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Queen’s Speech includes draft legislation to transform approach to domestic violence

In the Queen’s Speech, delivered today, the Government has committed to bringing forward legislation “to protect the victims of domestic violence and abuse”.

Briefing notes produced by the Government on the announcements in the Queen’s Speech state that the purpose of the Bill is to “transform our approach to domestic violence and abuse to ensure that victims have the confidence to come forward and report their experiences, safe in the knowledge that the state and justice system will do everything it can to both support them and their children, and pursue their abuser.”

The main benefits of the Bill are said to be:

• To protect victims of domestic violence and abuse.
• To give the justice system greater guidance and clarity about the devastating impact of domestic violence and abuse on families.

The main elements of the Bill will be:

• To establish a Domestic Violence and Abuse Commissioner, to stand up for victims and survivors, raise public awareness, monitor the response of statutory agencies and local authorities and hold the justice system to account in tackling domestic abuse.
• To define domestic abuse in law to underpin all other measures in the Bill.
• To create a consolidated new domestic abuse civil prevention and protection order regime.
• To ensure that if abusive behaviour involves a child, then the court can hand down a a sentence that reflects the devastating life-long impact that abuse can have on the child.

The Bill’s substantive provisions would apply to England and Wales only. The functions of the Domestic Violence and Abuse Commissioner in relation to Wales are to be determined in consultation with the Welsh Government.

The briefing notes that:

• The 2015/16 Crime Survey for England and Wales indicates 7.7% of women and 4.4% of men reported having experienced any type of domestic abuse in the last year. This is the lowest level since the survey began.
• Data from 2015/16 show that 11% of all offences recorded by the police were flagged as domestic abuse related.
• The volume of prosecutions and convictions for domestic abuse are at the highest ever recorded. In 2015/16 prosecutions reached 100,930 and convictions 75,235.
• Around 1 in 5 children have been exposed to domestic abuse. Those who witnessed domestic abuse as a child were more likely to experience domestic abuse as an adult.

Anticipating the announcement, Polly Neate, Chief Executive of Women’s Aid, said:

“An improved response to domestic violence is not all about the criminal justice system, and all parties need to look beyond this.  If the Commissioner is truly independent and has the power to hold all agencies at local level to account, however, this could be a very positive way forward.  One of the most frightening obstacles survivors of domestic violence face is the sheer ignorance of local public services, like councils, the health service and others, and their unwillingness to treat domestic violence as the crisis it really is. At the moment, local services are being decimated and both early intervention and long-term support are virtually non-existent. A new Domestic Violence Bill will also be welcomed if it ensures an end to a situation where women and children too often must flee for their lives while perpetrators walk free and continue attempts at coercive control through the family courts.”

For the text of the Queen’s Speech, click here. For the briefing note, click here. For coverage of the Queen’s Speech by BBC News, click here.

21/6/17