All Lawed Up With Nowhere to Go

Image: Stefano A.

Qualifiers. Proof. When we are informed of something we usually demand some kind of proof. This is arguably a sensible way to avoid diet food, unqualified 'doctors' and healing crystals. However sometimes we can be too demanding. In the most sensitive of circumstances. For instance often those suffering from a poor relationship with food report being told they don't look like someone who is. This is dangerous. Then there's the case of domestic abuse. What does someone who is in an abusive relationship look like? Plenty of people will happily tell you exactly what such a person looks like and bruises probably feature in the description. It's easy to forget that abuse can take many forms, which is why the government has begun a consultation for a new criminal offence of domestic abuse that includes non violent behaviour

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The charity Women's Aid will be working with the government on this consultation and believe the update in the definition of the offence is vital: Polly Neate, Women's Aid chief executive, said: "This is a vital step forward for victims of domestic violence. Two women a week are killed by domestic violence, and in our experience of working with survivors, coercive, controlling behaviour is at the heart of the most dangerous abuse."

Is it, however, one thing to change the law. It's another to invest in training the various professionals who repeatedly miss signs that they are encountering abusive situations. What people who are in suffering in relationships that feature coercive, controlling behaviour and bullying need is for the people who they are told they can approach for help to be able to recognise and respond to these issues. 

Theresa May has been involved in a monitoring group that has found the police were failing thousands of domestic abuse victims, because they did not see the abuse as a serious crime. May said: "The government is clear that abuse is not just physical. Victims who are subjected to a living hell by their partners must have the confidence to come forward."

Neate of Women's Aid commented: "We look forward to working closely with the Home Office, the police, and the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure this change gives victims greater confidence to speak out sooner, and perpetrators of domestic violence are identified and dealt with more swiftly and effectively."

they require refuges, which are suffering and closing down due to massive cuts in funding. 

While a wider definition in the law is important, it seems May has not taken into account that those wishing to leave an abusive relationship will need somewhere to go. Particularly if they do not match up to the abused partner stereotype and find that friends and family are unsympathetic. Which means they require refuges, which are suffering and closing down due to massive cuts in funding. 

This is something the shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper has picked up on: ""The criminal justice system needs to recognise the damage done by repeated psychological abuse and coercive control which is too often overlooked - the government's agreement to this consultation is a welcome tribute to those who have campaigned hard for change.

"But Theresa May just isn't doing enough to reverse the backwards slide in action against domestic violence or support for victims on her watch.

"Under this government, refuges across the country are cutting services and many are threatened with closure."

If the laws are going to be tighter, and the services receive better training, there is still the case of where a person who has left a dangerous situation can go, particularly if children are involved. Particularly is no-one else believes them.

Squeamish Kate