Take part in consultation to help form a new Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill
There is still time to have your say and help inform a Bill which is being prepared by the Home Office.
The consultation is open until May 30th 2018 and it can be completed online https://consult.justice.gov.uk/homeoffice-moj/domestic-abuse-consultation/
Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, said: “I would urge as many people as possible to take part in this consultation. Breaking the cycle of domestic abuse is one of the objectives in my Police and Crime Plan – helping those who suffer in silence and reducing the impact on children and families.”
Our Community Safety and Reducing Reoffending Manager Suzanne Harris recently attended an All Party Parliamentary Group at the Houses of Parliament to find out more….
“It is estimated (by the Crime Survey of England and Wales) that there were at least 1.9million survivors who experienced domestic abuse last year – 1.2million women and 700,000 men. That’s 7.5 per cent of the female population and 4.3 per cent of the male population. Between 2013 and 2016 there were 454 domestic homicides in England and Wales.
“In 2017 the Government announced that it will bring forward a Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill to “define domestic abuse in law”.
“Domestic abuse is not just physical violence. It is also mental abuse – manipulation, isolation, emotional and economic control, threats and humiliation. Domestic abuse is not just between couples. It is between adult and child (be it youth or other adult), and involves carers and siblings. The impact of domestic abuse is believed to cost £15.7billion per year.
“On May 16th MPs launched an All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Perpetrators of Domestic Abuse. Victoria Atkins, Minister for Women and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability, gave the opening speech, underlining the need to stop the cycle of abuse of perpetrators. Ms Atkins acknowledged existing programmes such as Drive, which is currently operating in Essex.
“In February 2017 the Prime Minister announced a new programme of work leading towards a draft Domestic Abuse Bill. The Bill, which is to be drafted during the current session of Parliament, is intended to transform how we think about and tackle domestic abuse. That commitment was affirmed in the Queen’s Speech which committed to bring forward a draft bill that proposes to:
- enshrine a definition of domestic abuse in law
- introduce a new protection order to better protect victims from their abusers
- recognise the harm domestic abuse inflicts on a child
- create a Domestic Abuse Commissioner in law
- demonstrate our commitment to ratifying the Istanbul Convention by extending extraterritorial jurisdiction over Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) related offences
“On March 8th, to coincide with International Women’s Day, a consultation was launched, seeking views from those affected by abuse, survivors, professionals and the public on how, together, we can best put a stop to it once and for all, and to inform the Bill.”
The consultation is open until May 30th 2018. The background document can be found here https://consult.justice.gov.uk/homeoffice-moj/domestic-abuse-consultation/supporting_documents/Transforming%20the%20response%20to%20domestic%20abuse.pdf
And the consultation can be completed here https://consult.justice.gov.uk/homeoffice-moj/domestic-abuse-consultation/
