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Government launches plan to combat DA

Palace of Westminster

The Westminster government has issued its Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan, which details how it will invest more than £230m to deliver many of the provisions in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. “This plan will place greater focus than ever before on preventing abuse,” home secretary Priti Patel wrote in a foreword to the 101-page document. […]

Family courts pilot scheme to better support DA victims

Wooden gavel

Family courts in North Wales and Dorset are testing a pioneering approach to improve how they help domestic abuse victims. Judges will be able to review information and request more documentation before a case reaches court, while all agencies involved will exchange information on a case. That may include domestic abuse professionals sharing risk assessments […]

Report calls for online DA courts in Scotland

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

Specialist courts should be set up online to deal with domestic abuse cases, Scotland’s Virtual Trials National Project Board has recommended. Such hearings could increase protection and reduce trauma for complaints and make it easier for witnesses to give evidence, the board argues. Following a pilot scheme in Inverness and Aberdeen from which board members […]

Government increases support for DA victims

Westminster will give a further £125m to English councils from April to ensure refuges, shelters and other safe accommodation spaces can offer support services to domestic abuse survivors. The funding will cover healthcare, interpreters, immigration advice, drug or alcohol support, access to social workers and benefits, and other specialist services as required. The department for […]

Rise in DA in Scotland after legislation

Flag of Scotland - Scottish Independence

Scottish police recorded 62,907 incidents of domestic abuse in the 12 months to March 2020, That represents a 4% year-on-year increase in the first year of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act being in force. To coincide with its implementation on 1 April 2019, the government ran a campaign to raise public understanding of domestic abuse […]

Domestic Abuse Bill becomes law

Big Ben Clock Tower and House of Parliament in the night, London, UK

Victims and survivors will have a greater level of protection, support and rights with the Domestic Abuse Act receiving Royal Assent on 29 April. Among the provisions are: placing a duty on local authorities in England to provide support to victims and their children in refuges and other safe accommodation; ensuring all eligible homeless victims […]

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 […]

Government pledges more cash to tackle DA

Big Ben Clock Tower and House of Parliament in the night, London, UK

Chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak allocated £19m for domestic abuse services in England and Wales as part of his March budget. Most, £15m, will be spent in the coming financial year to increase funding for perpetrator programmes to reduce the risk of abuse continuing. The other £4m will be spread over two years to […]

Non-fatal strangulation ‘to become criminal offence’

Police car on the street

Justice secretary Robert Buckland is reported to be planning to add non-fatal strangulation as a new offence to a Police and Sentencing Bill. The development comes after Baroness Newlove, the former victims’ commissioner, proposed an amendment to the Domestic Abuse Bill, during its passage through the House of Lords, to make non-fatal strangulation a criminal […]

International: Chinese city launches version of Clare’s Law

The eastern China city of Yiwu has set up a system enabling people to check before marriage if their intended spouse has a known history of domestic abuse. Believed to be the first service of its kind in China, a database contains information about individuals from across the country who have been convicted, issued with […]