Hollie Gazzard Trust thanks the families and professionals who contributed to BBC Radio Four’s File on Four investigation: Domestic Abuse: Beyond the Checklist. We hope Leila Nathoo’s investigation into the way domestic abuse is risk assessed promotes better understanding of how failures in public protection processes lead to lives being lost.
Police completed a DASH form for Hollie that she and her family believed gave an indication of the danger she faced. It was graded ‘medium risk’. 2 days later her ex-partner walked into the hair salon where she was working and killed her.
Nick Gazzard OBE said: “The inaccuracy of the information recorded in this DASH form was just one of a number of serious failings in Hollie’s case. Despite giving police information about what had been happening, Hollie was left vulnerable. We think her murder could have been prevented and we continue to live with the devastation of losing her every single day”.
Hollie Gazzard Trust agrees with National College of Policing and VAWG and Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips; risk assessment forms like the DASH are just one of a number of tools that should be used to keep victims safe.
Hollie’s family set up Hollie Gazzard Trust to make sure what happened to her does not happen to anyone else. That is why, in 2015 we developed the Hollie Guard safety app with our partners Panic Guard. In Hollie’s name, our app is improving opportunities to risk assess domestic abuse and ex-partner stalking cases by empowering anyone being abused to securely gather their own evidence; record a ‘stalking diary’ and log the impact abuse is having on them. Thanks to Hollie Guard, all of this information can be shared securely with agencies, improving safeguarding opportunities and the likelihood of successful prosecutions and protective orders.
Hollie Guard EXTRA which gives users access to a 24/7 police approved monitoring centre is already being provided to victims by some police forces across England and Wales. We know where it is used, it is making victims feel safer, empowering them and improving engagement with the criminal justice system. We want domestic abuse and stalking victims across the country to have access to Hollie Guard EXTRA. We are keen to work further with the government, College of Policing and police forces across UK to improve outcomes for all domestic abuse and stalking victims.
Listen to File on Four here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002hqb7