Protecting Children from Domestic Violence During the Coronavirus Outbreak – Voice of the Child Podcast

26 Thursday Mar 2020

Posted by Natasha in Researching Reform, Voice of the Child Podcast

For our eighth Voice of the Child podcast, we look at how children are affected by domestic violence, and what we can all do as a society to protect them from harm during the UK’s lockdown phase as it battles with the novel Coronavirus.

Rachel Williams, a survivor and campaigner, Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA), and the founder of Stand UP To Domestic Abuse (SUTDA), speaks with the Voice of the child about her family’s own tragic experience of domestic violence, which led one of her sons to take his own life. She also offers important advice on how we can help children being abused during the outbreak.

TRIGGER WARNING: the podcast includes information about Rachel’s experiences, including a detailed account of the serious injuries she suffered, as well as discussions about suicide and abuse.

You can listen to the Voice of the Child here.

Let us know what you think of the podcast in our comments section, Facebook page, or on Twitter using the hash tag #VOTC.

Screenshot 2020-03-26 at 12.23.39

Useful Links

Bright Sky App

Incident Tracker (Please contact the foundation for the app’s name)

Silent Solution System (Texting in distress)

Mother Ordered To Return Children To Father Accused of Domestic Violence

08 Tuesday Oct 2019

Posted by Natasha in Family Law Cases, Researching Reform

≈ 2 Comments

A High Court has ruled that three children taken to live in England by their mother must be returned to Germany where their father resided, after the father applied to the court for their return.

The mother had accused the father of physical and psychological abuse, and said she had taken the three children now 13, 11 and 8, to live in the jurisdiction of England and wales to avoid exposing them to harm. The mother and the children’s residence was unknown to the father until last December when he discovered their whereabouts.

Robert Peel QC, who was sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge in the Family Court, took the view that the allegations were no longer ‘live’, that the mother had been able to coexist with the father for some years after the initial allegations were raised and that her care of the children had not been affected.

While the children all said they did not wish to go back to Germany, the Cafcass officer speaking to the children took the view that their wishes had been coloured in part by the mother’s view of the father and that other matters took priority over their feelings. The Cafcass officer also took the view that the children’s wishes could not be determinative because they were too young.

The court ordered a mandatory return of the children to Germany, and also directed that protective measures needed to be put in place in relation to the practical consequences of their return to Germany.

You can read the judgment on BAILII.

Family Law Cases RR

Children Living With Domestic Violence Is A Public Health Issue

21 Thursday Sep 2017

Posted by Natasha in child abuse, Domestic Violence, Researching Reform

≈ 8 Comments

The government has started to rethink the way it addresses domestic violence within families, with a focus on how it affects children and the way in which perpetrators are dealt with.

Child protection professionals are being urged to put preventative measures in place, so that violent partners cannot go on to new families and engage in a cycle of domestic abuse. The current policies in place which work to separate families from their abuser do not prevent that abuser from moving on to different families and engaging in domestic violence with new family members.

There are several pieces of legislation which have been brought in to address childhood experiences of domestic violence:

Under the Serious Crime Act 2015 (section 76), a new offence of ‘controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate family relationship’ came into force in December 2015. This provision tells us that:

‘Any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are, or have been, intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality. The abuse can encompass, but is not limited to: psychological; physical; sexual; financial; and emotional.’

There is also the Adoption and Children Act 2002 (section 120), which extended the definition of ‘harm’ as defined under the Children Act 1989 to include:

‘..impairment suffered from seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another.’

A joint report published on 19th September, by Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services and HM Inspectorate of Probation in Wales entitled “The multi-agency response to children living with domestic abuse – Prevent, protect and repair”, highlighted a number of failings and calls the widespread prevalence of domestic violence a public health issue.

Amongst the concerns raised by the report, the most significant related to how professionals were going about preventing domestic abuse and finding ways to repair the damage it causes. It found that very little was being done to address these areas, that the amount of research and guidance on tackling these issues was minimal and that more work needed to be done to create and implement effective prevention strategies.

Just as importantly, the report noted that a long term approach to protecting children from domestic violence in the home needed to be established. Current policies which damaged children further were also highlighted. Requiring a child and non violent family member to relocate in order to avoid the perpetrator isolates children from their friends, family and school, and was cited as one such example of further and prolonged damage to children experiencing domestic abuse.

Alarmingly, child protection agencies appear to be routinely ignoring the perpetrator of abuse, placing far too much emphasis on the victim as the solution to the problem. The report does well to highlight the fact that separation can often lead to more violence. We know from research that the first few weeks of separation from a violent partner are often the most high risk – we also know that there is a spike in domestic violence when the non violent partner decides to leave the home.

The report also highlights an ongoing lack of understanding about how domestic violence affects children, which is deeply worrying, with some agencies not even asking about the welfare of children involved, at all.

Information sharing between agencies, one of our big bug bears, continues to be an issue, and low level awareness all round about how abuse affects children prevails, despite the new laws above that have been put into place.

It’s a depressing report.

