The Crown Prosecution Service published the first annual performance report on violence against women. It covered: domestic violence; forced marriage; so-called 'honour' crimes; female genital mutilation; rape and sexual offences; human trafficking; prostitution; child abuse; and pornography.
Source: Violence Against Women Crime Report 2007-2008, Crown Prosecution Service (020 7796 8000)
Links: Report | Womensgrid report
Date: 2008-Dec
A report by a committee of the National Assembly for Wales examined the support that was available for victims of domestic abuse, and initiatives aimed at preventing domestic abuse. Funding arrangements were described by agencies as hampering the strategy.
Source: Domestic Abuse in Wales, Communities and Culture Committee/National Assembly for Wales (029 2082 5111)
Links: Report | NAW press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Dec
A report evaluated a pilot project designed to identify and monitor forced marriage and so-called 'honour' crime cases.
Source: Chris Magill, Vanessa Lee and Jude Watson, CPS Pilot on Forced Marriage and So-called 'Honour' Crime: Findings, Crown Prosecution Service (020 7796 8000) | Recommendations on Future Work on Forced Marriage and So-called 'Honour' Crime, Crown Prosecution Service
Links: Report | Recommendations
Date: 2008-Dec
A new book examined the relationship between violence, gender, crime, and justice. It explored the experiences and treatment of men and women as victims and criminals; whether and how offending patterns differed according to gender; and the connexions between gender, offending, and victimization.
Source: Maggie Wykes and Kirsty Welsh, Violence, Gender and Justice, SAGE Publications Ltd (020 7324 8500)
Links: Summary
Date: 2008-Dec
The opposition Conservative Party published a strategy document on violence against women. It included proposals to build 15 new rape crisis centres; ensure that all police recruits received training in domestic violence, stalking, female genital mutilation, rape, and forced marriage; encourage schools to tackle violence and bullying; introduce a three-month grace period for women housed in refuges as a result of domestic violence, during which they would not be required to seek work in order to quality for jobseeker's allowance; and making the teaching of consent compulsory in the sex education curriculum.
Source: Ending Violence Against Women, Conservative Party (020 7222 9000)
Links: Report | Conservative Party press release | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Dec
Approximately 1 in 10 respondents aged 16-59 to the 2007-08 Northern Ireland Crime Survey were identified as having been a victim of domestic violence at some stage in their lives.
Source: Experience of Domestic Violence: Findings from the 2007/2008 Northern Ireland Crime Survey, Research and Statistical Bulletin 16/2008, Northern Ireland Executive (028 9052 7157)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Dec
A study examined the progress of a pilot 'Integrated Domestic Violence Court' (in south London) after 12 months. It explored emerging issues and offered recommendations for policy and good practice. (The pilot court was designed to bring together cases with a criminal element and concurrent Children Act or civil injunction proceedings, with the aim of providing a more integrated approach to domestic violence.)
Source: Marianne Hester, Julia Pearce and Nicole Westmarland, Early Evaluation of the Integrated Domestic Violence Court, Croydon, Research Report 18/08, Ministry of Justice (020 7210 8500)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Nov
A survey in Northern Ireland found that 1 in 7 (14 per cent) of respondents aged 16-59 claimed to have been victims of domestic violence at some time in their lives, with females reporting a higher victimization rate than males (18 per cent compared with 10 per cent).
Source: M Carmichael, Experience of Domestic Violence: Findings from the 2006/07 Northern Ireland Crime Survey, Research and Statistical Bulletin 10/2008, Northern Ireland Executive (028 9052 0500)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Oct
A new book examined violence and homicide in the context of sex work, and how the law and police tactics exacerbated sex workers' vulnerability. Inadequacies in the criminal justice system led to failures in investigations and prosecutions, and a failure to prevent violence from known offenders. The 'radical feminist ideology' that drove government policy stigmatized sex workers' clients, and ignored sex workers' own experiences and testimony, while colluding with policies that made sex work more dangerous.
Source: Hilary Kinnell, Violence and Sex Work in Britain, Willan Publishing (01884 840337)
Links: Summary
Date: 2008-Oct
The government published a progress report on its domestic violence strategy. It said that it had continued to make 'significant progress'. There had been a greater focus on forms of domestic violence such as 'honour'-based violence and forced marriage. There had also been developments in relation to the specialist domestic violence court programme, multi-agency risk assessment conferences, and independent domestic violence advisers.
