I am called upon in the letter to 'show leadership' in this matter since I am the Chairman of the Suffolk Domestic Abuse Partnership. I do not wish to wait for a week before making my position clear, and therefore I set out below the text of a letter that I wrote yesterday to the Fawcett Society of Bury St Edmunds who had expressed concern about the incident.
'Thank you for your e mail.
As far as the specific case that you mention is concerned I have
no power to influence directly any action that may be taken by the constituency
association involved since, living in the Sudbury area, I am not a
member.
However I cannot condone any incident of domestic abuse,
regardless of the identity of the perpetrator or his position in society or political
persuasion. I have always been, and will continue to be,
clear about this view.
The Suffolk Domestic Abuse Partnership works tirelessly through
officers at the County Council, Suffolk Police and other agencies, and partners
from the voluntary sector to combat abuse and violence against women in all its
forms. As Chairman of the Partnership I am totally committed to supporting and
continuing this work, and will be active in confronting complacency or
indifference towards domestic violence whatever the source.'
It was only recently that the South Suffolk Conservative Association rejected all attempts by neighbouring MPs to involve themselves with our decision over whether to reselect our own MP. Under the circumstances, and however strongly individuals may feel about domestic abuse, it is simply not possible for members of one Conservative association to dictate to members of another.
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I would also add that the abuse can also be perpetrated by females on males and the men should be supported as well.
ReplyDeleteThat is of course true, and generally the Partnership is keen to point this out. In the case at issue however the victim was female, and the Fawcett society is concerned with rights for women.
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