However, the report is part of a wider picture which is emerging, as government bodies and members of the judiciary try to raise awareness and ensure that children are protected.

Five days before the report was published, The President Of The Family Division Sir James Munby, released a revised Practice Direction which he wrote on 7th September, looking at the impact of domestic violence on children. Practice Direction 12J, which deals with children and partners exposed to domestic violence, was amended to include an expanded definition of domestic abuse, new rules about information contained in court orders, and a call to all judges to familiarise themselves with the Practice Direction amid cries that it just wasn’t being implemented.

This is an extract from a statement Munby published on Family Law last week:

“The new PD12J contains numerous amendments, many of important substance. Here, I highlight only two:

There is (see para 3) a new and much expanded definition of what is now referred to as ‘domestic abuse’, rather than, as before, ‘domestic violence’.
There are mandatory requirements (see paras 8, 14, 15, 18, 22, 29) for inclusion of certain specified matters in the court’s order. I appreciate the additional burden that this may impose on judges and court staff, but there is good reason for making these requirements mandatory and they must be complied with.

There have been recurring complaints in Parliament and elsewhere of inadequate compliance with PD12J. I am unable to assess to what extent, if at all, such complaints are justified. However, I urge all judges to familiarise themselves with the new PD12J and to do everything possible to ensure that it is properly complied with on every occasion and without fail by everyone to whom it applies.”

If these developments tell us anything, it is that we need an excellent digital resource which offers up to the minute information and guidance on every area of child protection, in a quick and easily digestible format. Something else we have been campaigning for, for many years. We very much hope the government will consider this idea more robustly now, as it presents an incredible opportunity not only to protect children properly, but to do so at low cost, ongoing.

child-abuse

NEW: Protection Orders For Victims Of Domestic Violence Extended To Include Their Children (US)

04 Tuesday Jul 2017

Posted by Natasha in Domestic Violence, Researching Reform

≈ 5 Comments

In a groundbreaking move, the Washington Supreme Court in America has ruled that the children of domestic violence survivors can now receive protection orders against anyone who has abused their parents.

The judges’ decision was unanimous, and stemmed from the view that children exposed to domestic violence are deeply affected, even if they are not physically hurt. This is something we campaign on often, and there is a growing body of research which supports this school of thought.

In the judgment Justice Steven Gonzalez notes the effects of exposure to domestic violence on children:

“The harm caused by domestic violence can be physical or psychological … Scholarly research supports the conclusion that exposure to domestic violence is a simpler, more insidious method of inflicting harm…. While exposure to abuse may not leave visible scars, the secondary physical and psychological effects of exposure are well documented.”

The case involved a woman whose partner was facing domestic violence charges in court, including trying to choke her whilst threatening to kill her. They had a two year old son together. She was granted a Protection Order, which is the strongest civil protection order available in the state. The mother tried to extend the Protection Order to include her son, but her several applications were turned down. The Supreme Court then overturned the lower courts’ decision and granted her son a Protection Order.

The position in the UK is a little different. The decision was easily overturned in Washington due to a law which explicitly allows for domestic violence protection orders to protect victims’ loved ones. The UK has no such law.

Whilst some here might argue that the right to contact is a priority when deciding cases of this nature, we would argue quite strongly that the right to protection from harm must be considered before anything else.

What do you think? Should we have this kind of law here, or do you feel it could be abused by parents looking to get back at their partners?

Very many thanks to Charles Pragnell for alerting us to this development.

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Domestic Violence Between Parents DOES Affect Children

28 Friday Feb 2014

Posted by Natasha in Children, Family Law

≈ 11 Comments

We have always been very concerned by court orders which allow contact with a domestically violent parent on the grounds that the violence was between the parents themselves and not the children. However this new research highlights what we’ve said for many years: that domestic violence between parents does affect children and causes them direct harm. Whilst it doesn’t take a genius to work this out, it does, apparently, require research…..

The report goes on to explain that, “As well as witnessing the abuse of a parent, 62% of the children had experienced direct abuse in the form of physical abuse, emotional abuse or neglect. Despite this, just over half (54%) of these children were known to children’s social care services…

In most of the incidents the child abuse was perpetrated by the same person responsible for abusing the adult victim: usually the child’s father or their mother’s male partner.”

The report also notes that a quarter of the children displayed abusive behaviour usually directed at the mother, sibling or friend, rather than the abuse perpetrator. The charity responsible for this research (CAADA) estimates 130,000 children are at high risk of serious harm or death from domestic abuse, while hundreds of thousands more are exposed to abuse at lower risk levels.

The charity’s recommendations for dealing with this enormous problem are as follows:

Create a network of nominated lead professionals on domestic abuse and safeguarding across all agencies who work with families, with a shared understanding of risk assessment.
Provide linked specialist domestic abuse services for adults and children.
Monitor provision and outcomes for children exposed to domestic abuse.

What the charity does not address, is the heightened fear parents have, usually mothers, about coming forward. This may in part account for the huge discrepancy in numbers of children known to social services. The fear of social services taking these children away from these mothers, despite many of them being able to protect their children from harm (and come forward precisely because they have the courage and state of mind to do so) is often what keeps these cases hidden from support services.

