Queen's Speech 2017: Draft Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill

Wednesday, 21 June 2017 11:35

DRAFT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSE BILL “Legislation will be brought forward to protect the victims of domestic violence and abuse.” 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...Request free trial

DRAFT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ABUSE BILL

“Legislation will be brought forward to protect the victims of domestic violence and abuse.”

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 would 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 are:

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 sentence that reflects the devastating life-long impact that abuse can have on the child.

Territorial extent and application

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.

Key facts

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 shows 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.