Progress for victims of domestic abuse

The UK is one step closer today to ratifying the Istanbul Convention which is a set of standards designed to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence.

The convention creates a comprehensive legal framework and approach to combat violence against women and is focused on preventing domestic violence, protecting victims and prosecuting accused offenders. The treaty establishes a series of offences characterised as violence against women including psychological violence, stalking, physical violence, sexual violence and forced marriage.

Amongst other key terms domestic violence is defined as “all acts of physical, sexual, psychological or economic violence that occur with the family or domestic unit or between former or current spouses or partners whether or not the perpetrator shares or has shared the same residence with the victim”.

The convention was adopted by the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers on 7 April 2011. As of May 2016 it was signed by 43 countries and it came into force on 1 August 2014. Countries that have ratified the convention are legally bound by its provisions once it enters into force.

This afternoon 135 MP’s of all political backgrounds have voted to ratify the convention in the UK. The bill has now passed its second reading and moves onto committee stage which means that the UK is one step closer to adopting the convention. Countries that adopt the convention are committed to ensuring that survivors of domestic violence can have access to specialist support services and refuges, monitoring data about gender related violence and having age appropriate education at schools about domestic abuse.

The UK has made good progress to deal with serious issues of forced marriage and stalking but ratification of the convention will secure in law women’s rights to access the support services and enable extended and increased access to the support that victims of these crimes desperately need.

With statistics coming out this week that state that on average two women each week are killed by their current or former partner and that every hour of every day the police receive over 100 calls in relation to domestic abuse this is an issue that needs to be acted on now.

Whilst we await the UK to finalise their commitment to this convention victims of domestic abuse are urged to continue to seek the support of the police and legal representatives to ensure their protection. Police have enhanced powers to take action for harassment, which includes controlling and coercive behaviour. Further seeking the assistance of a specialist family lawyer can help explain the many options for protection that are available as well as providing support for the practical implications.

For further information about the issues raised in this article, please contact our Rayner Grice in our Family law team.