Until social workers implement the recommendations above, improve their training levels and learn to work with and not against the alerting parent, we can expect to see many more cases go under the radar.

(For an interesting read from over the pond, do check out this article from the Stop Abuse Campaign.)

UN tells UK government to reduce the number of children in care – Report

02 Friday Jun 2023

Posted by Natasha in Researching Reform

≈ 3 Comments

The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has today published a scathing report about the UK government’s child rights record, which makes for embarrassing reading. Along with concerns about Britain’s child protection sector, including the disproportionate number of children in state care, the UN also urged England to ban all forms of corporal punishment.

The periodic reports are designed to track the UK’s progress in implementing child-welfare focused recommendations, policy and legislation. The UK has ratified several pieces of legislation which focus on children’s rights, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The report covers all forms of violence against children.

While the committee welcomed some improvements, including the prohibition of marriage under 18 years of age in England and Wales, the lowering of the voting age to 16 years in Wales and the prohibition of corporal punishment in Scotland and Jersey, its 23 page report was devoted almost entirely to serious concerns about the ways in which the UK is failing to protect children and uphold their rights.

Before we get into the concerns the UN raised about children’s social care in England and Wales, it’s worth setting out some of the key recommendations in the committee’s report. These included:

Developing mandatory child-rights impact assessment procedures for legislation and policies relevant to children in England, Northern Ireland and Wales;
Ensuring government action plans include a special focus on children in disadvantaged situations, including asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant children, children belonging to minority groups, children with disabilities, children in care, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex children, socioeconomically disadvantaged children and so-called “young carers” or children with caregiver responsibilities;
Introducing budgetary allocations for children in disadvantaged situations and ensuring that children are not affected by austerity measures;
Improving data collection as it relates to children in all settings, including care;
Giving national human rights institutions and/or Children’s Commissioners, appropriate powers to monitor children’s rights and to receive, investigate and address complaints by children in a child-friendly manner;
Adopting a national strategy for awareness-raising of children’s rights among the public, and promote the active involvement of children in public outreach activities;
Providing confidential, child-friendly and independent complaints mechanisms in schools, alternative care settings, foster care systems, mental health settings and detention for reporting all forms of violence, abuse, discrimination and other violations of their rights, and raise awareness among children of their right to file a complaint under existing mechanisms;
Expanding the types of support provided under the legal aid budget;
Ensuring children have access to officials working with children in the justice system who have been adequately trained on children’s rights and child-friendly proceedings.

There’s a huge amount of bold type in this report, which has been done to show the government that the concerns are not only serious but also need to be addressed immediately.

The concerns themselves cover racism, homelessness, poverty, restricting a child’s right to demonstrate, maltreatment of disabled children, the use of restraints on children, the use of stop and search on children, restrictions on gender identity, restrictive voting age laws, the asylum process, maltreatment, child mortality rates, child deaths, child protection, lack of support for care leavers, and much, much more.

Children’s social care, which the UN calls “alternative care” has its own section in the report, which is entitled, “Family environment and alternative care.”

The committee said it was “deeply concerned” about “the large number of children in alternative care, including in unregulated accommodations such as hotels, and unnecessary or frequent transfers of alternative care or changes in social workers assigned to children; the placement of children, including children in situations of vulnerability, in secure care and residential care homes, sometimes amounting to deprivation of liberty and insufficient support services for children living in and leaving alternative care.”

The UN goes on to urge the UK government to reduce the number of children in care without delay, to provide community-based care options for children who cannot stay with their families, and to “facilitate the reintegration of children into their families and communities whenever possible.”

In relation to children’s social care, the committee said it “remained seriously concerned about, the high prevalence of domestic abuse, sexual exploitation, gender-based violence and other forms of violence against children, including in alternative care, and insufficient measures to investigate such cases and bring perpetrators to justice,” and “Inadequate resources allocated to related services for child victims.”

The committee goes on to make several, urgent recommendations, including:

Ensuring that child protection systems take a child rights-based approach in preventing and addressing cases of abuse and neglect, including psychological violence; that social services and other mechanisms for identifying and supporting children at risk of violence as well as child victims of violence are adequately resourced; and that child victims are fully recognized as victims and have access to community based, trauma care and child-sensitive support services;
Developing measures aimed at preventing violence against children in alternative care, children with disabilities, asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant children and children belonging to minority groups;
Ensuring that the principle of the best interests of the child is consistently applied in all policies, programmes and legislative, administrative and judicial proceedings affecting children, including in relation to placement in alternative care;
Conducting an independent inquiry into the unexpected deaths of children in alternative care, custody, mental health care and the military, and ensure the regular collection and publication of disaggregated data on child deaths in all institutional settings;
Ensuring the right of all children, including younger children, children with disabilities and children in care, to express their views and to have them taken into account in all decisions affecting them, including in courts and relevant judicial proceedings and regarding domestic violence, custody, placement in alternative care, health, including mental health treatment, education, justice, migration and asylum;
Ensuring that all relevant professionals working with and for children systematically receive appropriate training on the right of the child to be heard and to have his or her opinions taken into account;
Investigating all cases of abuse and maltreatment of children in alternative care and health settings, particularly among children with disabilities, adequately sanction perpetrators and provide reparation to victims;
Ensuring that children are heard in decisions affecting them in alternative care placement throughout their stay;
Strengthening measures, including through increased funding, aimed at providing education, skills, housing and opportunities for independent living for children leaving alternative care and;
The provision of advocacy services for all children in care as an “opt-out”, rather than an “opt-in”, service.

