In the draft Domestic Abuse Bill and consultation response
published on 21 January 2019, government announced its
intention to improve support for victims of domestic abuse
who are going through family court proceedings.
The Ministry of Justice is pleased to announce that it has
awarded a grant of just under £900,000 to two organisations
who provide in-court support to vulnerable victims: the
Personal Support Unit (PSU) and the Citizens Advice Witness
Service.
PSU has been supporting litigants in person in family
courts since 2001 and Citizens Advice has been supporting
witnesses in criminal court proceedings since 2014. They
both have extensive front-line experience of helping
victims and witnesses navigate court processes and feel
safe at court.
Citizens Advice will be using the funding to extend their
current Witness Service to selected family courts to
provide information and practical and emotional support to
victims before, during and after the day of the hearing.
PSU will be using the funding to invest in further training
of their staff and volunteers and to share learnings on
best practice with a range of family justice stakeholders.
The funding runs from January 2019 through to 31 March
2020, and will allow Citizens Advice to provide these
services in up to 12 family courts across England and PSU
in 24 courts across England and Wales.
We are determined to improve the experience of victims of
domestic abuse in the family courts, and this grant is part
of a wider package of measures across the family justice
system. In the draft Domestic Abuse Bill we have committed
to giving the family courts the power to stop unrepresented
perpetrators of abuse from cross-examining their victims in
person in family proceedings. We have also included a
package of practical action in the accompanying domestic
abuse consultation response.
Domestic abuse
consultation response and draft bill
