Victims of domestic violence, arranged marriages, female genital mutilation and sexual exploitation are set to be supported by a £200,000 investment by Harrow Council’s Labour administration.

Leader of the authority Councillor David Perry identified tackling the issues as a key campaign pledge before being voted in during the council elections in May, and next week will ask his cabinet to approve the spending which aims to:

  1. Secure and improve existing services
  2. Develop and run community awareness raising campaigns
  3. Equip all front-line professionals with knowledge and confidence to recognise and refer victims

Margaret Davine, a trustee at The Women’s Centre charity and council cabinet member for adults and older people, said: “This is an issue which is especially important to our multicultural borough, because more than most we are faced with these challenges.”

In Harrow, Home Office statistics estimate that more than 5,000 women and girls aged 16 to 59 have been a victim of domestic abuse, 5,000 of sexual assault and 9,940 a victim of stalking, all in just the last 12 months.

And those pushing for further funding admit that other forms of abuse are harder to measure with statistics.

In a report recently written for the council’s health and wellbeing board, Alex Dewsnap, the council’s divisional director for strategic commissioning, wrote: “There is little data about the prevalence of other forms of violence but national research suggests that forced marriage, honour-based violence and female genital mutilation are most commonly practised in communities with links to particular countries and that these communities make up a significant proportion of Harrow’s population.”

Mrs Davine added: “Often, especially with domestic violence, what we see is a lack of willingness for women of Asian cultures to come forward, because they are afraid to do so.

“Working at The Women’s Centre, I have seen women ostracised from their families for coming forward. There can be a culture of blaming and shaming not only the perpetrator, but also the victim.

“That is why I am so delighted to see this council commit to dedicated, proper funds for a proper plan to tackle this issue. Because it predominantly happens behind closed doors, it can be easy to miss it, especially in a low-crime borough like Harrow.”

Labour’s cabinet are expected to approve the report when they formally meet for the first time since the summer recess on Thursday next week.