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There are peaks and troughs in referrals. There is a peak around the Christmas period when additional pressures can impact on families already experiencing abuse and there is a trough around August where fewer people are in work and children are not in school so identification leading to a referral can be lower.
Cases are only heard at MARAC when they become high or very high risk cases and therefore only represent a small proportion of the total number of actual cases. Research suggests only around 2% of domestic assaults are reported to the police and that on average, a woman will be assaulted 35 times before she contacts the police (Yearnshire, 1997).
Figure 15:2 MARAC cases
MARAC data 2015/16
Number of cases heard at MARAC
Safe Lives recommended number of cases
Number of children in MARAC households
Number of repeats BME referrals
Alleged victim has a disability (physical, mental etc.)
Referrals where there is an alleged male victim
LGBT cases discussed
Cases where the person causing harm is aged 17 and below
Carmarthenshire
454
310
448
79 (17%) 21
5 or under 28
Under 5 Under 5
Ceredigion
189
130
257
31 (16%) 6
5 or under 15
Under 5 Under 5
Pembrokeshire
341
210
402
44 (12%) 7
5 or under 32
Under 5 Under 5
TOTAL
984
650
1462
154 (15%) 34
10
or greater
75
Fewer than 5
Fewer than 5
Source: Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire IDVA Services, 2016
• The number of male victims discussed varies across counties and the numbers are confounded by a number of factors. Perpetrators of abuse often make counter allegations of abuse against the actual victim. However, research (ONS, 2015) also suggests
• 1/3 of victims of abuse in Wales are male
• male victims are more than twice as likely as women not to tell anyone about the partner abuse they are suffering (29% and 12%, respectively)
West Wales Population Assessment March 2017 VAWDASV