A Bill to strengthen the law on domestic violence was published. Proposed measures included: new police powers to deal with domestic violence including making a breach of a non-molestation order a criminal offence, with a 5-year prison penalty; making common assault an arrestable offence; and stronger legal protection for victims by extending the use of restraining orders - giving courts power to impose a restraining order where the defendant had been acquitted but the court believed an order was necessary to protect the victim. (The government also published a summary of the responses to an earlier consultation document.)
Source: Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Bill [HL], Home Office, TSO (0870 600 5522) | Summary of Responses to 'Safety and Justice: the Government s Proposals on Domestic Violence', Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Text of Bill | Home Office press release | Consultation responses (pdf) | Liberty briefing (pdf) | Guardian report | Community Care article
Date: 2003-Dec
The government published a Bill aimed at strengthening the law on domestic violence.
Source: Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Bill [HL], Home Office, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Home Office press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Nov
A report evaluated the effectiveness of legislation in Scotland against domestic violence. The legislation appeared to have been successful in increasing access to powers of arrest.
Source: Kate Cavanagh, Clare Connelly and Jane Scoular, An Evaluation of the Protection From Abuse (Scotland) Act 2001, Scottish Executive, TSO (0870 606 5566)
Links: Report (pdf) | Report | Summary
Date: 2003-Nov
Campaigners urged the government to introduce legislation to prevent courts from granting unsupervised contact or residence to parents who were found to be violent, unless the child wanted to have contact and this could be arranged safely for everyone concerned.
Source: Hilary Saunders, Failure to Protect? Domestic violence and the experiences of abused women and children in the family courts, Women's Aid Federation of England (0117 944 4411)
Links: Summary | Womens Aid press release
Date: 2003-Nov
Comprehensive research was published on the standard of refuges for women and children fleeing domestic abuse in Scotland. Key recommendations included that accommodation should focus on purpose-built cluster refuges containing single-occupancy flats, communal areas and children's rooms; secure, dispersed flats should be available in every area, and shared hostel-style refuges should be phased out; women's aid groups should be more pro-active in their support work with workers based on site in shared and cluster refuges; and children's support workers should be on hand to provide a daily service to those in refuge.
Source: Suzanne Fitzpatrick, Emily Lynch and Robina Goodlad, Refuges for Women, Children and Young People in Scotland, Scottish Executive, TSO (0870 606 5566)
Links: Report | SE press release
Date: 2003-Oct
The Northern Ireland Executive published a consultation document on proposals to tackle domestic violence. It said it wanted to build on existing good work and link the existing initiatives into a cross-cutting strategy.
Source: Tackling Violence at Home: Government's proposals on domestic violence in Northern Ireland, Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety/Northern Ireland Executive (028 9052 0500)
Links: Report (pdf) | NIE press release
Date: 2003-Oct
The United Kingdom's record on child deaths due to physical abuse and neglect could be twice as bad as officially recorded, according to a report by a United Nations body. The report was criticised for unfairly assuming the causes of many of these child deaths.
Source: A League Table of Child Maltreatment Deaths in Rich Nations, Innocenti Report Card 5, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre (+3 9 0552 0330) | Press release 18 September 2003, Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (0870 787 0885)
Links: Report (pdf) | UNICEF press release | FSID press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Sep
The Law Commission recommended changes in the law governing criminal responsibility for the non-accidental death or serious injury of children. It said that on average three children under the age of 10 were killed or suffered serious injury each week: but 61 per cent of investigations which reached a conclusion resulted in no prosecution for any offence. The Commission set out a draft Bill, under which failure to protect a child from serious harm could carry a maximum seven-year prison sentence.
Source: Children: Their Non-Accidental Death or Serious Injury (Criminal Trials), HC 1054, Law Commission, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report (pdf) | Draft Bill (pdf) | Law Commission press release (pdf) | Guardian report | Community Care report
Date: 2003-Sep
A report said that children fleeing domestic violence in rural areas were at risk of missing out on local support services. There were serious gaps in the services provided, including housing and education, as well as a lack of awareness among young people of the range of support available. The report called on rural service providers to be more pro-active in promoting themselves.