It’s a dense report, with a lot of troubling observations, but worth a read if you have the time and the patience.

The report can be accessed here.

New family court guidance allows advisers from domestic violence support services to attend hearings

11 Tuesday Apr 2023

Posted by Natasha in Researching Reform

≈ 3 Comments

A new document published by the head of the family courts in England and Wales sets out litigants’ right to receive support from Independent Domestic Violence Advisers (IDVA) and Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVA) before, during and after a hearing.

The guidance is set out in full below:

This guidance applies to family proceedings in the Court of Appeal (Civil
Division), the High Court of Justice and the Family Court. It is issued as
guidance (not as a practice direction) by the President of the Family Division,
as Head of Family Justice. It is issued in light of the coming into force on 6
April 2023 of new rules and a practice direction relating to the attendance at
any court hearing of independent domestic violence advisers/independent
sexual violence advisers as support to litigants at all levels of the Family
Court.

An independent domestic violence adviser (IDVA) or independent sexual
violence adviser (ISVA) is an independent adviser, however described, who
works with people (whether adults or children) who have experienced or are
said to have experienced domestic abuse (in the case of an IDVA) or rape
and/or sexual assault (in the case of an ISVA) by providing them with
support, advice and help.
The Right to Reasonable Assistance
A litigant may have support, advice and help from an IDVA or ISVA but an
IDVA or ISVA is not a legal representative or McKenzie Friend. An IDVA or
ISVA has no right to act as an advocate or to carry out the conduct of
litigation.
What IDVAs or ISVAs may do
An IDVA or ISVA may: i) provide practical, emotional or moral support for a
litigant; ii) provide assistance and support to engage with the court process
as well as with out of court discussions; and iii) help in dealing with
authorities or other support services.
What IDVAs or ISVAs may not do
IDVAs or ISVAs may not: i) act as the litigant’s agent in relation to the
proceedings; ii) manage a litigant’s case outside court, for example by signing court documents; iii) address the court, make oral submissions or examine witnesses.
An IDVA or ISVA does not have a right of audience or a right to conduct
litigation. It is a criminal offence to exercise a right of audience or to conduct
litigation unless properly qualified and authorised to do so by an appropriate
regulatory body or, in the case of an otherwise unqualified or unauthorised
individual (i.e., a lay individual including a McKenzie Friend), the court
grants such a right on a case-by-case basis.
Support from an IDVA or ISVA at Court
Any party to family proceedings who is receiving support from an IDVA or
ISVA has the right to receive that support at any hearing, subject to the court’s power to direct otherwise. The court retains the power to refuse to permit attendance at a hearing and may do so where it is satisfied that it is not in the interests of justice for the IDVA or ISVA to be present or continue to be present at a hearing.
For the avoidance of doubt, any party to family proceedings who is receiving
support from an IDVA or ISVA has the right to receive support from the IDVA
or ISVA at court, both before or after a hearing.
A litigant who wishes to receive support from an IDVA or ISVA should inform
the judge as soon as possible indicating who the IDVA or ISVA will be. The
proposed IDVA or ISVA must provide their name and details of the
organisation for which they work, together with an assurance that they
understand the confidential nature of the proceedings. If the court considers that there might be grounds for circumscribing the right to receive support from an IDVA or ISVA at a hearing or a party objects to the presence of an IDVA or ISVA at a hearing, it is not for the person receiving IDVA or ISVA support to justify the exercise of their right to receive such
support. It is for the court or the objecting party to provide sufficient reasons why the litigant should not receive such support during a hearing.
When considering whether to refuse an IDVA or ISVA permission to be
present at a hearing, the right to a fair trial is engaged. The matter should be
considered carefully by the court. The person opposed to the presence of the
IDVA or ISVA should explain clearly what their objections are. The person
receiving IDVA or ISVA support should be given a reasonable opportunity to
explain why the IDVA or ISVA should continue to be present. The proposed
IDVA or ISVA should not be excluded from the hearing at which permission
to attend is determined.
The court may refuse to allow a litigant to exercise the right to receive support from an IDVA or ISVA at the start of a hearing if the court is satisfied that it is not in the interests of justice for the IDVA or ISVA to be present, or continue to be present, at the hearing.
A decision by the court not to curtail support at a hearing from an IDVA or
ISVA should be adhered to, unless there is subsequent misconduct during a
hearing by the IDVA or ISVA.
If the court does restrict a litigant’s right to an IDVA or ISVA during a hearing, it should give a short judgment setting out the reasons why it has curtailed the right to support during a hearing. A litigant may seek permission to appeal such a decision. IDVAs or ISVAs have no standing to do so.
The following factors should not be taken to justify the court refusing to
permit a litigant receiving such support during a hearing:
a. The case or application is simple or straightforward (for example, it is
simply listed as a directions or case management hearing);
b. The litigant appears capable of conducting the case without support;
c. The litigant is unrepresented through choice;
d. The other party is not represented;
e. The proposed IDVA or ISVA belongs to an organisation that promotes a
particular cause;
f. The proceedings are confidential and the court papers contain sensitive
information relating to a family’s affairs.
A litigant may be denied the support of an IDVA or ISVA during a hearing
because that support might undermine, or has undermined, the interests of
justice. Examples of circumstances where this might arise include, but are not limited to: i) the support in the court room is being provided for an improper purpose; ii) the support in the court room is unreasonable in nature or degree; iv) the IDVA or ISVA is directly or indirectly conducting the litigation; or v) the court is not satisfied that the IDVA or ISVA fully understands the duty of confidentiality.
A litigant is permitted to communicate any information, including filed
evidence, relating to the proceedings to an IDVA or ISVA for the purpose of
obtaining support or assistance in relation to the proceedings.
The High Court can, under its inherent jurisdiction, impose a civil restraint
order on an IDVA or ISVA who repeatedly acts in a way that undermines the
efficient administration of justice.

