What You Need You Need to
Know about the Government’s
Proposed Domestic Violence Bill
While the Government’s plans for
Brexit was the focus of most of the
attention following the bills proposed
in the Queen’s Speech, what gained
less publicity were the proposed laws
intended to support and protect victims
of domestic violence and abuse, both
from the perpetrators of this abuse and
within the justice system itself. At a
time when 7.7% of women and 4.4%
of men reported experiencing domestic
violence within the last year, when 11%
of all offences recorded by the police
were flagged as domestic abuse related,
and that around 1 in 5 children have
been exposed to domestic abuse, this
couldn’t be more important. So what are
the Government proposing?
The draft Domestic Violence and Abuse
Bill is intended to introduce legislation to
protect the victims of domestic violence
and in particular:
It will establish a Domestic Violence
and Abuse Commissioner, whose role
will be to stand up for victims and
survivors, raise awareness, monitor the
response of statutory agencies and local
authorities and hold the justice system
to account in tackling domestic abuse.
To provide a single definition of
domestic abuse in law in order to
underpin all other proposed measures
within the Bill.
To create a consolidated new Domestic
Abuse Civil Prevention and Protection
Order regime.
To ensure that if abusive behaviour
involves a child, that the court can
hand down a sentence that reflects the
devastating life long impact abuse can
have on children.
One thing absent from the Bill is the
previously proposed reforms to cross-
examination of victims by their abusers
within the family court. Fortunately,
provision for this can be found in the
Courts Bill which was also announced
as part of the Queen’s Speech,
which provides that such direct cross
examination will come to an end.
Additionally, it includes plans to extend
the use of virtual hearings, i.e. via
live video link, so that victims can
participate in trials without having to
come face to face with their abuser.
Domestic violence charities have
been cautiously optimistic about the
proposals, although as ever the devil will
be in the detail and we will need to wait
to see what the actual legislation looks
like to see how effective it will actually
be. However, these proposals come
in the wake of changes to previously
very restrictive eligibility for legal
aid for victims of domestic violence,
whilst earlier this year, changes were
introduced so that there would no
longer be a presumption of contact
between a child and their parent where
there had been domestic abuse, and so
will hopefully be part of a trend towards
a family justice system which puts the
welfare of the victims of domestic abuse
first and foremost.
If you would like further information or
advice about these issues, we have
family law specialists available who
can provide legal advice and dispute
resolution services, including family
mediation. If you would wish to speak
with one of our Family Law Specialists,
please do contact our friendly team.
By Richard Adams
19