News & Campaigns

All the latest from HER-itage and our affiliates

Major overhaul of family courts to protect domestic abuse victims – Ministry of Justice

Survivors of domestic abuse and their children will receive greater protections after the government announced an overhaul of how the family courts deal with the horrific crime on 25 June 2020.

  • more victims to receive special protections in court
  • stronger powers for judges to prevent abusers repeatedly dragging a victim back to court
  • new investigative court process trialled to reduce conflict

Sweeping reforms will see more victims of domestic abuse given access to separate building entrances and waiting rooms as well as protective screens to shield them from their alleged abuser in court.

Ministers will also make it easier for judges to issue barring orders which prevent abusive ex-partners from repeatedly dragging their victims back to court – which can be used as a form of continuing domestic abuse.

The move comes after an expert-led review into how the family courts handle domestic abuse and other serious offences raised concerns that victims and children were being put at unnecessary risk.

The expert panel was made up of representatives from charities, the judiciary, family law practitioners and academia, and took the views of more than 1,200 individuals and organisations.

It found that an adversarial process in the family courts often worsened conflict between parents, which could retraumatise victims and their children.

Fundamental reform of how the courts hear cases, through a new investigative approach, will be trialled as part of the Integrated Domestic Abuse Courts pilot – these consider family and criminal matters in parallel in order to provide more consistent support for victims. Emphasis will be placed on getting to the root of an issue and ensuring all parties are safe and able to provide evidence on an equal footing – without the retraumatising effects of being in court with an abusive ex-partner.

Additionally, Ministers will launch a review into the presumption of ‘parental involvement’ that often encourages a child’s relationship with both parents, unless the involvement of that parent would put the child at risk. It will examine whether the right balance is being struck between the risk of harm to children and victims, and the right of the child to have a relationship with both parents. The government welcomes this key recommendation which requires careful consideration to implement correctly – further details about the review will be announced in due course.

The measures form part on an Implementation Plan published by Ministers today which sets out immediate and longer-term steps to better protect victims in the family courts.  These include:

  • Trialling an investigative, problem-solving approach in private family law proceedings as part of an upcoming pilot of Integrated Domestic Abuse Courts. This could see judges decide what evidence to investigate, rather than both parties presenting their cases against each other.
  • Giving automatic entitlement for special measures in the courtroom for victims of domestic abuse going through the family courts – such as separate waiting rooms, entrances and screens – via a further amendment to the Domestic Abuse Bill.
  • Reviewing the presumption of ‘parental involvement’ and whether the right balance is struck between the risk of harm to children and victims, with the right of the child to have a relationship with both parents.
  • A commitment to change the provision on ‘barring orders’, which prevent abusers repeatedly dragging ex-partners back to court over child arrangements. Ministers will review whether this is best done through legislative or non-legislative means.
  • Inviting the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and Victims’ Commissioner to monitor and report on private family law proceedings involving victims of domestic abuse.

The changes build on the landmark Domestic Abuse Bill, currently before Parliament, which transforms our response to dealing with perpetrators and protecting victims. Key measures in the Bill include:

  • creating a statutory definition of domestic abuse, emphasising that domestic abuse is not just physical violence, but can also be emotional, coercive or controlling, and economic abuse
  • establishing a Domestic Abuse Commissioner, to drive the response to domestic abuse.
  • introduce new Domestic Abuse Protection Notices and Domestic Abuse Protection Orders to further protect victims and place restrictions on the actions of offenders
  • place a duty on local authorities in England to provide support to victims of domestic abuse and their children in refuges and other safe accommodation
  • prohibit perpetrators of abuse from cross-examining their victims in person in the family courts in England and Wales
  • enable domestic abuse offenders to be subject to polygraph testing as a condition of their licence following their release from custody
  • place the guidance supporting the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (‘Clare’s law’) on a statutory footing

The Bill is backed by £35 million to support victims and their children – with an additional £76 million extra funding announced in May to support vulnerable victims during the Coronavirus pandemic, including victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence.

