Prime Minister Theresa May to work on new domestic violence law
Prime Minister Theresa May has announced she will be leading work on a new law on domestic violence and abuse.
There is an “unacceptable diversity” in the way domestic abuse is handled by police forces around Britain, Downing Street said in a statement.
Along with her efforts to tackle modern slavery, domestic abuse is an issue on which the Prime Minister has publicly called for more focus and awareness.
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May said: “Domestic violence and abuse is a life shattering and absolutely abhorrent crime; tackling it is a key priority for this government – and something I have always attached a personal importance to.”
Downing Street said it would investigate how to “improve support for victims especially in the way the law, and legal procedures, currently work” for victims of domestic abuse.
Government statistics show that a quarter of women in England and Wales will experience domestic violence in their lifetimes, while only 35 per cent of domestic violence incidents are reported to police.
May said: “Given the central importance of victim evidence to support prosecutions in this area, raising public awareness – as well as consolidating the law – will prove crucial.”
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Polly Neate, chief executive of charity Women’s Aid, said: “It is very welcome news for survivors of domestic abuse that the Prime Minister is planning to legislate for a step change in response to domestic abuse.”
She added: “There is scope to make the legal framework surrounding domestic abuse clearer and more comprehensive; survivors desperately need an approach across all agencies that genuinely responds to their needs, and helps them to truly recover.”
While she was home secretary May introduced the new offence of “controlling and coercive behaviour” as well as Domestic Violence Protection Orders.
Sandra Horley, chief executive of women’s shelter charity Refuge, said: “It is heartening to see such commitment from the government to tackling an issue which claims the lives of two women every week in England and Wales, and blights the childhoods of 750,000 children every year.”