Ugly domestic row casts political spotlight on the family

The Government’s sticking-plaster solution for domestic abuse.

Our Victorian forefathers used to boast “An Englishman’s home is his castle”. What went on in the home was nobody’s business outside the family. Family life was closely guarded and anything that damaged the image of the family was considered a public disgrace.

That desire to keep family life hidden from the public is still very much evident today but it presents great danger for many women and children. This is highlighted by a Government bill on domestic violence drafted this week. The intention is to increase the penalty for domestic abuse through tougher sentences on offenders. But is tagging offenders and longer prison sentences the right way of dealing with this issue?

Shocking Statistics

The statistics are quite shocking – some 2 million women in England and Wales suffer some form of domestic violence every year, according to the ONS. They say that one in four women will suffer abuse at some point in their lives. So what goes on behind closed doors and shutters is far more serious than is generally recognised.

Most women who suffer abuse do not report to any of the authorities; they keep quiet. It usually takes numerous acts of violence before a woman goes to the police to report her partner. Statistics show that on average two women are killed every week in England and Wales by their partner or ex-partner.

Clearly this is a situation that cannot be ignored and greater protection needs to be offered, not only to victims but to children growing up in family homes where there is constant violence. Untold harm is done to these children that affects their education and their emotional and mental health, and leaves lifelong scars.

The ONS says that one in four women will suffer abuse at some point in their lives – but most do not report it to the authorities.

We Reap What We Sow

How have we reached this point where a quarter of all households shelter a violent abuser? I can remember the strong warnings that Mary Whitehouse used to give when she constantly opposed violent programmes on TV and scenes of extreme violence on film and video. She was vehemently opposed by secular humanists and libertarians who said that there was no harm in watching violent films – it was just harmless entertainment.

But the statistics for violent crime tell a different story. The plain fact is that we reap what we have sown! If the public absorb a regular diet of violence, pornography and various forms of perversion, this will be reflected in the behaviour of a significant proportion of the public – particularly those who do not have happy and stable family home lives.

It’s probably much too late to do anything about curbing the vast quantity of obscene material available on the internet and other sources of entertainment, including violent video games for which many young people have an obsession. But sadly, even the Government’s bill, hailed by both the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister as a ‘ground-breaking’ piece of legislation, will do little to solve the continuing problem of domestic violence.

A Much Bigger Problem

The new law will allow offences committed by British citizens anywhere in the world to be prosecuted in UK courts. Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, said “These measures will help bring us justice to women who experience these abhorrent crimes anywhere in the world and shows perpetrators there is nowhere to hide”. Theresa May said that the new law would “completely transform the way we tackle domestic abuse.”

Of course, we welcome measures to strengthen the law dealing with offenders but we cannot share the optimism of the Home Secretary or the PM. If we are really to see ground-breaking changes in behaviour, we have to change the culture that gives rise to domestic violence and abuse in family life.

If the public absorb a regular diet of violence, pornography and various forms of perversion, this will be reflected in behaviour.

If we are to tackle the problem of domestic abuse, we have to recognise that in a single generation we have grossly devalued marriage and family life in the nation! What we are suffering from today is the deliberate destruction of the biblical values of the sanctity of life – of human beings, both male and female created by God in his own image – and of the covenant of marriage that unites a man and a woman in a lifelong bond of love, providing the ideal environment for the procreation and nurture of children.

These biblical values, part of Britain’s godly heritage, have been deliberately destroyed by powerful secular humanist lobbies whose objectives are to create anarchy, breaking down the mores that have given stability to the nation for centuries. What we are seeing now is only the tip of the iceberg of the lawless chaos of the next generation, when all restraints on the behaviour of individuals are removed.

One Hope for Salvation

The churches in Britain have been complicit in the corruption of society and the destruction of national biblical foundations by allowing liberal values to corrupt and weaken the proclamation of the Gospel.

At Billy Graham’s funeral last week his daughter Anne Graham gave a strong and courageous call to Christians to recover confidence in the Gospel and declare the word of God fearlessly in a corrupt generation. We echo this call for Christians no longer to be bound by political correctness, but to declare the truth that will set people free from the tyranny of moral and spiritual corruption that is driving the nation to national suicide.

Christians need to no longer be bound by political correctness, but declare the truth that will set people free.

What will save Britain? Not a hard Brexit, or a soft Brexit, or remaining under the dominance of the EU! Those who are listening to the Lord today are hearing warnings similar to those God gave to Jeremiah:

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Look! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth” (Jer 25:32)

The only thing that will save the nation from destruction is to hear the word of God and for the light of its truth to shine upon the great issues of state that confront us. We need to hear the word of the Lord proclaimed - in Parliament, in the public square and in the churches!!