Part of a longer press release https://www.gov.uk/government/news/major-overhaul-of-family-courts-to-protect-domestic-abuse-victims

June 29, 2020

Improve Maternal Mortality Rates and Health Care for Black Women in the UK – Petition to Parliament

Black Women in the U.K. are 5 times more likely to die during pregnancy and after childbirth compared to White Women (MBRRACE, 2019).

We need more research done into why this is happening and recommendations to improve health care for Black Women as urgent action is needed to address this disparity.

The Government must commit to funding the changes necessary to eradicate these statistics and improve maternal health care outcomes for Black Women.

Between 2015-2017 the chance of death for Black Women was 38 out of 100,000 however it was 7 out of 100,000 for White Women according to the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths and Morbidity.

An urgent explanation and tangible action needs to be done by the Government to stop this number increasing and putting Black Women’s lives in danger.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/301079

June 18, 2020

‘Rough sex’ defence will be banned – Justice Minister

The so-called “rough sex gone wrong” defence will be outlawed in new domestic abuse legislation, a justice minister has told MPs.

Alex Chalk said it was “unconscionable” that the defence can be used in court to justify or excuse the death of a woman “simply because she consented”. He said it would be made “crystal clear” in the Domestic Abuse Bill that it was not acceptable.

The bill, for England and Wales, is due to become law later this year.

The campaign group We Can’t Consent To This, which wants the defence outlawed, said the minister’s response was “a big step forward”.

The group says the “rough sex” defence can result in a lesser sentence.

Campaigners want to make it the expectation that murder charges are brought against those suspected of killing a person during sex.

As it stands, if someone kills another person during sexual activity they could be charged with manslaughter alone. To murder someone, there needs to have been an intention to kill that person or to cause them grievous bodily harm (GBH).

We Can’t Consent To This has collated 60 examples of women “who were killed during so-called ‘sex games gone wrong'” in the UK, since 1972.

The group claims that 45% of these cases ended in a “lesser charge of manslaughter, a lighter sentence or the death not being investigated as a crime at all”.

There are also 115 people – all but one of whom were women – who have had to attend court where it is claimed they consented to violent injury, the group has said.

The violence used in the non-fatal assaults included waterboarding, wounding, strangulation, beating and asphyxiation.

Alex Chalk said: “It is unconscionable for defendants to suggest that the death of a woman is justified, excusable or legally defensible because that woman had engaged in violent and harmful sexual activity which resulted in her death, simply because she consented.”

The We Can’t Consent to This campaign group said what had happened in Parliament “was genuinely a big step forward”, adding: “We should know within weeks what their proposals are and if they’ve gone far enough.”

Extracts from a longer news report at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-53064086

June 18, 2020

Single mothers and lowest paid hit hardest by loss of income in Covid-19 crisis – Institute for Social and Economic Research

New data released today by the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex from Understanding Society: the UK Household Longitudinal Study shows that earnings have fallen for households across the UK, but particularly for the lowest earners, and with severe losses for single parents.

In the highest income bracket, average earnings in February stood at £832 a week, and fell by £46 a week. In the lowest income bracket, they fell £43 a week, but from an average of £297. On average, single parents’ earnings fell by more than double the amount experienced by households with children and more than one adult1.

The new figures cover respondents aged between 20 and 65 taking part in a regular Understanding Society survey of the UK population’s experiences of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Covid-19 survey interviewed 17,450 respondents who are part of the established longitudinal study, which is representative of the UK population as a whole. The survey asked people about their circumstances in the last week of April, and what their circumstances had been in January and February.

The data show that nearly 18% of the lowest earners were behind on their household bills, compared to just 2% of those in the highest income bracket. The lowest earners were also over five times more likely to report that they had been hungry but not eaten at some time in the last week2.

The survey also explores what people are doing to mitigate the economic effects of the pandemic. Of those who reported a fall in earnings

  • more than two thirds (68%) said they had reduced their spending
  • more than a quarter (26%) have used savings
  • significant numbers have taken a mortgage holiday (10%), borrowed from friends or family (10%) or applied for Universal Credit (7%).

