written by John Bolch
on Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Still on the subject of domestic violence, Bystanderat The Magistrate's Blog has posted a follow up to the post I mentioned a couple of days ago. It seems he came in for some criticism for implying that the offence had been committed (husband assaulting the wife), without the matter being tried, and therefore for gender bias. Unfortunately, I doubt that his new post will satisfy the critics. He says:
If police are called, either by one of the parties or as often happens by neighbours or even children, and they arrive to find a bruised and sobbing victim, a bit of broken furniture, and a couple of distraught kids, then an offence has almost certainly been committed.
He does, however, go on to make clear that "only evidence will do", but then continues: "Nevertheless it is right to recognise that in a typical abusive relationship the abuser will be a man". I fear he may be in for more criticism.
I'll keep out of that debate, but I would take issue with his description of a battered women's refuge as a "rat-hole", as, I'm sure, will those who provide refuges. For anyone in doubt, I refer to the post I wrote last month, which links to a 'virtual refuge', where you can see just what a refuge is like.
The New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) charity has published a report today on violence against women, entitled Hard knock life. The report covers not just domestic violence but also rape and sexual assault, violence against black and minority ethnic women, violence against women in prostitution and trafficked women. NPC states that "almost one in every two women in the UK has been forced to endure abuse ranging from verbal threats to physical assault, rape, genital mutilation and forced marriage", and has calculated that violence against women costs society £40bn a year, more than the Government’s defence budget. They say that despite significant government progress over the last thirty years, "little is being done to prevent violence against women and not enough is being done to help the victims; there are massive gaps in services, and too many perpetrators escape justice". The report goes on to make recommendations to address the issues, including nine charities for donors to support. The report can be downloaded here.
I know that there are some who may ask the question: Aren’t men victims of violence too? NPC's answer to this is:
Yes, they are more likely to be victims of certain types of violence, such as muggings, but this wasn’t the scope of our report. The violence we focus on in the report is more commonly experienced by women. And women are more likely to be victims of repeated violence, as it is often carried out by someone they know.
I'm not sure that that will satisfy certain readers of Family Lore.
I posted last week about the concerns that the judiciary have about the 'criminalisation' of the new domestic violence laws. Yesterday, the Magistrate's Blog had a thought-provoking post about the realities of domestic violence cases in the criminal courts. This particular case was listed for trial last week at 11am, and was expected to last for the rest of the day. However the victim, the wife, had withdrawn her complaint against her husband, and had been issued with a Witness Summons by the CPS. Needless to say, she refused to give evidence, despite the encouragement of the Victim Support people and the pleas of the prosecutor and the Officer In The Case. The case was therefore dismissed, and the taxpayer footed the bill, including the husband's costs. An all too common scenario?
The two appeals, heard together, concerned two women who were occupying women's refuges and who both sought rehousing by the local authority after deliberately acting so as to cause themselves to be evicted from the refuges. In both cases the question arose as to whether the refuges were "accommodation ... which it would have been reasonable for [them] to continue to occupy", as if so then they would be intentionally homeless, and they would therefore be refused rehousing. Lord Justice Wilson found that in both cases the accommodation was such that it was reasonable for the women to remain, and therefore they had made themselves intentionally homeless. He set out a list of factors to be considered in assessing refuge accommodation for homeless applicants. As Nearly Legal says, refuges "will not be certain whether a woman that they take in will be able to make a homeless application [while] at the refuge. They will have to consider the list of factors set out in the judgment in each and every case, as what might be reasonable for one woman’s circumstances, will not be for another. They will have to consider limiting the support that they offer. It effectively leaves them in an impossible position."
The Timesreports today that judges are concerned that the new domestic violence laws are not working, as there has been a marked decline in the number of victims seeking help since the laws were introduced last July. They put this down to a reluctance on the part of the victims to seek an order, for fear of giving their partners a criminal record and, potentially, a prison sentence. The concerns will be discussed at an urgent meeting between Sir Mark Potter and Jack Straw.
Meanwhile, the CPS has denied that prosecutions had dropped, although their latest figures pre-date the new laws.
If the judges are correct, it seems to me that there are three possible explanations for the estimated reduction of 25% in the number of victims seeking non-molestation orders:
That the judges are right that victims fear giving their partners a criminal record and, potentially, a prison sentence - although under the old law victims should have been aware that a prison term was likely if the perpetrator should breach the order.
That there has been a marked decrease in the incidence of domestic violence since last July - extremely unlikely, as the report mentions, particularly as few perpetrators would even be aware of the new laws.
