In 2020 during the first lockdown my life became unbearable. I had sustained 15 years of physical, emotional and psychological abuse at the hands of my now Ex Husband. After he left me as a way to try and stop me doing something, I let him go. I called his bluff and finally put end to his reign of power and control over my life. When things became even worse after i refused to take him back I went to the police. I was promised the earth and delivered a pile of dirt. My case was miss handled, evidence failed to be collected, the case passed hands with over 8 police officers who had no training in the type of crime they were trying to investigate. It took them over 12 months to even interview my abuser, 6 months to take witness statements and didn’t even take all witness statements. Around the 12 month mark of this ordeal I went to the IOPCC and they upheld my complaint and recorded it as "Police Standard Not Met". The force dealing with my case (Durham Constabulary) were given instructions on how to proceed and how to improve. The did not take one bit of notice. They refused to record crimes, categorise them and refused to collect evidence. I faced a torrent of institutionalised misogyny and lack of will to investigate my case to the best of their ability. All investigation was done by my self, I had to give them everything they did no independent investigation. 2 years down the line I received an NFA from CPS who had had my case for 6 months. In trying to do a VRR the police were combative, unhelpful and willfully obstructive. I start this petition as policy needs to change. The officers claim they are victim focused but after speaking with many victims we can tell you. Our experience with the police when we do speak out is worse than the abuse sustained at the hands of our perpetrators. Refuge released information about statistics for the last 6 years which was made public by the CPS stating that convictions for domestic abuse have fallen by 45%. In the last quarter the number of convictions was lower than at the peak of covid when the courts were in fact CLOSED. This is not because Domestic Abuse crimes are falling, this is a lack of will in policing and in our criminal justice system to hold perpetrators to account. Already, only 1 in 5 women whom refuge support report to the police and there is no wonder their trust and confidence is so low. What is needed now is an urgent and thorough roots and branch review of the Police. Perpetrators are evading justice and women are losing their lives as a result. Speaking from personal experience, last year as a direct result of police and my case i made an attempt on my own life. I can tell you first hand the reason women stay with abusive men is because there is ZERO support if they do manage to get away. My mental health was left circling the drain and I felt further abuse by the police. This situation will not make national news due to everything else that is going on in this fast failing country. What I am here for today is to get these statistics to parliament and have our voices heard. Let’s get policy changed and ensure not only perpetrators are held to account but Police Officers whom fail abuse victims time and time again. Together we can change these statistics and we can hopefully prevent women suffering a similar fate to my own in the future. My personal story is obviously much longer and more complicated than what I have written here.