Domestic abuse campaigner passes away

Tuesday 23 October 2018

Dr Maggie Costen MBE has died, with the charity she chaired paying tribute to her work helping domestic abuse victims.

Safer supports women, men and children affected by domestic abuse, and with 601 reports of domestic abuse to Guernsey Police in 2015, the charity's work is seen as invaluable to the community.

Dr Costen was pivotal to the work Safer did, with the charity saying it is with great sadness that it's been confirmed she passed away on 22 October.

In a statement shared by the charity, Dr Costen was described as a "tremendous force for change leading Safer through a massive expansion with great empathy, compassion and understanding."

The charity's expansion saw more staff taken on to help domestic abuse victims, while more services came under its remit while Dr Costen chaired Safer.

Safer is now responsible for the Independent Domestic Violence Advisory Service, the Guernsey Women’s Refuge and the Child Contact Centre. The charity said all of those services, and others were led by Dr Costen with a determination to help as many people as possible.

"Her leadership has enabled more survivors of domestic abuse to be helped than ever before. Maggie also used her extensive skills and experience to counsel victims moving on from abuse," the charity's statement said. 

"Maggie could see a need and found ways to help stop abuse, to reduce its impact and empower people to make change. She could see the long term effects of domestic abuse on children in her work and rather than assume it was someone else’s responsibility, took action herself, showing that one person can make a big difference to many other people’s lives."

Dr Costen's death has been met with great sadness by her colleagues, those she has helped through Safer and by those people she helped through her previous work within the mental health service.