Mrs Mulligan said the BBC\u2019s figures \u201cdo not suggest any significant improvement in outcomes for victims and survivors\u201d in rural areas since her findings in July 2019.<\/p>\n
She told the BBC: \u201cConviction rates are woeful. This is of concern for all victims, but those suffering in rural communities are on average subject to abuse for longer.”<\/p>\n
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) say they can only prosecute domestic abuse cases that are referred to them by the police. <\/p>\n
In the nine months up to December 2023, 5,546 domestic abuse suspects had been referred from the seven forces to the CPS; 60% of those cases resulted in successful convictions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen a case is referred by officers to us for a charging decision, the data shows most will result in a prosecution and conviction,” the spokesman said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe know the overall number of prosecutions is still too low and have been working constructively with police to improve the investigation, prosecution and handling of domestic abuse.”<\/p>\n
Some of those police forces told the BBC that there were now more options available to stop domestic abuse, including civil court orders, Clare’s Law disclosures to tell potential victims about their partner’s violent past and local support services.<\/p>\n
But one abuse survivor told the BBC she feared a lack of police resources and training \u2013 together with the stresses facing farmers today – would see more victims left trapped in often isolated rural communities.<\/p>\n
Mother-of-three Kerry McClay, 49, who lives in a village in the Derbyshire Dales, survived months of mental, emotional and physical abuse by her husband, Kevin Wigley.<\/p>\n
That culminated with him trying to kill her by hitting her in the head with an axe before taking his own life in 2013.<\/p>\n
The couple had run a farm together but problems including bad weather and bovine TB outbreaks pushed her husband to breaking point.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nVictims of domestic abuse in the countryside are often isolated and cannot readily access support services<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n\n
She fears the issues facing farmers today \u2013 from months of bad weather and flooding to high fuel, feed and fertilizer costs \u2013 could see others struggle with their mental health and take it out on their partners and families.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy husband didn\u2019t hit me or verbally abuse me for the majority of our marriage,\u201d she told the BBC. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut because of the stresses that come with farming and the solitude that comes with it, he just had a breakdown and that was the result of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do worry that there is a lot of stress on farmers today and in the farming environment that weighs down on a farmer. They start snapping at their partners and it gets worse with the more stress that’s on them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 2019 report also called on rural police forces to recruit more female police officers to support victims.<\/p>\n
The representation of women in the rural forces has improved: the BBC found that last year female officers, on average, made up around 38% of officers in those areas, up from 32% in 2019.<\/p>\n
Across all forces in England and Wales, the figure is 34.7%.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Rural crime strategy<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n
Mrs McClay said she hoped more women would be recruited by rural police forces, both as first response officers and visible “village bobbies”.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey need more female officers certainly on the first interviews they do with victims. They have to be sensitive,” she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can only go from my own experience that two male police officers came and took me away to interview me and I did feel very, very uncomfortable.”<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Mrs Mulligan called on the National Rural Crime Network (NRCN) to review progress made since the 2019 report, which was based in part on 67 in-depth interviews with people who had experienced domestic abuse.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for the NRCN said it would be commissioning further research to see if recommendations from the report had been implemented by the police.<\/p>\n
He added: “These latest statistics show there is still much to be done in tackling this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
The CPS said it is currently working with the National Police Chiefs\u2019 Council (NPCC) to develop a national Domestic Abuse Joint Justice Plan to improve how such offences are dealt with.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for the NPCC said: \u201cPolicing alone doesn\u2019t hold all the answers and preventing tragedies requires a whole system response, with improvements needed across the public sector.”<\/p>\n
A Home Office spokesman said the new government intended to halve levels of violence against women and girls within a decade and introduce a “cross-government rural crime strategy to tackle crimes blighting rural areas”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n