which can even begin to protect women and girls.
Unless radical change to the way the policing system works across the country happens immediately, then women and girls will remain unsafe, and they will not have the confidence to come forward and report the violent crimes committed against them. That is why Refuge is outside New Scotland Yard today.”
This week Refuge also launched an open letter to Home Secretary Suella Braverman, demanding that immediate changes are made to the policing system to protect women and girls. The open letter can be viewed and signed here.
ENDS.
Notes to editors:
About Refuge:
Refuge supports thousands of women and children on any given day, and runs the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, which is the gateway to accessing specialist support across the country. More than one in four women in England and Wales experiences domestic abuse at some point in their lifetime, and two women a week are killed by a current or former partner.
Please signpost to Refuge’s National Domestic Abuse Helpline 0808 2000 247, available 24 hours a day 7 days a week for free, confidential specialist support. Or visit www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk to fill in a webform and request a safe time to be contacted or to access live chat (live chat available 3pm-10pm, Monday to Friday). For support with tech abuse visit refugetechsafety.org.