Queen vows to keep trying to end domestic violence until ‘able to do no more’

The Queen has vowed she will “keep trying” to end domestic violence, until she is “able to no more”, in a new documentary.

Camilla told the film that domestic abuse was a “heinous crime” and she was determined to continue raising awareness of the issue.

The Queen was followed over the course of a year for the ITV1 and ITVX documentary looking at her work in this field, including private meetings with survivors and a visit to a refuge centre.

On ending domestic violence, Camilla told the documentary, Her Majesty The Queen: Behind Closed Doors: “It is going to take a long, long time because it has been going on forever.

“It’s been going since since time began.

“But I think if you look at the steps that we’ve taken since the bad old days, we have made a huge amount of progress, and I shall keep on trying until I am able to no more.”

The 90-minute programme also includes interviews with survivors, relatives who have lost loved ones and those working to end domestic violence, including former prime minister Theresa May, safeguarding minister Jess Phillips and Cherie Blair.

Diana Parkes, whose daughter Joanna Simpson was killed by her estranged husband in 2010, is also among those featured.

Camilla has credited hearing Ms Parkes’ story as the turning point which inspired her work with domestic abuse survivors and told the documentary she admires her “more than I can say”.

Of their first meeting in 2016, the Queen said it was something she would “never ever forget” and that their encounter was “engraved on my heart”.

Ms Parkes co-founded the Joanna Simpson Foundation in memory of her daughter and was made a CBE for services to vulnerable children suffering from domestic abuse and domestic homicide.

The film also features the story of Chief Inspector Sharon Baker of Avon and Somerset Police, a domestic violence survivor who has set up a network to support colleagues also experiencing abuse.

After sharing a video about her experiences, the police officer was shocked to receive responses from more than 130 colleagues who said they had also survived domestic abuse.

Speaking at a screening of the documentary at Buckingham Palace, Ms Baker said: “I had kept quiet for so long, for several reasons – one of them was that when I looked around, nobody was talking about being a victim in policing.

“I didn’t, so no-one looked like me. No-one sounded like me.

“And that made the isolation worse.

“I thought, it must just be me, so it’s my fault, and there’s no one else who’s a victim, so it’s my weakness.

“And I then got a glimmer that there might be more. I thought, well, what if there is more?

“And that actually part of the problem is our culture, that we’re not talking about it.”

Since Ms Baker set up the support network at Avon and Somerset Police, she said more colleagues come forward every week to say they are survivors.

“We’ve done a lot of work internally now, changed our policies,” she said.

“The whole message in our organisation is – you will be believed, you will be supported.

“So it’s changing the culture – it’s OK to talk about being a victim and a survivor now.”

The force has recently set up dedicated refuge accommodation for staff members experiencing domestic abuse, Ms Baker added.

At the same screening, Hetti Barkworth-Nanton, chairwoman of the refuge charity, said the Queen had been “tireless” in her work on this issue

She said: “Domestic abuse is something that, even now, is steeped in shame that is felt overwhelmingly very sadly by victims or survivors.

“Her Majesty vowed in 2016, when I and a number of others had the privilege of meeting her, that she wanted to do something to remove that shroud of shame and be a catalyst for change.”

One in five adults experiences domestic abuse in their lifetime, and it is estimated that around three women die by suicide as a result of domestic abuse every week.

Every 30 seconds, someone calls 999 about domestic abuse, however it is estimated that less than 24% of the crime is reported to police.

:: Her Majesty The Queen: Behind Closed Doors will be shown on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player on November 11.