Government launches attack on domestic violence
Ministers have set out plans to introduce new “stay away” orders so that men accused of domestic violence would face prison for approaching their victim.
The order would be issued by magistrate and crown courts, and could even be applied to men who are acquitted of any wrongdoing. This has been proposed so as to ensure the safety of abused women, and to give them the courage to come forward rather than suffer in silence.
Court orders can already be made in such cases, but the new rules will aim to make them easier to enforce as well as to build greater confidence among victims. The punishment for breaching an order would be up to five years in prison.
This is just one of a raft of new measures to help tackle domestic violence set out by Solicitor General Harriet Harman. She also highlighted plans for a register of offenders and new procedures for investigating domestic murder.
The new Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Bill will focus heavily on empowering victims to act. To encourage them, greater legal protection and the right to media anonymity will be established, and common assault will become an arrestable offence to enable police to use greater powers in such cases.
The government will also use the Bill to tighten procedures in cases of domestic homicides, which account for a quarter of total homicides. Any such case would trigger a multi-agency review to find out what could have been done to prevent the death.
Ms Harman explained: “We need to learn the lessons from every domestic violence homicide. We know that it is rarely the first time he’s attacked her. We need to understand better how to evaluate risk, to know the danger signs.”
A review is already required when the victim of a homicide is a child, and in a further clampdown on violence, plans also include removing the legal defence of provocation for defendants accused of killing their partners.
All couples will be covered by the new rules, be they homosexual, cohabiting but unmarried, or couples that do not live together. This should help reduce concerns that laws dating back to the 1970s do not adequately reflect modern relationships.
However, some groups will be concerned by the proposal that measures such as restraining orders should be applied to those acquitted of domestic violence offences. The Law Society has suggested that the criminal courts could refer such cases to family courts for their consideration.