Source: Children and Domestic Violence in Rural Areas, Save the Children (020 7703 5400) and Countryside Agency
Links: Summary (pdf) | SCF press release | Education findings (pdf) | Housing findings (pdf) | Welfare findings (pdf) | Health findings (pdf)
Date: 2003-Sep
The Scottish Executive published a strategy for the eradication of domestic abuse. The strategy concentrated on preventative measures, including working with and challenging men who used violence, strategies for the workplace, better training for professional workers, raising public awareness, and greater use of education.
Source: Preventing Domestic Abuse: National strategy, Scottish Executive, TSO (0870 606 5566)
Links: Report | SE press release
Date: 2003-Sep
The government published a consultation paper on tackling domestic violence. It included proposals to tighten the law, strengthen prevention work, and improve protection and support for victims. Campaigners called for additional measures to ban abusive and violent parents - particularly those convicted of a sexual or violent offence against a child - from having unsupervised contact with their children following separation.
Source: Safety and Justice: The government s proposals on domestic violence, Cm 5847, Home Office, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 18.6.03, columns 373-385, TSO | Press release 18.6.03, Women's Aid Federation of England (0117 944 4411) and National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
Links: Consultation paper (pdf) | Home Office press release | Hansard | Women's Aid press release | Victim Support press release | NSPCC/Women's Aid press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Jun
A Northern Ireland survey report highlighted the important role of staff in hospital accident and emergency departments in detecting non-accidental injury and child abuse.
Source: Child Protection Is No Accident, Barnardo s (01268 520224) and National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
Links: Barnardo's press release | NSPCC press release
Date: 2003-Jun
A private member's Bill was introduced which would establish a national register of people who had served a custodial sentence for domestic violence, and require the Crown Prosecution Service to pursue prosecutions in most cases of domestic violence even when the victim did not wish to do so.
Source: John Bercow MP, Domestic Violence (Law Reform) Bill, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 18.6.03, columns 389-391, TSO
Links: Hansard
Date: 2003-Jun
A report examined the problem of violent or aggressive behaviour by children towards their parents. It said that in many cases parents do not receive the support they need from health and social services.
Source: 'There's a War Going on!': Aggression and violence in children, Parentline Plus (0808 800 2222)
Links: Report (Word file) | Summary | Press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Mar
A report from a children's charity called on the government to give a higher priority to the protection of children facing long-term emotional damage through exposure to domestic violence.
Source: Alison Webster with Alan Coombe and Lisa Stacey, Bitter Legacy - The emotional effects of domestic violence on children, Barnardo s (01268 520224)
Links: Summary (pdf) | Press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Feb
Campaigners said that government initiatives to tackle violent crime are failing to protect some of the most vulnerable in society. They argued that high-profile initiatives to tackle crimes such as street robbery and gun crime have been pursued while offences of domestic violence have received far less attention.
Source: Domestic Violence: From the Streets to the Sitting Room, National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (020 7582 6500)
Links: Press release
Date: 2003-Feb
A report said that almost a quarter of local education authorities believe the current system for protecting school-age children from child abuse is not working effectively: they say failures in multi-agency working between education and social services departments are to blame.
Source: Mary Baginsky, Responsibility Without Power, National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (0207 825 2500)
Links: Press release
Date: 2003-Feb
Paediatricians argued that the police should take the lead on protecting children from criminal abuse. They said that most perpetrators, knowing they are committing crimes, deceive and intimidate social and health workers.
Source: David Southall, Martin Samuels and John Bridson, 'The police should take the lead on protecting children from criminal abuse', British Medical Journal 8.2.03
Links: Article
Date: 2003-Feb
A report explored the potential for reducing domestic homicide. It recommended that more work be done to identify risk factors for serious domestic violence, including more attention to issues such as stalking by ex-partners and women s own assessments of risk; that educational programmes should prepare parents better for the stresses of caring for children; and that there should be an expansion of home visit programmes, counselling and respite services to those families identified as suffering undue stresses/pressures and generally regarded as potentially at risk of harming themselves or their child.
Source: Fiona Brookman and Mike Maguire, Reducing Homicide: Summary of a review of the possibilities, Occasional Paper 84, Home Office (020 7273 2084)
Links: Paper (pdf)
Date: 2003-Jan