A SPOTLIGHT is currently being focused on domestic violence, a category of crime characteristically committed behind closed doors and which all too often is not brought to the attention of the police.

The present two-day national conference being held in Jersey is likely to increase professional and public awareness of this deeply unpleasant and frequently cowardly species of offending – as will the graphic poster campaign currently being run by the Jersey branch of Crimestoppers.

It is, of course, to be hoped that both the conference and the posters will encourage more people to report violent acts against spouses or children, but it is as well to recognise that there are always likely to obstacles to be overcome in this area. To begin with, the victims of assaults fear that any complaint will merely escalate the violence. In addition, like it or not, stigma still attaches to this sort of victimhood, clear though it might be that all shame should be felt by the assailant.

It is also the case that laws designed to protect minors who might otherwise be identified as a result of court proceedings can also shield the guilty. Victims will be all too aware that the naming and shaming attached to so many other types of criminal activity can go by the board in domestic violence prosecutions.

There is, meanwhile, a complicating factor here in Jersey. Some victims will have no residential qualifications in their own right. The imperative of remaining in acceptable accommodation will, therefore, motivate some to remain silent whereas they might otherwise speak out.

Safe and secure as our community undoubtedly is in comparison with so many in the UK and beyond, figures indicate that domestic assaults are by no means a negligible problem. Last year, for example, 924 cases were reported, which represented an increase of 17 per cent compared with the previous year.

Statistics, however, can be misleading. No one can say with any degree of reliability how the reported cases relate to the absolute number of offences. As a consequence, the rising trend could be indicative of increasing openness about violence in the home rather than of larger numbers of incidents.

But even if there are signs that this crime which thrives on secrecy is becoming less of a taboo than in the past, there is still a great deal to be done to protect the innocent and prosecute the guilty. Offering third-party information to the authorities – perhaps through the anonymous Crimestoppers channel – is not the activity of an interfering busy-body but responsible citizenship.