New Laws announced on Domestic Abuse in the UK
Changes regarding domestic abuse were recently announced by the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. No woman or girl should ever feel unsafe in their home or neighbourhood, he said in response, and he is determined to putting an end to these horrible crimes. He added that in order to prevent more of these crimes from happening in the first place, prosecute more criminals, and provide more help for victims, police are prioritizing their efforts to combat violence against women and girls and toughening up the way offenders are controlled. See gov.uk.
What is domestic abuse?
Domestic abuse, often known as "domestic violence" or "intimate partner violence," can be described as a pattern of behaviour used in any relationship to obtain or maintain authority and control over an intimate partner as per the United Nations. Abuse is defined as coercive, threatening, or harmful physical, sexual, emotional, or psychological behaviour toward another person. This includes any actions that terrify, intimidate, manipulate, inflict harm, humiliate, or assign guilt on another person. Anybody can experience domestic abuse, regardless of their ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, religion, or gender. It can happen in a variety of situations, including ones between married, cohabiting, or dating couples. People from various socioeconomic origins and educational levels are impacted by domestic abuse.
What is the new law that has been announced?
The Prime Minister recently announced tougher measures. Domestic abusers will face tags and harsher management under new laws enacted to protect women and young girls. The new ideas are cantered on preventing domestic abuse and go further than ever before in protecting women and girls from harassment, hostility, and violence. To improve oversight of the most severe and dangerous domestic abusers, the law will be changed. For the first time, coercive or controlling behaviour and physical violence will be treated similarly. As a result, anyone receiving a sentence of one year or more in jail or a suspended sentence will automatically be under the active administration of the police, prison, and probation services. There will be a legal requirement for many agencies to cooperate in order to limit the threats posed by these serious criminals. As a result, it will be simpler to undertake a coordinated plan to safeguard the general population.
Police and the probation service will immediately begin working to guarantee that criminals sentenced to a year or longer for using coercive or controlling behaviour be added to the violent and sex offender registries going forward. They won't be able to slither through the cracks while the law is being changed because of this. In addition, abusers may be fitted with a tag, prohibited from traveling within a certain distance of a victim's home, and required to attend a behaviour change program as part of a trial of domestic abuse protection notices and domestic abuse protection orders in three areas of the UK.
What can you do?
Anybody at danger of or experiencing domestic violence will be able to access immediate support from one of 18 jobcentres and employment and welfare offices dispersed throughout the nation starting today (20 February) thanks to a new postcode checker that will identify the service's closest location. In 88 UK cities, towns, and villages, almost 5,000 pharmacists already take part in the Ask for ANI (Action Required Immediately) program. It's offered in conjunction with Hestia's Safe Spaces. Anyone who is experiencing or fearing domestic violence can call ANI, and they will be assisted in calling the police or specialized domestic abuse organizations while being brought to a safe, peaceful environment. The program's emergency support has been required on average once per week since its inception in 2021.
The government will also require that police departments treat violence against women and girls as a national threat, in accordance with a new strategic policing requirement released in February. Hence, combating these crimes will be just as important as combating threats like terrorism, serious and organized crime, and child sexual abuse. The National Police Chiefs' Council is also writing to each force in England and Wales to reite