Source: National Domestic Violence Delivery Plan: Annual Progress Report 2007/08, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Report | Home Office press release | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Oct
Chief police officers said that they had developed a strategy for dealing with honour-based violence across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It recommended an extension of witness-protection schemes.
Source: Press release 22 October 2008, Association of Chief Police Officers (020 7084 8950)
Links: ACPO press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Oct
The Court of Appeal ruled trial judges could tell jurors that an alleged rape victim could have delayed making a complaint to police because they felt 'shame and guilt' about being sexually assaulted. (This was likely to strengthen prosecution cases in trials where the alleged victim did not report their ordeal immediately.)
Source: R v John Arthur Doody, Court of Appeal 24 October 2008
Links: Text of judgement | Attorney General press release | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Oct
A report examined the impact of domestic violence on women's financial situation. Domestic violence had a serious impact both during and after a violent relationship – particularly in the form of debts and difficulties in claiming child maintenance. Local authorities and central government needed to consider introducing some form of specific financial support for those who had experienced domestic violence – ideally a small grant, which would be available to those both in and outside employment – to help tide families over and assist with their resettlement.
Source: Kate Bell and Claire Kober, The Financial Impact of Domestic Violence, Family Action (formerly Family Welfare Association (020 7254 6251) and One Parent Families/Gingerbread
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Sep
A new book examined domestic violence. The issues embraced included criminal and civil law responses, the value of mediation, the impact on children, and the cultural context.
Source: Michael Freeman (ed.), Domestic Violence, Ashgate Publications (01235 827730)
Links: Summary
Date: 2008-Sep
A new book examined the risk factors surrounding children at risk of experiencing and perpetrating violence, and the positive role that children's rights could play in their protection. Violence in childhood was not spontaneous: children were raised to become violent in poorly functioning families and child-unfriendly environments. Respecting children's rights and safeguarding them from exposure to violence could shift the balance between risk and protective factors and, as a result, reduce the incidence and severity of childhood violence.
Source: Katherine Covell and R. Brian Howe, Children, Families and Violence: Challenges for children's rights, Jessica Kingsley Publishers (020 7833 2307)
Links: Summary
Date: 2008-Sep
A report provided an early evaluation of some of the measures of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004. The report focused on the three measures of the Act that were implemented during the evaluation period: making common assault an arrestable offence; making it an arrestable, criminal offence to breach a non-molestation order; and extending the civil law on domestic violence (to ensure that cohabiting same-sex couples had the same access to non-molestation and occupation orders as opposite sex couples, and that non-molestation orders were available to couples who had never cohabited). The impact by December 2007 of these measures had been 'limited and in some respects unclear'.
Source: Marianne Hester, Nicole Westmarland, Julia Pearce and Emma Williamson, Early Evaluation of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004, Research Report 14/08, Ministry of Justice (020 7210 8500)
Links: Report | Bristol University press release
Date: 2008-Aug
A new book examined professional and voluntary sector responses to domestic violence – including new initiatives such as domestic violence courts and risk assessment conferences.
Source: Lynne Harne and Jill Radford, Tackling Domestic Violence: Theories, policies and practice, Open University Press (01280 823388)
Links: Summary
Date: 2008-Aug
The police service inspectorate in Scotland made recommendations aimed at helping the police to improve the way they dealt with crimes and victims of domestic abuse.
Source: Thematic Inspection: Domestic Abuse, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland (web publication only)
Links: Report | SG press release
Date: 2008-Aug
A literature review examined evidence on the impact of domestic abuse on children and young people.
Source: Cathy Humphreys, Claire Houghton and Jane Ellis, Literature Review: Better Outcomes for Children and Young People Experiencing Domestic Abuse – Directions for good practice, Scottish Government (0131 556 8400)
Links: Report
Date: 2008-Aug
A new book examined how crimes such as sex work, domestic violence, and rape and sexual assault had risen up the government agenda. Chapters included discussions of the impact of street sex on community residents; the use of the internet by men who paid for sex; sexual violence and identity; sex crimes against children; and working with sex offenders. Other chapters explored the reasons for offending behaviour.