The guidance can be accessed here.

If you would like to find an IDVA or an ISVA, Google “Find an [IDVA]/[ISVA] in [NAME OF YOUR COUNCIL]”

Additional links:

Government announces new domestic violence protection notices and support pilots

22 Wednesday Feb 2023

Posted by Natasha in Researching Reform

≈ 14 Comments

The government has announced a raft of measures which it says will better protect victims of domestic abuse (intimate partner violence).

The announcement was made on 20th February, and as we are a little pressed for time this week, we’re adding the press release in full below. We are concerned that it only mentions protection for “women and girls”, when we know boys can also be affected, as can men.

Domestic abusers will face tags and tougher management under new measures to protect women and girls.

The new proposals go further than ever before in protecting women and girls from harassment, aggression and violence, and focus on stopping domestic abuse before it takes place.

The law will be changed so that the most dangerous domestic abusers will be watched more closely. For the first time, controlling or coercive behaviour will be put on a par with physical violence, which will mean offenders sentenced to a year or more imprisonment or a suspended sentence will automatically be actively managed by the police, prison and probation services under multi-agency public protection arrangements. A range of agencies will have a legal duty to cooperate to manage the risks posed by these dangerous offenders. This will make it easier to deliver a joined-up approach to protect the public.

While we are pursuing this legislation, police and the probation service will start work immediately to ensure that from now offenders sentenced to a year or more for controlling and coercive behaviour are recorded on the violent and sex offender register, so that they don’t fall through the cracks.

In addition, abusers could be fitted with a tag, prevented from going within a certain distance of a victim’s home, and made to attend a behaviour change programme, as part of a trial of domestic abuse protection notices and domestic abuse protection orders in three areas in the UK.

Also from today (20 February), those at risk of, or suffering from, domestic abuse will be able to receive emergency help from one of 18 jobcentres and jobs and benefit offices across the UK, and a new postcode checker will tell them their nearest location to access the service.

The Ask for ANI (Action Needed Immediately) scheme is already in operation in over 5,000 pharmacies across the UK in over 88 cities, towns and villages. It is delivered in partnership with Hestia’s Safe Spaces. Anyone who is suffering from or fearful of domestic abuse can ask for ANI, and they will be guided to a safe and private space and offered support to call the police or specialist domestic abuse services.

Since the scheme launched in 2021, the emergency support has been accessed on average once a week.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:

No woman or girl should ever have to feel unsafe in her home or community and I am determined to stamp out these appalling crimes.

The Ask for Ani scheme provides a lifeline for anyone suffering from domestic abuse and we will continue to expand the scheme so that more people can access it, including piloting this service in the first jobcentres.

As well as extra support for victims, we’re making it a priority for the police to tackle violence against women and girls and toughening up the way offenders are managed – preventing more of these crimes from happening in the first place, and bringing more perpetrators to justice.

Government will also require police forces to treat violence against women and girls as a national threat, as set out in a new strategic policing requirement published today. This means tackling these crimes will be as important as tackling threats like terrorism, serious and organised crime and child sexual abuse.

On top of this, the National Police Chiefs’ Council is writing to every force in England and Wales to reiterate the expectation that forces must proactively identify the most dangerous domestic abusers in their area to prevent them from committing further crimes. To support this, the Home Office will help develop a new risk assessment tool so that police forces can quickly identify domestic abusers most likely to commit the greatest harm – even where they have no conviction – and stop them in their tracks.

Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, said:

Domestic abuse is a despicable crime that leads to people’s closest relationships becoming a frightening existence of torment, pain, fear, and anxiety.

