Domestic Abuse Legislation Falls. Again.

On 12^th September 2019, Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: “Domestic abuse shatters lives & tears families apart. We are fully committed to tackling this horrific crime.”[i] Nearly two months on, the Domestic Abuse Bill is set to be dropped for a second time when Parliament dissolves this week.

Initially, the bill was effectively dropped when Johnson unlawfully prorogued Parliament in September, this prevented a second reading, despite the bill having cross-party support. Pressure from women’s groups and charities led to the Prime Minister reviving the bill, however it will now fall a second time due to the announcement of a general election on 12^th December.

The Domestic Abuse Bill was set to introduce incredibly important reforms increasing the protection for survivors of domestic abuse, including the creation of a statutory presumption that victims are eligible for special measures in criminal courts (e.g. giving evidence via video link) and a ban on in-person cross-examination of domestic abuse victims. A recent report found that almost a quarter of survivors had been cross-examined by the ex-partner who had committed the abuse.[ii]

In the year ending March 2018, an estimated 2 million adults aged 16 to 59 experience domestic abuse in the last year – a statistic that included 1.3 million women.[iii] At a time where survivors need more than help than ever, shockingly since 2010, one in six women’s refuges has closed as funding has been cut by almost £7m.[iv]

The timing of the bill falling leaves an especially sour taste in the mouth. The festive period is right around the corner, a time notorious for spikes in domestic abuse. Last year, Charlotte Kneer, chief executive of Reigate and Banstead Women’s Aid refuge in Surrey, said that Christmas 2018 would be the toughest in the ten years she had been working in the domestic violence sector and described Christmas as “a pressure cooker” for victims of domestic violence.[v]

Last December, I wrote an article detailing the increase of domestic abuse over Christmas, including an increase to 54% of all calls taken by Humberside Police relating to domestic abuse in December 2015 (in comparison to 38% during the rest of that year).

Procedures are being put in place in local areas to help vulnerable victims and put their care to the forefront as it should be. A new sexual assault referral centre (SARC) for both adults and children is set to open in Leeds in the Spring of 2020.[vi] This will incorporate court live-link facilities, a base for specialist support services as required and access to Independent Sexual Violence Advisors – certainly a step in the right direction.

When it comes to the government however, survivors of domestic abuse are being put to the back of the queue, with other matters once again taking priority. It is extremely important that, whoever may be ruling the roost following the festive election, they bring forth measures aiming to increase the protection that survivors of domestic abuse receive.

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Twitter Source

Guardian Source

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Independent Source

Independent Source 2

Yorkshire Evening Post Source