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. “We will do this by improving our understanding of what works to prevent domestic abuse, and using education as a tool to address the harmful attitudes and behaviours.”
She added: “We will be more robust and relentless in our response to domestic abuse perpetrators, whether through electronic tagging, innovative behaviour change programmes, or tougher sentences. We will examine how to deal with the most harmful abusers, including options for a register of domestic abuse offenders.”
In a joint statement, Respect and Woman’s Aid drew attention to the government’s greater recognition in the plan that “domestic abuse is not solely a criminal justice issue but also one that affects many aspects of life including housing, health, family justice, employment and financial stability. We fully welcome this.”