It is completely unacceptable and as Home Secretary I will do everything in my power to stop it.

The wide-ranging measures announced today will mean the most dangerous offenders will be watched more closely and added to the violent and sex offender register.

Also, police forces in England and Wales will now have to treat violence against women and girls as a national threat and more victims will be protected from harm.

The full set of measures being set out today include:

Tougher management of the most dangerous offenders: The government will change the law to ensure that offenders with a conviction of controlling or coercive behaviour who are sentenced to 12 months or more imprisonment or a suspended sentence are automatically eligible to be managed by the police, prison and probation services under multi-agency public protection arrangements. This means agencies will have a legal duty to cooperate to manage the risks posed by these dangerous domestic abuse offenders. These offenders will also be added to the violent and sex offender register going forward.
Piloting new civil orders: The Home Office and Ministry of Justice will pilot the new domestic abuse protection notices and orders in Gwent, Greater Manchester, and three London boroughs (Croydon, Bromley and Sutton), with the Metropolitan Police, British Transport Police, and other criminal justice partners. The new cross-jurisdictional order will provide flexible, longer-term protection for victims. The court will be able to impose requirements such as attendance on perpetrator behaviour change programmes, alongside electronic monitoring and making it mandatory for offenders to notify the police of name and address changes. Breach of any requirement will be a criminal offence.
Ask for ANI codeword scheme pilot: Building on the success of the scheme in pharmacies across the UK, domestic abuse victims will be able to ‘Ask for ANI’ in 18 jobcentre and jobs and benefit offices through a pilot launching today across the UK, and receive support from a trained staff member who will guide them to a safe and private space, where they can help a victim call the police or support services. A new postcode checker has also been launched today to enable anyone to find their nearest participating pharmacy, jobcentre or jobs and benefits office.
Adding violence against women and girls to the strategic policing requirement: The Home Secretary has published the new strategic policing requirement, which for the first time categorises violence against women and girls as a national threat and sets clear expectations about how this threat should be tackled by police forces.
Identifying dangerous perpetrators before conviction: The government will develop a new digital tool which will use police data to identify individuals who are high risk and likely to commit domestic abuse offences. The tool will also include perpetrators without conviction – in the year ending March 2022 there were 910,980 domestic abuse-related crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales, compared to 40,647 convictions.
Strengthening Clare’s Law: We have published new guidance which reduces the timeframes for police to disclose information about an individual’s violent or abusive behaviour, through the scheme known as Clare’s Law, meaning it will be quicker to access information on a partner’s or ex-partner’s previous abusive or violent offending. The guidance will be placed on a statutory footing next month (March 2023).
Funding specialist victim support programmes: Up to £8.4 million will be allocated over two years to fund projects run by specialist organisations to provide tailored, trauma-informed support from 1 April 2023.
Investing in perpetrator interventions: police and crime commissioners (PCCs) will be granted up to £36 million over the next two years for tackling perpetrators through interventions which directly address abusers’ behaviour, bringing total funding for these projects to more than £70 million since 2020.

In April 2021, the landmark Domestic Abuse Act updated the definition of domestic abuse, recognising it refers to a range of abusive behaviour – physical, sexual, violent or threatening, psychological, emotional and coercive or controlling acts are now recognised as criminal abuse.

For the first time, the Act recognised children as victims, and economic abuse as a form of domestic abuse. It established a statutory duty on local authorities relating to the provision of support to victims and survivors and their children within safe accommodation which was supported by £125 million worth of funding, and created new offences of non-fatal strangulation and threats to disclose intimate images.

Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) remains one of the government’s top priorities and we are doing everything possible to make our streets safer for women and girls. Through our tackling VAWG strategy, we are prioritising prevention, supporting survivors, and strengthening the pursuit of perpetrators.

This includes measures in the Online Safety Bill to strengthen the law around the sending and sharing of intimate images without consent, and committing to introduce a package of new offences when Parliamentary time allows that tackle the taking and sharing of these vile images – which will include downblousing.

The government is also supporting the Protection from Sex Based Harassment in Public Bill, which introduces harsher sentences if someone who deliberately harasses, alarms, or distresses someone in a public place does so because of the victim’s sex, with the maximum sentence increasing from six months to two years.

Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Dominic Raab said:

Domestic abuse is an abhorrent crime which can make people’s lives a living hell and we will do whatever we can to bring these offenders to justice.

This new plan will crack down on those carrying out this abuse with tougher monitoring of offenders, including electronic tagging, while investing millions more in specialist support services for the most vulnerable.

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Mel Stride said:

As safe spaces with strong links to the wider community, DWP jobcentres are uniquely placed to help vulnerable people access help on a local or national level.

Ask for ANI provides victims with a discreet route to get urgent help and is an important part of the extensive support offer already in place nationally across our network.

National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Domestic Abuse, Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe, said:

Policing is committed to protecting victims of domestic abuse and bringing perpetrators to justice. We welcome the raft of measures aimed at tackling domestic abuse in many forms.

