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
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
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
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
An article said that nearly 1 in 4 women reported experiencing sexual violence in adulthood, in a survey of women attending family doctors in East London.
Source: Jeremy Coid et al., 'Sexual violence against adult women primary care attenders in east London', British Journal of General Practice
Links: Abstract | RCGP press release
Date: 2003-Nov
A study investigated the characteristics and offending-related needs of domestic violence offenders. Several risk factors for domestic violence were identified, including witnessing domestic violence in childhood, disrupted attachment patterns, high levels of interpersonal dependency and jealousy, attitudes condoning domestic violence, and lack of empathy.
Source: Elizabeth Gilchrist et al., Domestic Violence Offenders: Characteristics and offending related needs, Research Findings 217, Home Office (020 7273 2084)
Links: Findings (pdf)
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 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
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
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
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
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
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
Almost nine out of ten community nurses have seen evidence of abuse of an older person, a survey found. In most cases the abuse was by a family member, most often the chief carer, and in 78 per cent of cases the abuse took place in the victim's home.
Source: Press release 12.2.03, Community and District Nursing Association (020 8280 5342)
Links: Survey findings | Summary | CDNA press release | Help the Aged press release
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