Middlesbrough domestic abuse support charity 'braced' for rise in calls
My Sister's Place say many victims will come forward in the next few weeks
Last updated 1st May 2025
A domestic abuse support charity in Middlesbrough say they are braced for a rise in victims coming forward over the next few weeks.
My Sister's Place says seeing 'happy families' can be isolating and upsetting for children and those in situations where they are not safe.
Lesley Storey, chief executive officer, said: "Lots of victims of abuse really try and keep it together over the Christmas period; nobody wants to be ringing the police over the Christmas period, nobody wants to be fleeing their home beacuse of abuse and so what we tend to find is a lot of victims of abuse will wait until the New Year and then they'll ask for help and ring up.
"Everywhere we're being told this is the time of the year to be happy, to give gifts, to be with your family and if your family isn't safe, it really enhances those feelings of isolation and loneliness. A lot of victims blame themselves.
"The impact of abuse and trauma has different impacts on different people and that can depend on people's previous experience of abuse because sometimes we work with people who've had experience of abuse as a child and then as an adult. They also experience abuse so there's something about resilience and coping.
"Most of the victims feel a deep sense of shame that they're somehow responsible for the abuse that they've experienced and they feel like that because more often than not, that's what they're being told by the person who's harming them. 'This is your fault. I only do this because of what you're doing.' Victims come to internalise that."