Adding violence against women and girls to the strategic policing requirement, puts it on the same level of priority at terrorism and child abuse, where we believe it belongs. All forces are already prioritising VAWG and we welcome this prioritisation from the government.

Domestic abuse is a complex and entrenched societal problem and requires a multi-agency approach. Providing support for victims and their families and to introduce effective and sustainable solutions for perpetrators is vital.

We will work together with the Home Office to ensure the measures announced today can aid policing and the criminal justice system in their fight to tackle domestic abuse.

Caroline Bernard, Head of Influence at Respect, said:

Respect welcomes these additional measures to respond to perpetrators of violence against women and girls, including domestic abuse. They echo our calls to address the root cause, as well as the consequences of violence and abuse.

In particular, we are pleased to see that violence against women and girls will be added to the strategic policing requirement. Implemented effectively and resourced appropriately, this could have a major impact on the policing response to perpetrators of VAWG.

We look forward to working with government to ensure that these additional measures are delivered successfully alongside the tackling domestic abuse plan, so that survivors of domestic abuse can be safe and free from harm.

Today’s announcements sit alongside wider work the government is doing to tackle domestic abuse. Since the publication of the tackling domestic abuse plan the government has:

doubled funding for the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, which sees on average 15,000 users every three months, and an uplift for all other national tackling VAWG helplines, to a combined total of over £2 million a year

launched a new communications campaign, ‘Enough’ to change societal attitudes towards domestic abuse and violence against women and girls, taking long term actions to prevent violence and encourage bystander intervention. The campaign includes online information at enough.campaign.gov.uk, television adverts, billboard signs, social media posts and radio advertisements highlighting the different actions we can all take to challenge perpetrators of abuse

committed over £79 million since 2020 for domestic abuse perpetrator interventions and research which includes up to £36 million over the next two years for interventions which is the first time we are providing multi-year funding to tackle perpetrators
introduced new measures in our Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, which will give victims of domestic abuse longer to report offences to the police so that abusers cannot evade justice

as part of quadrupling funding for victim and witness support services by 2024/25, up from £41m in 2009/10, we have also committed increase the number of independent sexual and domestic abuse advisors by 300 to over 1,000 – a 43% increase over the next three years
Ask for ANI

A postcode checker is available at gov.uk/ask-for-ani where victims can check their nearest Ask for ANI location, including pharmacies, jobcentres and jobs and benefits offices.

Training materials and further information for pharmacies on Ask for ANI is available.

Information on the support available to victims of domestic abuse and other VAWG harms is available.

Ask for ANI is delivered in partnership with Hestia’s Safe Spaces, a safe and confidential room where victims can take some time to reflect, access information on specialist support services or call friends or family. Safe Spaces are available anywhere Ask for ANI is offered.
The Ask for ANI scheme is being rolled out in the following jobcentres and jobs and benefit offices:

Ellesmere Port
Warrington
Crewe
Blackburn
Preston
Carlisle
Birkenhead
St Helens
Merthyr Tydfil
Barry
Newport Charles Street
Arbroath
Peterhead
Dunfermline
Armagh
Andersonstown
Larne
Lisnagelvin

DWP domestic abuse support already in offer across jobcentres:

DWP supports victims of domestic abuse to claim benefits through a range of measures. These include giving split payments when requested, relaxing benefit conditions, making referrals to local support, arranging special provisions for temporary accommodation, and signposting to expert third-party support;

Since 2017, DWP have delivered mandatory training to staff on how to identify domestic abuse, offer support to those experiencing abuse and check that the abuse has been reported to the courts, police or social services; and

All customers are asked if they have experienced or witnessed domestic abuse, or if they feel their claim will put them in danger. Staff will then signpost them to immediate help including Victim Support and the Forced Marriage Unit. If they are in immediate danger, jobcentre staff will phone the police.

Channel 5: Disabled mothers who lost their children to care speak out about discrimination inside Britain’s family courts

25 Wednesday Jan 2023

Posted by Natasha in Researching Reform

≈ 9 Comments

Channel 5 News is airing a documentary at 5pm this afternoon about the discrimination faced by disabled mothers in Britain’s family courts which can lead to the removal of their children. The documentary consulted with Legal Action for Women (LAW) and the Disabled Mothers’ Rights Campaign.

The following is a press release issued by the two organisations:

We worked with Channel 5 News on its news feature today which found that parents with a learning disability are 54 times more likely to have their children taken into care. This confirms our experience of the discrimination and hostility faced by disabled mothers, and other single, working class and mothers of colour who face an uphill battle to stop social workers and the family courts taking our children from us.

Ch5 spoke to a mother and daughter, now reunited after forced adoption, who are part of the Disabled Mothers’ Rights Campaign – the full interview will be on our blog after 6pm. Jean said, “Time was stolen from us where we’re being punished for something that was not my fault. And we now have a lot of work to try to do, to try and get to that normal parent child relationship.”

Tye told 5 News, “That was a good 18 years. That’s my whole existence. I can’t get that back. But I could have had her growing up. I could have had someone that fought for me relentlessly, and I didn’t get that, and I should have. It’s infuriating.”

