Domestic abuse victims ‘still being cross-examined by alleged perpetrator’ – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Victims of domestic abuse are still being cross-examined by alleged perpetrators in the family courts despite the “appalling practice” being banned by the Domestic Abuse Act, women’s charities and solicitors have told the lord chancellor.

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Law Society's Gazette, 12th February 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Prosecutors drop attempted rape case against Mason Greenwood – The Guardian

‘The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said there was “no longer a realistic prospect of conviction” after key witnesses withdrew their cooperation from the investigation.’

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The Guardian, 2nd February 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Police Receive Seven Reports Of So-Called Honour-Based Abuse A Day – Each Other

‘Between March 2021 and March 2022 there were 2,887 honour-based abuse-related (HBA) offences recorded by the police in England and Wales, the second consecutive rise in HBA-related offences. Approximately seven cases are reported every day. However, the Home Office says that these cases are likely to only represent a small proportion of the actual offences committed.’

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Each Other, 27th January 2022

Source: eachother.org.uk

Child Maintenance Service to clamp down on domestic abuse – Family Law

‘Survivors of domestic abuse will be given the choice to allow the CMS to collect and make payments on their behalf – without the consent of an abusive ex-partner. This will prevent perpetrators from using child maintenance as a form of ongoing financial abuse and control and mean survivors will not have to have contact with their ex-partner if there is evidence of domestic violence.’

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Family Law, 26th January 2023

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

K v K – a retreat from progress in the family courts? – Family Law Week

Posted January 31st, 2023 in contact orders, domestic violence, family courts, news, victims by tracey

‘Dr Adrienne Barnett, Reader in Law, Brunel University, London, and Dr Charlotte Proudman, barrister at Goldsmith Chambers and director at Right to Equality, consider whether K v K [2022] EWCA Civ 468 favours the resolution of resource constraints over the safety and welfare of victims of domestic abuse.’

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Family Law Week, 30th January 2023

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

How Deep Does Misogyny Run In The Met? – Each Other

‘The Metropolitan Police Service (Met) was put under “special measures” in 2022, following a series of acts carried out by serving police officers, including: the rape and murder of Sarah Everard, unethical handling of the bodies of Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry, the strip-search of Child Q, and a series of WhatsApp groups which cultivated rape culture. But that was the tip of the iceberg in unearthing misogyny in the Met.’

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Each Other, 25th January 2023

Source: eachother.org.uk

Met chief ‘can’t promise women reporting sexual offence will not meet officer accused of wrongdoing’ – The Independent

‘The head of the Metropolitan Police said he can’t promise that women reporting sexual offences will not encounter an officer under investigation.’

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The Independent, 17th January 2023

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Killamarsh murders: Probation failings over killer Damien Bendall – BBC News

Posted January 17th, 2023 in domestic violence, murder, news, probation, reports, sentencing by sally

‘A review into how a quadruple murderer was dealt with by probation officers has found failings “at every stage”.’

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BBC News, 17th January 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Where are we with Section 65 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021? – Garden Court Chambers

Posted January 10th, 2023 in chambers articles, cross-examination, domestic violence, news by sally

‘The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 came into force in April 2021. Section 65 of the Act (which amends the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 (MFPA) creates prohibitions which “prohibit cross-examination in person”.’

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Garden Court Chambers, 23rd December 2022

Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk

Judge quashes decision letter over discriminatory impact of housing allocations policy on domestic abuse survivor – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 6th, 2023 in domestic violence, equality, housing, judicial review, local government, news by tracey

“A High Court judge has ruled that a local authority’s housing allocations policy and its application to a domestic abuse survivor amounted to indirect discrimination.”

