Violent partners: The ‘window’ strategy

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Police in Iceland treat domestic violence differently. Leaving an abusive relationship is hard, and many victims stay with physically or mentally hurtful partners, even after police get involved. In Iceland, they focus their efforts on the first 24 hours after a domestic attack is reported. This is the “window” in which survivors are most likely to give unfiltered evidence against their abusers and accept help leaving them. Specialist police, social workers and child protection officers are swiftly sent into violent homes, and suspected offenders can be immediately removed. It’s a more hands-on approach than in most places, based on the view that domestic abuse is a public rather than a private problem. Maddy Savage investigates how much the initiative has impacted prosecution rates and the wellbeing of families affected by this type of violence. Image: Iceland’s top police officer Sigríður Björk Guðjónsdóttir