Tracey Norton, coordinator for the Disabled Mothers’ Rights Campaign, run by campaign group WinVisible told 5News: “A Social worker is automatically looking for safeguarding, and disability is seen as a safeguarding issue when it shouldn’t be.

“Our message is that we want money for mothers, particularly disabled mothers, so that we can care for their children in the community, so that we can get the right resources that they need, and the children don’t need to be taken into care. And it causes trauma that’s never ending. It will never, ever go away for either the child or the mother. It’s lifelong. “

Anne Neale from Support Not Separation adds:

“Our experience is that mothers are targeted for child removal by sexism, racism, disability discrimination and pervasive class bias in the “child protection” system and in family courts: Of 248 mothers with 446 children we worked with over the past two years, 94% were single mothers, mostly on low incomes; 40% were women of colour and/or immigrant; 42% had mental health issues and 17% had a physical disability, which was used against them. 83% had suffered domestic violence; nearly all were fighting over contact with their children and over half the mothers had had their children removed.”

There are now over 82,170 children in state “care” and millions are being poured into private companies which dominate a fostering and adoption industry. Some multinationals charge Councils up to £1m a year to keep a child in “care”. Given these figures the problem cannot be reduced to cuts: the problem is that mothers and children are impoverished and discriminated against, refused the support we are entitled to. It’s easier to take our kids than to challenge the child welfare industry.

We are calling for a complete overhaul of Children’s Social Care to prioritise support to mothers and other primary carers to keep children and families together and demanding a Care Income for mothers (and other carers) who do the work of caring for and raising children.

For information & interviews: 0207 482 2496/07925195758

Many thanks to LAW for sharing this press release with us.

UN Human Rights Office call for submissions: Contact cases, parental alienation, and violence against children and women

09 Wednesday Nov 2022

Posted by Natasha in Researching Reform

≈ 24 Comments

In a welcome but very surprising development — and what may be a world first — the United Nations has decided to carry out research on the connection between child contact cases, parental alienation and domestic violence around the world.

The Office is inviting submissions from: civil society actors such as campaigners, bloggers and others with an interest in these issues; international organisations; academics; governments; and national human rights institutions. We have written to the Office to ask whether they are open to receiving submissions from children and families in the UK with lived experience of these issues.

The announcement on the Office’s website has a very good, but very long explanation of why it is carrying out this research, the background to these issues, and what kind of information they need.

In the announcement, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem, says she wants to produce a “report on the nexus between custody and guardianship cases, violence against women and violence against children, with a focus on the abuse of the concept of “parental alienation” and related or similar concepts.”

The press release says:

“Despite a strong indication that the parental alienation concept has become a tool for denial of domestic and child abuse, leading to further discrimination and harm to women and children, data on the treatment of the history of intimate partner violence and other forms of domestic violence and abuse when family courts assess custody cases continues to be limited. Data is also limited regarding the degree to which family courts use a gender analysis in their decisions.”

The statement offers nine items the UN is hoping to gather information about:

The different manifestations or specific types of domestic and intimate partner violence experienced by women and children, including the use of “parental alienation” and related concepts in child custody and access cases. Please also include a description of the different forms of violence that may be experienced by the mother and child as well as fundamental human rights violations, where relevant.
The factors behind the increased number of allegations of parental alienation cases in custody battles and/or disputes involving allegations of domestic violence and abuse against women, and its differentiated impact on specific groups of women and children.
The way in which different groups of women and children experience this phenomenon differently based on any intersecting elements such as age, sex, gender, race, ethnicity, legal residence, religious or political belief or other considerations and the factors that contribute to these situations.
The role that professionals play, including welfare workers, child protection services, guardian ad-litem, psychologists, psychiatrists, and how they are regulated in any way as expert witnesses.
The consequences of the disregard for the history of domestic violence and abuse and intimate partner violence or the penalising of such allegations in custody cases on the human rights of both the mother and the child, and the interrelationship between these rights.
The challenges in collecting disaggregated data on courts’ practices concerning custody cases, the areas/sectors for which data is particularly lacking and the reasons for such challenges.
The good practices, strategies adopted by different organs of the State or other non-State actors, at local, national, regional, or international level to improve the due consideration of domestic and family violence, including intimate partner violence against women and abuse of children in determining child custody, as well as in providing remedies and redress for victims/survivors.
Recommendations for preventing the inadequate consideration of a history of domestic violence and abuse and gender stereotyping in custody cases to restore the human rights of mothers and their children, as well as ensure that survivors/victims are effectively protected and assisted.
Any other issue of relevance that are vital for consideration but that may not have been mentioned in this call for inputs.

The UN has asked that submissions are no more than 2,000 words and are sent in Word or PDF files. The Office is accepting feedback in Arabic, English, French and Spanish.

Submissions are required to be sent via email to hrc-sr-vaw@un.org and with the subject heading: Input for SR VAWG’s report on violence against women and children in custody cases

The deadline for submissions is 15 December, 2022.

We will post an update as soon as we hear back from the UN about child and family submissions.

You can access the press release here.