Dare I say it, that the old law was abused by some people who were not really victims of domestic violence - they simply wanted to get their partners out of the house - but now they are reluctant to go to court because of the more serious criminal implications.
written by John Bolch
on Wednesday, March 12, 2008
There's an interesting new resource on the Women's Aid website. I can imagine that the prospect of staying in a Women's Aid refuge can be pretty dispiriting for a victim of domestic violence. Well, now the charity has a 'virtual refuge' on its site, which gives women an idea of what it's like to stay in one. This allows visitors to explore a refuge, and along the way answers many of the questions that are likely to be asked. An excellent use of web technology, and something that may put a lot of minds at rest.
A commenter on this post has made the point that many women who suffer domestic violence are terrified of seeking help for fear of having their children taken into care, and gave a link to a YouTube video on the subject by (I believe) Dr. Lynne Wrennall (incorrectly spelt 'Rennall' in the video) of Liverpool John Moores University. The video appears to have been uploaded to YouTube by or on behalf of Mothers for Justice, a group who campaign "for everyone who has suffered an injustice with the corrupt judiciary system". I haven't done any child care work for many years, so I can't really comment on this from my own experience (do the 'vast majority' of women suffering domestic violence have their children taken into care, as the commenter suggests?), but obviously it is a serious matter if victims of domestic violence are deterred from seeking the help that they desperately need.
written by John Bolch
on Thursday, February 07, 2008
The BBC reported yesterday another tragic case of a wife killing her husband after suffering years of abuse from him. Rina Begum was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to four years in prison, so her five children will be deprived of a father and, for the duration of her custody, a mother. The case may give rise to calls for further protection for victims of domestic violence, but I'm not sure what can be done to strengthen the law. It seems to me that what leads victims to such acts of utter desperation is the feeling that they are alone and that there is no way out. Well, they are not alone and there is a way out, so I thought it worth setting out here the number of the National Domestic Violence Helpline, run in partnership between Women's Aid and Refuge:
0808 2000 247
The line is open 24 hours a day and calls are free.
written by John Bolch
on Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Following on from my first post today, the Home Affairs Committee has begun an 'eConsultation', an online forum as part of their inquiry into domestic violence, "to listen to the views of people who have first-hand experience of domestic violence". The forum, which will run until the 29th February, invites responses to four questions:
Do victims of domestic violence receive the support they need from public and voluntary sector organisations?
Are victims of “honour-based” violence helped enough by public and voluntary sector agencies?
Are there adequate support services for people who are forced into marriage against their will?
What single action would most improve the lives of victims and survivors of all forms of domestic violence?
Some of the posts make sobering reading.Read More...
I read in the Guardian yesterday (via Current Awareness) that the Association of Chief Police Officers is recommending that perpetrators of domestic violence be placed on a domestic violence abuse register. Chief Constable Brian Moore, the Association's spokesman on domestic violence, told the Commons home affairs committee (which is carrying out an inquiry into domestic violence) that dozens of lives could be saved if the perpetrators were tracked in the same way as sex offenders.
I'm not sure about this, but I suppose it could be useful if, when a call from a victim comes in, the alleged perpetrator's name were checked against the register, to ensure a rapid and serious response if the name appears. On the other hand, shouldn't there always be such a response? How else the register might be useful is not clear to me. Moore speaks of having a "picture of those at risk", but what does he intend, that such people are warned about their partners?
written by John Bolch
on Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Another excellent post today on the Magistrate's Blog, contrasting the usual Government announcements about being tough on crime, with the reality. What I wanted to point out here, however, is the comment about the Integrated Domestic Abuse Programme, a programme for convicted offenders which addresses the issues behind domestic violence. Bystander describes it as "First Class", but states that "the programmes are nearly all full, and there can be a wait of many months to get an offender on to one", by which time "it increasingly ceases to mean anything to the offender". Wonderful. How many victims will suffer further domestic violence because of lack of funding for such programmes?
Funny where a trail on the internet can lead. Here's a short one I followed this morning. First, I received the excellent weekly family law update from Family Law Week. This mentioned a rather worrying survey of the attitudes of young people towards domestic violence, carried out by The Body Shop as part of their Stop Violence in the Home Campaign. Funds from the campaign go to Women's Aid to help them develop The Hideout, a website which aims to support and inform children and young people about domestic violence.
The BBC is running a Domestic Violence Day, which aims to raise awareness about abuse in the home. It includes articles about the experiences of one woman at the hands of an abusive husband, the plight of Asian women and, most interestingly, the use by the police of head cameras in a bid to tackle anti-social behaviour and violence in the home. I agree that when they see the film shot by such cameras perpetrators of domestic violence (many of whom still behave aggressively when the police arrive) are more likely to admit their behaviour, and if they don't then the film will be good evidence against them.
My client was giving me details of her husband's violence towards her, so that I could prepare an application for a domestic violence injunction. The incidents she had so far told me about were not particularly serious - enough for a non-molestation order, but not enough for what she really wanted, which was an ouster order, requiring her husband to leave the matrimonial home. We needed something more, and I told her so.