Source: Gayle Letherby, Philip Birch, Maureen Cain and Kate Williams (eds.), Sex as Crime?, Willan Publishing (01884 840337)
Links: Summary
Date: 2008-Jul
Campaigners criticized the lack of a joined-up response by government to tackling violence against women. Resources were focused on the criminal justice system even though most victims did not report to the police; and there was no equivalent focus on supporting victims, or doing more to prevent violence and challenge attitudes that condoned violence.
Source: Maddy Coy, Jo Lovett and Liz Kelly, Realising Rights, Fulfilling Obligations: A template for an integrated strategy on violence against women for the UK, End Violence Against Women (020 7033 1559)
Links: Report | EHRC press release
Date: 2008-Jul
Campaigners criticized 'huge deficiencies' in police responses to rape in many parts of the United Kingdom. In some areas women who reported rape were almost five times less likely to achieve a conviction than in others.
Source: Press release 7 July 2008, Fawcett Society (020 7253 2598)
Links: Fawcett Society press release | Home Office press release | ACPO press release | Liberal Democrats press release | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Jul
The government began consultation on proposals to reform the law on homicide, designed to make it much harder for those who killed out of anger to avoid a murder conviction by claiming that they were provoked. It proposed the abolition of the existing partial defence of provocation, and its replacement with two new partial defences: killing in response to a fear of serious violence; and (in exceptional circumstances only) killing in response to words and conduct which caused the defendant to have a justifiable sense of being seriously wronged.
Source: Murder, Manslaughter and Infanticide: Proposals for Reform of the Law, Ministry of Justice (020 7210 8500) and Home Office
Links: Consultation document | MOJ press release | ACPO press release | Liberal Democrats press release | Guardian report | Telegraph report | Community Care report
Date: 2008-Jul
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on domestic and so-called 'honour-based' violence and forced marriage.
Source: Domestic Violence, Forced Marriage and 'Honour'-based Violence: The Government Reply to the Sixth Report from the Home Affairs Committee, Cm 7450, Home Office, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Response | MPs report
Date: 2008-Jul
A report by a committee of MPs said that the government had made 'significant steps' to improve its response to domestic and so-called 'honour-based' violence and forced marriage: but its approach remained disproportionately focused on criminal justice responses at the expense of effective prevention and early intervention.
Source: Domestic Violence, Forced Marriage and 'Honour'-Based Violence, Sixth Report (Session 2007-08), HC 263, House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | EHRC press release | Amnesty press release | Liberal Democrats press release | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2008-Jun
The Scottish Government introduced a Bill to reform the law on rape and sexual offences, based on proposals from the Scottish Law Commission. For the first time it defined 'consent' in law, and replaced the common-law offence of rape with a broader statutory offence (including male rape). It introduced new statutory offences dealing with sexual exposure, particularly in non-public places; the 'spiking' of drinks for sexual purposes; and coercive sexual conduct, including sexually offensive emails or texts.
Source: Sexual Offences (Scotland) Bill, Scottish Government, available from Blackwell's Bookshop (0131 622 8283)
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Policy memorandum | SG press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Jun
The Scottish Government published a plan designed to tackle domestic abuse. It set out 13 priorities for action over the following three years focused on four main themes of protection, provision, prevention, and participation.
Source: National Domestic Abuse Delivery Plan for Children and Young People, Scottish Government (web publication only)
Links: Plan | SG press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Jun
A report examined the experiences and support needs of South Asian women, children, and young people who had experienced domestic abuse; the barriers that deterred them from seeking help; and the gaps in existing service provision.
Source: Shayma Izzidien, 'I Can't Tell People What was Happening at Home': Domestic abuse within South Asian communities – The specific needs of women, children and young people, National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (0207 825 2775)
Links: Report | Summary | NSPCC press release | Community Care report | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Jun
A new book examined the role of rape crisis centres in providing support to survivors of rape.
Source: Helen Jones and Kate Cook, Rape Crisis: Responding to sexual violence, Russell House Publishing (01297 443948)
Links: Summary
Date: 2008-Jun
An article examined partnership initiatives on domestic violence. These initiatives were largely taken forward by voluntary sector organizations: although some state agencies showed a real commitment to them, that of many others was 'disappointing at best'.
