An article examined the perpetrators of abuse among older women living in the community in Europe. 28.1 per cent of older women across all countries had experienced some kind of violence and abuse, in the previous 12 months, by someone who was close to them.
Source: Liesbeth De Donder, Gert Lang, Minna-Liisa Luoma, Bridget Penhale, Jose Ferreira Alves, Ilona Tamutiene, Ana Santos, Mira Koivusilta, Edith Enzenhofer, Sirkka Perttu, Tiina Savola, and Dominique Verte, 'Perpetrators of abuse against older women: a multi-national study in Europe', Journal of Adult Protection, Volume 13 Number 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Dec
An article examined the nature and implications of the proposed legal aid cuts in family law cases raising issues of domestic abuse.
Source: Rosemary Hunter, 'Doing violence to family law', Journal of Social Welfare & Family Law, Volume 33 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Dec
The coalition government began consultation on the definition of domestic violence to be used by all agencies and all parts of government. It included the questions of whether the definition of domestic violence should include younger victims below 18 years of age, including boys; and whether coercive control should also be reflected in the definition.
Source: Cross-Government Definition of Domestic Violence: A Consultation, Home Office
Links: Consultation document | Hansard | Home Office press release | ACPO press release | Labour Party press release | Community Care report
Date: 2011-Dec
The coalition government published a report on progress in implementing its action plan on ending violence against women and girls.
Source: Call to End Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG): Action Plan Progress Review, Government Equalities Office
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Nov
An article examined the effect of a recent Supreme Court decision on the definition of domestic violence. The Court had rejected the view that domestic violence was restricted to cases where physical force had been used against the victim, and had held that it should be interpreted to include the use of emotional, psychological, or financial abuse.
Source: Jonathan Herring, 'The meaning of domestic violence: Yemshaw v London Borough of Hounslow [2011] UKSC 3', Journal of Social Welfare & Family Law, Volume 33 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Nov
A report said that women who had experienced domestic violence should have access to legal advice for a wide range of issues – including many of the areas of law that the coalition government was proposing to remove from the scope of legal aid.
Source: Legal Aid Is a Lifeline: Women speak out on the legal aid reforms, National Federation of Women's Institutes
Links: Report | NFWI press release | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Oct
The coalition government began consultation on proposals to give people the power to find out from the police if a new partner had a history of domestic violence.
Source: Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme: A Consultation, Home Office
Links: Consultation document | Impact assessment | Home Office press release | ACPO press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2011-Oct
An article examined the interface between the police and child protection services in responding to domestic violence incidents. Notifications by the police triggered a new social work intervention in only 5 per cent of cases. 40 per cent of families notified had had no previous contact with child protection services in that area: but those cases most likely to receive social work assessment or intervention were those where the case was already open. Social workers also found that notifications conveyed little information on children's experiences of domestic violence.
Source: Nicky Stanley, Pam Miller, Helen Richardson Foster, and Gill Thomson, 'Children s experiences of domestic violence: developing an integrated response from police and child protection services', Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Volume 26 Number 12
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Aug
A briefing paper examined the situation of people with temporary immigration status who suffered domestic violence.
Source: Melanie Gower, Immigration: Domestic Violence, Standard Note SN/HA/4644, House of Commons Library
Links: Briefing paper
Date: 2011-May
An article examined domestic violence perpetrator programmes within the probation service. There had been a recent proliferation of somewhat standardized models of intervention, and consideration was given to what individualized approaches might require.
Source: David Morran, Paul Wolf-Light, Moira Andrew, and Rory Macrae, 'Re-education or recovery? Re-thinking some aspects of domestic violence perpetrator programmes', Probation Journal, Volume 58 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Apr
The Council of Europe formally approved a convention on preventing and combating violence against women the first binding text in Europe to focus on all forms of violence against women.
Source: Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, Council of Europe
Links: Convention | Explanatory report
Date: 2011-Apr
A study examined the feasibility of standardizing national legislation in the European Union on violence against women, violence against children, and sexual orientation violence.
Source: Feasibility Study to Assess the Possibilities, Opportunities and Needs to Standardise National Legislation on Violence Against Women, Violence Against Children and Sexual Orientation Violence, European Commission
Date: 2011-Apr
A new book examined the policy changes that had led to rehabilitation programmes for male perpetrators of intimate partner violence within the criminal justice system.
Source: Erica Bowen, The Rehabilitation of Partner-Violent Men, Wiley
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Mar
An article examined local multi-agency responses to domestic violence, in particular how the introduction of local crime and disorder reduction partnerships in the late 1990s had affected service provision. The process had resulted in the dominance of the statutory sector, a marginalization of voluntary agencies, and a partial alienation of women's groups.
Source: Peter Harvie and Tony Manzi, 'Interpreting multi-agency partnerships: ideology, discourse and domestic violence', Social and Legal Studies, Volume 20 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Mar
The Scottish Parliament approved a Bill designed to increase access to justice for victims of domestic abuse, and to enable police and prosecutors to provide a more robust response to breached civil protection orders.
