The Council of the European Union called for co-ordinated policies to combat and eliminate all forms of violence against women. It invited the European Parliament, European Commission, and member states to ensure appropriate and sustainable funding for the provision of support services for victims of domestic violence.
Source: Council Conclusions on Combating Violence Against Women, and the Provision of Support Services for Victims of Domestic Violence, European Union
Links: Conclusions
Date: 2012-Dec
A new book provided those working in social work and related professions with up-to-date coverage of the major issues pertaining to violence against women. It suggested ways to tackle the rise in violence against women by translating knowledge into effective training and practice.
Source: Nancy Lombard and Lesley McMillan (eds), Violence against Women: Current theory and practice in domestic abuse, sexual violence and exploitation, Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Dec
A study identified and mapped existing data and resources on sexual violence against women in the European Union. Domestic violence against women remained widespread and under-reported, and victims of violence were not effectively supported by public services.
Source: The Study to Identify and Map Existing Data and Resources on Sexual Violence against Women in the EU, European Institute for Gender Equality
Links: Report | Summary | EIGE press release | EWL press release
Date: 2012-Nov
A report examined the experiences of women and legal professionals in relation to the law, policy, and practice in child contact proceedings. It supported studies revealing that women continued to have negative experiences of the family justice system's response to domestic violence, and called for significant change. Coalition government plans to prioritize 'shared parenting' could worsen the situation for many abused partners.
Source: Maddy Coy, Katherine Perks, Emma Scott, and Ruth Tweedale, Picking up the Pieces: Domestic violence and child contact, Rights of Women/CWASU
Links: Report | Guardian report | Womensgrid report
Date: 2012-Nov
The Welsh Government began consultation on policy and legislative proposals aimed at ending violence against women, domestic abuse, and sexual violence.
Source: Consultation on Legislation to End Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales), Welsh Government
Links: Consultation document | Summary
Date: 2012-Nov
An article examined some of the ways in which heterosexual women were portrayed as perpetrators of intimate partner domestic violence in police domestic violence records in England. Women were 3 times more likely than men to be arrested when they were construed as the perpetrator.
Source: Marianne Hester, 'Portrayal of women as intimate partner domestic violence perpetrators', Violence Against Women, Volume 18 Number 9
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Oct
A report presented findings from a scoping study on violence against women, commissioned to help inform the BIG Lottery Fund of potential areas of intervention. The study sought to identify evidence on the following broad issues: domestic violence linked to sporting events; violence among girls and young women involved in gang-related activities; and domestic violence in pregnancy.
Source: Jude Bennington, Sadie Parr, Ryan Powell, and Kesia Reeve, Scoping Study on Violence Against Women: Report for the BIG Lottery Fund, Centre for Regional, Economic and Social Research (Sheffield Hallam University)
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Oct
The coalition government announced (following consultation) that the official definition of domestic violence would be extended to include people aged 16 and 17. It would also include 'coercive control', as opposed to a single act or incident, in recognition of the fact that patterns of behaviour and separate instances of control could add up to abuse – including instances of intimidation, isolation, depriving victims of their financial independence or material possessions, and regulating their everyday behaviour.
Source: Press release 19 September 2012, Office of Deputy Prime Minister
Links: DPM press release | Conservative Party press release | ACPO press release | Action for Children press release | EVAW press release | 4Children press release | Labour Party press release | NFWI press release | NUT press release | OCC press release | Platform51 press release | Relate press release | BBC report | Community Care report | Guardian report
Date: 2012-Sep
A report examined the profile and experiences of domestic violence victims who accessed the criminal justice system and who were supported by independent domestic violence advisors (IDVAs). The proportion of victims experiencing a cessation of abuse at the point of exit from the IDVA service increased at each stage of the criminal justice process. The most significant increase in cessation of abuse was for those victims where the perpetrator had been charged with an offence following a report to the police, compared with where there was no charge.
Source: IDVA Insights into Domestic Violence Prosecutions, Co-ordinated Action Against Domestic Abuse
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Jul
A think-tank report said that existing programmes and other approaches to perpetrators of domestic violence had a poor track record in addressing underlying motivators for abusive behaviour. Breaking cycles of violence and abuse was essential if perpetrators were not to take destructive patterns of behaviour into future relationships. The report made a series of recommendations for tackling the problem, including: payment-by-results commissioning frameworks for domestic abuse services; a module in the school curriculum focused on helping adolescents to build equal and non-abusive relationships; and a specific offence of 'coercive control', allowing prosecutions even when no physical harm had been caused.
Source: Elly Farmer and Samantha Callan, Beyond Violence: Breaking cycles of domestic abuse, Centre for Social Justice
Links: Report | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Jul
A new book examined (in four volumes) the relationship between gender, crime, and criminal victimization.
Source: Sandra Walklate (ed.), Gender and Crime, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-May
An article examined the experiences of a small sample of women with learning disabilities, all of whom had experienced domestic abuse from intimate partners. Although the women had sought help from services to leave their abusive partners, it had either been denied or been inappropriate to their needs. Helpful service provision included advocacy, a domestic abuse therapy programme, and an empowerment group informed by feminist perspectives.
Source: Alison Walter-Brice, Rachel Cox, Helena Priest, and Fiona Thompson, 'What do women with learning disabilities say about their experiences of domestic abuse within the context of their intimate partner relationships?', Disability & Society, Volume 27 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
The coalition government published an updated action plan on the issue of violence against women and girls. At the same time it announced that two new specific criminal offences of 'stalking' would be introduced in England and Wales.
Source: Call to End Violence Against Women and Girls: Taking Action – The next chapter, Home Office
Links: Action plan | Hansard | Home Office press release | ACPO press release | Labour Party press release
Date: 2012-Mar
A Labour Party commission published an interim report on women's safety. It called on the coalition government to conduct an urgent audit of the services available to women victims of violence, in order to identify any deterioration in services and any gaps in provision.
Source: Commission on Women s Safety, Everywoman Safe Everywhere: First interim report, Labour Party
Links: Report | Labour Party press release
Date: 2012-Mar
A study examined the experiences of post-separation child contact among south Asian and African-Caribbean women and children, in cases where there had been domestic violence.
Source: Ravi Thiara and Aisha Gill, Domestic Violence, Child Contact and Post-Separation Violence: Issues for south Asian and African-Caribbean women and children, National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Jan
A new book examined the experiences of disabled women who had suffered domestic violence. It highlighted the gaps in services for disabled women, and discussed how professional responses should be developed and improved.
Source: Ravi Thiara, Gill Hague, Ruth Bashall, Brenda Ellis, and Audrey Mullender, Disabled Women and Domestic Violence: Responding to the experiences of survivors, Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Jan