This first look at the data was carried out by the team at Understanding Society.

Notes

  1. Average weekly household earnings for individuals who are a single adult with children fell £73 from £326 in February to £253 in April, compared to a drop of £36 (from £511 to £475) for individuals living in a household with more than one adult and children. For individuals with positive household earnings in February, single parents saw an average drop of £119 (from £427 to £308), compared to £43 (£537 to £494) for individuals in a household with more than one adult and children.
  2. 31% of the lowest earners said their earnings had fallen by a fifth (20%) or more, compared to 21% of the highest earners. 35% of single parents said their earnings had fallen by a fifth (20%) or more, compared to 21% of households with children and more than one adult. Average household earnings fell by 8%.
  3. 7.7% of those in the lowest income quintile reported that they or someone in their household had been hungry in the last week but did not eat, compared to 1.5% of the highest income quintile.
  4. Overall, 20% of people expected to be worse off in the next month, compared to 9% who expected to be better off. (71% of people expected to be in the same financial situation.) In the lowest income quintile, 24% expected to be worse off next month, compared to 8% who expected to be better off. Among single parents, 26% expected to be worse off next month, compared to 7% who expected to be better off.
  5. Other headline figures from the first month of the Understanding Society Covid-19 survey include:
    • The number of hours people worked fell significantly, from an average of 35 hours a week in February to 23 hours a week in April. Of those reporting a drop in the number of hours they worked:
    • 43% had been furloughed
    • 14% experienced a drop in self-employed work
    • 10% said their employer had reduced their hours
    • 7% said it was because they were caring for others, but this figure was twice as high for those aged 30-49
    • The fall in the average number of hours worked was particularly large for people without degrees, people on zero hours contracts, and the self-employed.
    • People have taken a variety of actions to mitigate a loss in earnings. Of those who reported their earnings falling:
    • Two thirds reported that they have reduced their spending
    • More than a quarter have drawn on their savings
    • Significant numbers have taken a mortgage holiday (10%), received money from friends or family (10%) and applied for Universal Credit (7%)

Read the briefing paper

Part of a longer press release at https://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/2020/05/29/single-mothers-and-lowest-paid-covid

June 18, 2020

24 July 2020 ~ Online survey focusing on the experience of rape victims in the criminal justice system – Victims’ Commissioner – closing date

The Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales Dame Vera Baird QC is asking victims of rape to share their experiences of the criminal justice system.

The Commissioner has launched her research by publishing a request for information which takes the form of a questionnaire.

Dame Vera is asking anyone who has been the victim of rape – and who feels able to – to tell her about their personal experience of the criminal justice system. It does not matter how far the offence progressed in the system, the VC wants to know about what happens at every stage.

Researchers from Dame Vera’s team will analyse the responses and produce a report which will be published in the autumn.

The research is independent of the Government’s ‘End to End Rape Review’ which is continuing.

Launching the research Dame Vera said: “It is vitally important that the lived experience, opinions and thoughts of those people who have been raped and are heard.

“I intend to give survivors a voice and ensure that they are listened to by the criminal justice agencies. I understand entirely that it can be very difficult for survivors to revisit what happened to them.

“Clearly we will not ask for details of the offence to be rehearsed but have left space for survivors to add anything of relevance

“No one else can give this perspective. And it will help the criminal justice agencies to understand what victims think they are getting right and what they are not.

“So, I am appealing for as many rape survivors as possible – I repeat as long as they feel able to do this – whatever their age, gender, ethnicity or occupation – to take part. And be assured your contributors will be anonymous,” she said.

The request for information will be open from 12 June until 24 July. To take part click here.

Anyone who requires help and support related to sexual assault or abuse can find a list of support agencies here.

https://victimscommissioner.org.uk/news/victims-commissioner-launches-new-research-focusing-on-the-experience-of-rape-victims/

June 16, 2020