- Private family agreements cannot override safeguarding duties
- Threats of gagging do not nullify the right to report abuse
- Obstructing evidence or intimidating witnesses can itself be a criminal offence
- Failure to act, once aware of serious risk, can carry legal consequences
Silencing abuse is not protection.
It is risk transfer — from the family to the victim.
Key truth
Domestic violence that is hidden does not disappear.
It accumulates — until the only remaining evidence is a death.
