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DA work earns superintendent QPM

Woman chatting with her smartphone

Detective Chief Superintendent Steve Rayland, Sussex constabulary’s lead for public protection including domestic abuse, has been awarded the Queen’s Policing Medal (QPM) in the Birthday Honours List During the Covid-19 pandemic he reviewed and restructured the force’s response to incidents of domestic abuse as victims could be confined at home, hampering their ability to report […]

Dozens helped in new police DA project

Danger on the street. Blue flasher on the police car at night.

Domestic abuse car crews in Teesside helped 39 survivors in the first four weeks of being on the road. The cars, staffed by police officers and specialist support workers from local agencies, are used every weekend as second responders to incidents. In 23 deployments, 39 people subjected to domestic abuse were given on-the-spot emotional support […]

Social workers given updated DA guidance

The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) has issued a new guide to help social workers who support domestic abuse victims-survivors and their children. The goal is to provide an overview of the most up-to-date findings around domestic abuse in England, the legislative framework, and evidence-based models which can be readily applied to practice. “In […]

Two banks extend help to DA survivors

Piggy coin bank

NatWest is to give more help to customers with coercive debt while the TSB has joined the national Safe Spaces scheme for domestic abuse victims. The pledge by NatWest follows an internal review which looked into how the bank can better support customers who have been victims of economic abuse and associated debt a key […]

Coercive control should be prioritised in DA cases, says appeal court

Court hammer laying on book.

Family courts should give greater weight to coercive behaviour when considering disputes between parents, court of appeal judges have advised. The advice was part of a judgment by a panel of three senior judges on four linked appeals brought by mothers over child contact, with each case involving allegations of coercive control and partner rape. […]

More legal protection for DA victims in Scotland

Flag of Scotland - also known as St Andrew's Cross or the Saltire, is the national flag of Scotland.

Scottish police and courts can ban suspected domestic abusers from re-entering the home and approaching or contacting a person at risk after the nation’s Parliament passed the Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Bill. The measures are aimed at enabling the victim to have time to consider their longer-term options around safety and housing. The legislation will […]

Lockdowns bring sustained rise in use of Refuge’s helpline

Calls and contacts logged on the National Domestic Abuse Helpline increased 61.0% to a monthly average of 13,162 between last April and February this year. That compares with an average of 8,176 per month between January and March last year before the first of the counter-coronavirus lockdowns was imposed. The statistics pull into “sharp focus […]

Positives emerge from pandemic, says SafeLives’ Jacob

Coronavirus, Corona virus outbreaking

Amid the “trying times” of lockdowns and other measures to combat Covid-19 “one good thing has surfaced: the world has woken up to domestic abuse,” according to Suzanne Jacob, chief executive of SafeLives. “Since March 2020, the government has offered extra funding, the media has repeatedly engaged with the topic, employers started to consider their […]

Amended Domestic Abuse Bill goes back to the Lords

Parliament Houses, London. Scenic view of the building reflected on Thames River

The House of Lords is due to consider a near-final version of the Domestic Abuse Bill on 21 April, one of the last stages before it receives Royal Assent to become law. The resulting debate and votes follow the House of Commons voting on Lords’ amendments to the proposed legislation and making changes of their […]

London’s DA offenders to be tagged

Aerial view of London and the Tower Bridge

A test programme to tag perpetrators of domestic abuse with GPS tracking devices on release from prison has been launched in London by mayor Sadiq Khan. “This pilot gives us the opportunity to use technology to improve the management of the risk posed to past, current and future partners and children,” Katie Nash, the city’s […]