Source: Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill, Scottish Government, TSO | Scottish Parliament Debate 16 March 2011, Official Report, TSO
Links: Bill | Explanatory notes | Policy memorandum | Official Report | Glasgow University press release
Date: 2011-Mar
The government published an action plan containing a series of detailed measures designed to tackle violence against women and girls – including domestic abuse, sexual assault, and stalking.
Source: Call to End Violence Against Women and Girls: Action Plan, Home Office
Links: Action plan | Home Office press release | Labour Party press release
Date: 2011-Mar
A study examined violence against women aged 60 and over at the hands of existing and/or former intimate partners in 6 European countries – Austria, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, and the United Kingdom.
Source: Barbara Nagele, Urte Bohm, Thomas Gorgen, and Olga Toth, Intimate Partner Violence Against Older Women, European Commission
Date: 2011-Mar
A scoping review examined the existing international data on safeguarding children from physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, and exposure to intimate partner violence. It considered how different institutional and cultural approaches to safeguarding children, and different forms of provision and support, might influence trends in the incidence and nature of abuse and neglect.
Source: Emily Munro, Rebecca Brown, Joe Sempik, and Harriet Ward, with Charlie Owen, Scoping Review to Draw Together Data on Child Injury and Safeguarding and to Compare the Position of England with that in Other Countries, Research Report RR083, Department for Education
Date: 2011-Feb
A survey found that nearly 1 in 5 secondary school children had been severely abused or neglected during childhood. The survey involved 2,275 children aged 11-17 and 1,761 adults aged 18-24, and was carried out in 2009.
Source: Press release 15 February 2011, National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
Links: NSPCC press release | Action for Children press release | BBC report | Community Care report | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2011-Feb
An article examined antecedent patterns of healthcare use by children who had been fatally or seriously harmed by maltreatment. Complex paediatric and family problems, and a high level of contact with services, were found to precede serious adverse events. Universal health services were likely to be well placed for giving continuing and family-orientated support to vulnerable families.
Source: Jenny Woodman et al., 'Healthcare use by children fatally or seriously harmed by child maltreatment: analysis of a national case series 2005-2007', Archives of Disease in Childhood, Volume 96 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Feb
A survey highlighted the case for legal aid as an essential tool for women seeking protection for themselves and their children from violence. Access to legal advice and representation should be improved, rather than being cut as the government proposed.
Source: Women's Access to Justice: A Research Report, Rights of Women
Date: 2011-Feb
The Supreme Court ruled that the term 'domestic violence' was not limited in law to physical violence: it included other forms of violent conduct such as threatening or intimidating behaviour and any other form of abuse that, directly or indirectly, might give rise to the risk of harm.
Source: Yemshaw v London Borough of Hounslow, UKSC 3 (2011), United Kingdom Supreme Court
Links: Judgement | Supreme Court press release | Womensgrid report | Guardian report | Inside Housing report
Notes: The Court was ruling in the context of Section 177(1) of the Housing Act 1996, which stated that it was not reasonable for a person to continue to occupy accommodation if it was probable that this would lead to domestic violence or other violence against them or other members of their household.
Date: 2011-Jan
A report examined domestic violence against women from minority-ethnic and Roma backgrounds in the United Kingdom and Hungary. Stereotyping and racism often contributed to women not being able to access adequate protection.
Source: Yesim Yaprak Yildiz, Fruzsina Baumann, and Sumita Dutta, Empowering Women or Perpetuating Victimhood: Minority ethnic and Roma women's experiences of domestic violence policy and service provision, IMECE Turkish Speaking Women's Group/London Training and Employment Network/Regional Social Welfare Resource Centre
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Jan
An article reported the first-ever national study of the needs of disabled women experiencing domestic violence. Support services frequently overlooked or responded inappropriately to disabled women in this situation.
Source: Gill Hague, Ravi Thiara, and Audrey Mullender, 'Disabled women, domestic violence and social care: the risk of isolation, vulnerability and neglect', British Journal of Social Work, Volume 41 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jan
The final text was approved of a draft Council of Europe convention on preventing and combating violence against women – the first binding text in Europe to focus on all forms of violence against women.
Source: Draft Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, Directorate General of Human Rights and Legal Affairs, Council of Europe
Links: Draft convention
Notes: The draft convention was due to be considered by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in March 2011.
Date: 2011-Jan
A report by a committee of MSPs supported the general principles of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill: but it opposed a proposal to remove the means-testing of anyone applying for civil legal aid to pursue a protective order in a domestic abuse case.
Source: Stage 1 Report on the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill, 1st Report 2011, SP Paper 556, Scottish Parliament Justice Committee
Links: Report
Notes: The Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill was introduced in May 2010. It was designed to increase access to justice for victims of domestic abuse, and to enable police and prosecutors to provide a more robust response to breached civil protection orders.
Date: 2011-Jan