ISSUES
: Domestic Violence
Chapter 2: Tackling domestic abuse
23
as likely than women (17%) to not tell
anyone about the partner abuse”.
There is also a continuing issue within
the justice system of stereotypes of
abuse victims more generally. Victims
of domestic abuse who fail to conform
to particular stereotypes that dictate
that they should be meek and passive
in the face of the abuse have their
status as victims regularly called into
question.
Alongside creating an offence of
coercive control, more investment
also needs to be made in the services
that provide support to victims of
domestic abuse. Currently only
victims who are at the highest risk
of serious harm from their partners
or ex-partners can access support
from Independent Domestic Violence
Advisors (IDVAs). Their invaluable
support can include creating safety
plans for the victim to leave their
abusive partner and supporting the
victim in giving evidence in court. The
number of IDVAs has decreased as a
result of funding cuts and they are not
available to those who are assessed
as being at low to medium risk of
serious harm. Domestic violence
charities and organisations, who are
often funded by local government,
have seen significant reductions
in funding. Since 2010, one in six
specialist refuges has been lost
due to funding cuts and 48% of the
167 domestic violence services in
England are running their services
without government funding. In
response to a campaign by Women’s
Aid, the Government has committed
£10 million to prevent the closure of
specialist refuges. However, there are
still concerns that this is insufficient to
offer the degree of support needed for
victims.
With 1.1 million women and 720,000
men reporting domestic violence
in the past year, domestic abuse is
a significant societal issue. Simply
creating new legislation will not
combat this problem. Alongside
creating an offence of coercive
control, morework needs tobe done in
improving justice agencies’ responses
to domestic abuse, supported by
investment in the support services so
valuable to victims of abuse. As one
victim of domestic abuse stated on
BBC
Panorama
’s
Domestic Abuse:
Caught on Camera
; “domestic abuse
is everyone’s problem” – it’s about
time that this was truly reflected in the
governmental and justice system’s
responses to this form of abuse.
17 December 2014
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New law to tackle revenge porn
People who maliciously share sexually explicit pictures of former partners will face
prosecution under new laws.
R
evenge porn – the distribution
of a private sexual image
of someone without their
consent and with the intention of
causing them distress – will be made
a specific offence in the Criminal
Justice and Courts Bill, which is
currently going through Parliament.
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said:
“The fact that there are individuals
who are cruelly distributing intimate
pictures of their former partners
without their consent is almost
beyond belief.
“We want those who fall victim to
this type of disgusting behaviour to
know that we are on their side and
will do everything we can to bring
offenders to justice.
“That is why we will change the law
and make it absolutely clear to those
who act in this way that they could
face prison.”
Minister for Women and Equalities
Nicky Morgan said:
“Circulating intimate photos of an
individual without their consent
is never acceptable. People are
entitled to expect a reasonable level
of respect and privacy.
“It is right that those who do
circulate these images are held
to account, and that we educate
young people to the hurt that can
be caused by breaking this trust.”
The change will cover the sharing of
images both online and offline. It will
mean that images posted to social
networking sites such as Facebook
and Twitter will be caught by the
offence, as well as those that are
shared via text message. Images
shared via e-mail, on a website or
the distribution of physical copies
will also be caught. Those convicted
will face a maximum sentence of
two years in prison.
The offence will cover photographs
or films which show people engaged
in sexual activity or depicted in a
sexual way or with their genitals
exposed, where what is shown
would not usually be seen in public.
Victims and others will be able to
report offences to the police to
investigate. Officers will work with
the Crown Prosecution Service to
take forward cases for prosecution.
Those found to have committed
a sexual offence can continue