Source: Kirsty Welsh, 'Partnership or palming off? Involvement in partnership initiatives on domestic violence', Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, Volume 47 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-May
A report highlighted the role of charities in providing specialist support to victims of violence against women. Domestic violence alone cost society £20 billion a year: but the most prominent charities helping to tackle domestic violence had a combined income of just £17 million – less than that of the Donkey Sanctuary.
Source: Justine Jarvinen, Angela Kail and Iona Miller, Hard Knock Life: Violence against women – A guide for donors and funders, New Philanthropy Capital (0207 401 8080)
Links: Report | Summary | NPC press release | Guardian report
Date: 2008-Apr
A report drew together work being done across government to tackle violence against women.
Source: Tackling Violence Against Women: A cross-government narrative, Government Equalities Office (ministers@dwp.gsi.gov.uk)
Date: 2008-Apr
A new book examined the 'justice gap' in sexual assault cases – the dramatic gap between the number of offences recorded by the police and the number of convictions. It considered different ways in which rape trials could be improved, and suggested steps that could be taken to change public attitudes about sexual assault.
Source: Jennifer Temkin and Barbara Krahe, Sexual Assault and the Justice Gap: A question of attitude, Hart Publishing (01865 517530)
Links: Summary
Date: 2008-Apr
A new book examined the usefulness of drawing on a 'human rights discourse' in order to understand the issues of gender, crime, and criminal justice.
Source: Marisa Silvestri and Chris Crowther-Dowey, Gender and Crime, SAGE Publications Ltd (020 7324 8500)
Links: Summary
Date: 2008-Apr
A review found that 10 of the 23 new specialist domestic violence courts achieved a successful prosecution rate of over 70 per cent, with one reaching over 80 per cent. There had also been an improvement in the responses of individual agencies to domestic violence cases. (The courts used a co-ordinated approach aimed at ensuring victims were protected and supported, by bringing together dedicated and trained police officers, crown prosecutors, court staff, and the probation service.)
Source: Justice With Safety: Specialist domestic violence courts review 2007-08, Home Office (0870 000 1585)
Links: Report | Home Office press release
Date: 2008-Mar
A report said that hundreds of women were subjected to violence from which they were unable to escape, because of their immigration status. They had become trapped in a cycle of abuse, including domestic violence and trafficking, unable to access basic levels of protection and support.
Source: 'No Recourse', No Safety: The government's failure to protect women from violence, Amnesty International UK (020 7814 6241) and Southall Black Sisters
Links: Report | Amnesty press release | Liberal Democrats press release | BBC report
Date: 2008-Mar
A report examined the funding and sustainability of rape crisis centres in England and Wales, together with political and public awareness of their work. It said that the centres were 'spectacularly under-funded'.
Source: Darlene Corry, Tania Pouwhare and Macarena Vergara, The Crisis in Rape Crisis, Women's Resource Centre (020 7324 3030) and Rape Crisis
Date: 2008-Mar
A Law Lords ruling opened the possibility that people who had been victims of physical and sexual abuse as children might, in individual cases, be able to pursue compensation claims beyond the existing time limit of 6 years after turning the age of 18. (The ruling was made in a case where a rape victim was seeking compensation from her attacker outside the 6-year limit.)
Source: A v Hoare, C (FC) v Middlesbrough Council, X (FC) and another (FC) v London Borough of Wandsworth (Conjoined Appeals), H (FC) v Suffolk County Council, Young (FC) v Catholic Care (Diocese of Leeds) and others, UKHL 6 (Session 2007-08), House of Lords Judicial Office (020 7219 3111)
Links: Text of judgement | Community Care report
Date: 2008-Jan
An article examined evidence on the perceptions and experiences of adult victims of domestic violence when accessing healthcare services. Victims identified inappropriate responses by healthcare professionals, discomfort with the healthcare environment, perceived barriers to disclosing domestic violence, and a lack of confidence in the outcomes of disclosure to a health professional.
Source: Louise Robinson and Karen Spilsbury, 'Systematic review of the perceptions and experiences of accessing health services by adult victims of domestic violence', Health and Social Care in the Community, Volume 16 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2008-Jan