Prosecutors in England and Wales expect rise in domestic abuse during World Cup

Prosecutors in England and Wales are expecting incidents of domestic abuse to increase during the men’s World Cup , and have urged victims to come forward, saying those responsible “will be held accountable”. “We often see more domestic abuse cases around major football tournaments like these,” the CPS national stalking lead, Olivia Rose, said. “The point that we want to get across is that those responsible will be held accountable, and that we won’t hesitate to bring them to justice.” “We know that football doesn’t cause domestic abuse, but alcohol and heightened emotions can make it worse,” she added. Rose said that the latest data showed four in five domestic abuse cases referred by police were charged, which she said “just goes to show how seriously we take domestic abuse” . As well as warning perpetrators that their behaviour was “not [just] unacceptable, it is illegal”, Rose said the CPS also wanted to get the message out to any victims of domestic abuse to come forward and report it to police. “We want victims to know that support is out there for them, and that we understand how difficult it is, it can be, to report domestic abuse, but if they do come forward, that they will be taken seriously,” she said. …