Making the Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill work for the Violence - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Making the Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill work for the Violence Against Women and Girls sector

What’s in the Bill: what we know so far • A new statutory definition of domestic “The Domestic Violence and abuse. Abuse Bill is a once-in-a-generation • A consolidated protection order. opportunity to deliver a step • Aggravated offence and harsher change in the identification sentences where children have been of and response to involved in domestic abuse. domestic abuse. It needs to • Extra territorial jurisdiction – Istanbul drive a cultural shift to make domestic abuse everyone’s Convention business .” • Wider package of non legislative reform

Priorities for the Bill: existing evidence • Criminalise breaches of protective orders and injunctions • Bar perpetrators of domestic abuse from cross examining their victims in Family Courts • No unsupervised contact for parent awaiting trial/sentencing for domestic abuse • Ensuring health settings are safe spaces for disclosure • Statutory footing for Operation Encompass • Whole school approach • Statutory bar on ‘local connections’ rules for refuges

Priorities for the Bill: from members • Scrutiny and measurement of National “ Government needs to Statement of Expectations ensure that women • Equal access to support for women with NRPF • Better provision of sanctuary schemes experiencing violence • Fast tracking child survivors to mental health can receive a full range support of help whether or not • Safe and consistent approach to supervised they ends up going contact through the criminal • Improved links between civil and family courts justice system.” • Training • Sustainable funding for refuges

Opportunities and Challenges • A VAWG Commissioner • A narrow focus on criminal justice measures • Non-legislative package • Gendered perspective • Making domestic abuse ‘everyone’s business’ • A Commissioner with limited powers and resources • Improving protection for children • An under-resourced and under-funded sector sector • Collaboration within the sector • Increase in women coming forward and referrals • Raise profile of VAWG organisations

Contact details “The Domestic Violence @womensaid and Abuse Bill is a @sianelizabethha once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver a s.hawkins@womensaid.org.uk step change in the 07807 306 199 identification of and response to domestic www.womensaid.org.uk abuse. It needs to drive a cultural shift to make domestic abuse everyone’s business .”