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Mosque fights domestic and sexual abuse stigma

Shariqua AhmedBBC News, Peterborough
News imageShariqua Ahmed / BBC Amanda Geraghty and Dr Darshana Sridhar of Peterborough Women's AidShariqua Ahmed / BBC
Amanda Geraghty and Darshana Sridhar, of Peterborough Women's Aid, said language was a huge barrier when working with victims of abuse from different communities

A mosque has held a domestic abuse and sexual violence awareness event in a bid to fight stigma around the crimes.

More than 200 people attended Peterborough’s Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence conference at the city's Husaini Islamic Centre on Monday.

Rizwan Rahemtulla, vice-president of the mosque and safeguarding lead, called it a “significant” attempt to address these issues.

“There is stigma within some communities who fear shame or being judged when talking about domestic and sexual violence," Mr Rahemtulla said.

News imageShariqua Ahmed / BBC Rizwan Rahemtulla from the Husaini CentreShariqua Ahmed / BBC
Rizwan Rahemtulla, from the Husaini Islamic Centre, said he was "proud" to be part of the first mosque in the city to host an abuse awareness event

The event was organised on behalf of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (DASV) Partnership.

The organisation said, according to official police figures, there were 32,000 victims of domestic abuse in Cambridgeshire in 2022-23, including 7,000 in Peterborough.

The crime survey said that 66% of victims were women, adding that referrals to the Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA) services increased by over 25% in 2022-23.

News imageEmma Baugh /BBC Mosque entrance Emma Baugh /BBC
The Husaini Islamic Centre on Burton Street is the first mosque across the county to host an event to tackle abuse concerns

An IDVA case worker, who works with victims of Asian and African heritage, said: “Language barriers not just stop the person from taking the first step, but they also create the gap for the perpetrator to control the situation.

“Apart from this, there are cultural barriers and concerns of isolation, community discrimination and shame if victims speak out or seek help.

“There’s a lot of mistrust with the police which is a huge barrier which needs addressing.”

News imageShariqua Ahmed / BBC Delegates at Peterborough’s Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence conferenceShariqua Ahmed / BBC
More than 200 people from the community and partner agencies attended the event

Vickie Crompton, from the DASV partnership, said: “Trust is a huge issue - but people can report abuse to agencies or other services and not just the police and it’s key we get this information out to the people struggling."

Det Supt Sherrie Nash, from Cambridgeshire Police, said: “Building trust with all communities is very important for us. We feel hugely privileged to have links with people like at this mosque.

"This is a start of breaking down those barriers and showing that we are cohesive and inclusive of all communities."

Mr Rahemtulla said he was "proud of the event" and added: "I had mixed feedback from the community on hosting this - many thought it was a positive step forward. It did raise some eyebrows though.

"But it was a long time coming and I had a lot of support from the mosque committee."

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