"Well, there was one incident," she said. "It happened in the bedroom."
"Oh yes?" I said, thinking we were getting somewhere. "What happened?"
"My husband threw something at me." She said.
"What did he throw?" I asked.
She hesitated.
"We need to tell the court what he threw." I told her.
She was still reluctant to tell me. I explained that the court would need to know what her husband had thrown, if it was to adjudge the seriousness of the incident.
She looked sheepish. "A vibrator." She said.
"Ah."
She decided not to use the incident, and settled for a non-molestation injunction.
[Note: I don't usually disclose details of cases I have dealt with, but this one occurred many years ago and both parties involved have hopefully long forgotten the details. I should also say that I'm not for one moment making light of domestic violence, which is an extremely serious issue. If you've been the victim of domestic violence, seek legal advice. There are also other sources of help, such as the excellent Women's Aid.]
written by John Bolch
on Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Here's a story with a twist in the tail. On the 23rd March William Hammerton succeeded in his appeal against being committed to prison for three months for breaching an undertaking and an order not to molest his former wife. The Court of Appeal was quite scathing about the way the case had been conducted, aiming much of it's criticism at Mr Justice Collins, who had made the committal order.
So far so good for Mr Hammerton. Unfortunately, he was not satisfied. A few days later he returned to the Royal Courts of Justice, sought out His Honour Judge Collins and pelted him with eggs. After one struck the judge, he proceeded to read out from the Court of Appeal judgment. Not surprisingly, Mr Hammerton soon found himself back behind bars, after being given a two month sentence for contempt of court on the 30th March.
written by John Bolch
on Friday, February 16, 2007
Causing damage to property is is a common feature of domestic violence. Here's a salutary warning of the possible financial consequences to the perpetrator, mentioned in this post on The Magistrate's Blog:
A man who had a row with his partner took an axe to household fixtures to express his frustration. I hope he felt better afterwards, because we awarded compensation of over £6,000 to the housing association that owns the house. That works out at around £600 per minute of temper-time.
Of course, such behaviour does not only have financial consequences.
Read More...
written by John Bolch
on Thursday, February 01, 2007
Women's Aid has today launched 'act', "a national domestic violence awareness campaign to ask everyone to ‘act until women and children are safe’– that is - admit domestic abuse is a problem, call it by its name and talk to someone about it". The campaign uses head and shoulder portraits of famous female faces, made up to show the physical effects of domestic violence. Whilst I wish the campaign every success, and whilst I understand that Women's Aid works specifically to end violence against women and children, it would have been nice if it had mentioned that domestic violence is also suffered by many men.
written by John Bolch
on Wednesday, January 17, 2007
This is something that I saw in the Gazette last week, but haven't gotten around to posting about until now. Resolution has issued a press release suggesting that "new laws designed to punish perpetrators of domestic abuse may actually work against the interests of their victims and reduce the likelihood of offences being reported, putting victims at risk. From July 1st this year, the Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act makes breach of a non-molestation or occupation order a criminal offence, punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment. Until now it has been a civil offence...Resolution fears that the change may deter victims from reporting attacks or taking action if they know that the perpetrator could end up with a criminal record". A good point. As the release goes on to say: "first and foremost, the law should protect the victim rather than punish the perpetrator". Quite. Is the government missing the point here?
written by John Bolch
on Tuesday, December 19, 2006
In a widening of the 'safe rooms' scheme that I mentioned in a previous post, the government has announced a £74 million fund to provide victims of domestic violence with a secure room within their homes, equipped with alarms and CCTV. As I said before, while this may be useful in some cases, it will be of little help to victims who will not have time to get to the room, and it could even encourage some to stay put in their homes when they would be better off moving to an address that their attacker does not know.
written by John Bolch
on Thursday, November 23, 2006
According to the BBC today, a report by the End Violence Against Women Campaign warns that the government is not doing enough to tackle the problems of violence against women in the UK. The report blames "a lack of strategy and co-operation across departments", "a failure to develop policies and provide resources for forms of violence beyond domestic violence, such as rape and forced marriage" and "funding and a lack of services".
I'm not sure that I'm very well placed to comment on the report. As I may have mentioned before, I have not had a lot of domestic violence work since I gave up legal aid - I'm not sure whether this is because domestic violence is more prevalent amongst the under privileged (although it is certainly not unique to them), or whether it is simply because few victims can afford to pay for private legal help. I would say, however, that it is interesting that the campaign, which is a coalition of charities, includes in it's definition of 'violence' not only domestic violence but also such obscenities as forced marriage, Female Genital Mutilation and "so-called ‘honour’ crimes and killings". These are targets that are ingrained in ethnic and religious ideologies, and will take a sustained international effort to eradicate. I wish the campaign every success.
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