The Home Office is implementing statutory guidance under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and conducting post-legislative scrutiny to assess effectiveness and identify necessary reforms. Related bills address safe leave provisions, pet protection, and aggravated offences for domestic abuse perpetrators. Current activity includes post-legislative scrutiny and development of a cross-government violence against women and girls strategy.
Direction: unknown
Throughout its 2021 VAWG Strategy, the Home Office did not make the most of the available expertise and knowledge, for example by engaging with the voluntary sector to understand the demands being faced on the frontline.17 Evidence submitted by End …
The Government should ensure that NCII abuse is included when creating a common definition of VAWG, as part of its mission to reduce it by 50% within the next decade. It should also identify what data can be used to …
We consider that local authorities should draw on the advice of specialist domestic abuse charities in coming to a decision on whether FGDM is in the child’s best interests where domestic abuse has occurred. (Conclusion, Paragraph 41) Type: conclusion | …
The Government must include specific questions on honour-based abuse in the Domestic Abuse Risk Assessment tool to help both victims and police officers identify risks confidently and accurately. Type: recommendation | Number: 6 | Paragraph: 39 | Response status: under_consideration …
In order to tackle so-called honour-based abuse effectively, it is crucial there is shared understanding of it across all agencies. The introduction of a statutory definition of honour-based abuse would contribute to social and professional understanding, help to improve data …
The Government should introduce a statutory definition of honour-based abuse. It should consult a wide range of experts, specialist by-and-for services and survivors of honour-based abuse on framing the definition using the existing Crown Prosecution Service definition as a starting …
We recognise the overwhelming majority of victims of honour-based abuse are female, but this must not detract from the experiences of male victims. We are concerned the inclusion of men and boys in strategies primarily aimed at women and girls …
Direction: to_committee
We recommend that clause 8(3) also includes reference to section 3 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, namely that children can be victims of domestic abuse in their own right. Doing so will provide assurance that commissioners of support services …
The statutory guidance to be provided by the Government should include advice on addressing the potential for under-representation in the needs assessment. It should also include signposting to specialist support for those groups that may be available elsewhere or at …
We recommend that the Bill includes the entire definition of a domestic abuse victim as it appears in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. We further recommend that the Bill also defines Independent Sexual Violence Advisors and Independent Domestic Violence Advisors …
Clause 9(3) states that the guidance may include provision on the role, functions and appropriate training and qualifications of an ISVA and IDVA. We find no reason why it should not be required to do so. If a role is …
Guidance on appropriate training and qualifications for the independent advisors must be co-designed with the expert services already in the sector who have established and grown those roles and should be drafted in such a way that does not discredit …
The Department told us that it provided specific training for staff to identify domestic abuse and coercive control, and that it could put in place controls to avoid contact with the paying parent (such as non-geographic bank accounts). It explained …
Direction: to_committee
Direction: to_committee
The Committee calls on the Government to carefully consider the use of guidance in future emergencies to ensure maximum clarity and minimal complexity for the public and law enforcement. The Government should ensure that future legislation of this type doesn’t …
The Government should consider how the provisions included in sections 66 to 68 of The Domestic Abuse Bill 2019–21 could be applied to aid workers who commit sexual offences against adults overseas. It should also seek to use existing legislation …
Direction: to_committee