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Local Government Lawyer, 5th January 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Domestic Violence Indefinite Leave to Remain (DVILR) of the Immigration Rules breaches Article 14 of the ECHR – EIN Blog

Posted January 4th, 2023 in domestic violence, families, human rights, immigration, judicial review, news by sally

‘In these judicial review proceedings, Lieven J held that Appendix FM, specifically the Domestic Violence Indefinite Leave to Remain (DVILR) of the Immigration Rules, and the differential treatment between victims of spousal abandonment inside and outside the UK is not justified and therefore breaches of Article 14 of the ECHR and the Human Rights Act 1998. The fact that the rules protected victims of spousal abandonment if they were present in the UK when they were abandoned, but not if they were outside the UK having been tricked or coerced by their abusive spouse, severely impacted the article 8 rights of the latter victims and could not be justified by the SSHD. AM, the claimant was a national of Pakistan born in 1991. In 2017 she married IM, a British citizen, and she arrived in the UK in December 2017 on a spouse visa valid until August 2020. In December 2018 she gave birth to a daughter. She was subjected to very severe financial, physical, emotional and sexual domestic abuse and, sitting in the Family Division of the High Court, Theis J made findings of very serious domestic abuse against the father. The violence inflicted by IM on AM had resulted in severe and long-lasting physical harm including the removal of one of her ovaries and also a diagnosis of achalasia type 2, which resulted in a weight loss of over 30 kilos.’

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EIN Blog, 3rd January 2023

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Naziat Khan death: Zafar Iqbal jailed for murdering wife in front of children – BBC News

Posted December 20th, 2022 in domestic violence, guilty pleas, murder, news, sentencing by sally

‘A man who strangled his wife with her own scarf 21 years ago after being “embarrassed” at her attempts to secure a divorce has been jailed.’

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BBC News, 19th December 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Children classed as domestic abuse victims under new guidance – Crown Prosecution Service

‘Children affected by domestic abuse will be automatically treated as victims regardless of whether they were present during violent incidents, the CPS announced today.’

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Crown Prosecution Service, 5th December 2022

Source: www.cps.gov.uk

Man who killed wife becomes first inmate to face public parole hearing – The Guardian

Posted December 13th, 2022 in domestic violence, murder, news, parole by sally

‘A man convicted of his wife’s 1985 murder has claimed his lover was responsible for the crime at the first ever public Parole Board hearing in England and Wales.’

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The Guardian, 12 December 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Children growing up in households with domestic abuse to be recognised as victims – The Independent

‘Children who grow up amid domestic abuse will be treated as victims and given specialist support even if they were not present during violent attacks.’

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The Independent, 5th December 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Thousands of survivors to be protected from prison abusers – Ministry of Justice

‘Survivors will be better protected from domestic abusers who attempt to continue their campaign of terror from behind bars.’

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Ministry of Justice, 28th November 2022

Source: www.gov.uk

‘Deeply unjust’ postcode lottery putting lives of domestic abuse victims at risk – The Independent

Posted November 30th, 2022 in bills, domestic violence, news, reports, statistics, victims by sally

‘The Domestic Abuse Commissioner has warned a “deeply unjust” postcode lottery is putting the lives of victims at risk in a report that maps services nationally for the first time ever.’

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The Independent, 29th November 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

So-called honour-based abuse inquiry launched – Family Law

‘The Women and Equalities Committee launch an inquiry into so-called honour-based abuse, as part of its work on preventing violence against women and girls.’

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Family Law, 21st November 2022

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Man jailed for life over murder of partner 21 years after fire attack – The Guardian

Posted November 11th, 2022 in domestic violence, fire, grievous bodily harm, imprisonment, murder, news, sentencing by tracey

‘A man has been jailed for life and told he will serve at least 15 years for the “sadistic” and “monstrous” murder of his partner, who died 21 years after he doused her with petrol and set her on fire. In what is believed to be a legal first, Steven Craig, 58, was convicted of murdering Jacqueline Kirk more than two decades after the attack, having already served almost 19 years in prison for it.’

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The Guardian, 10th November 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Better protection for victims under pre-charge bail reforms – Home Office

‘A new provision known as “Kay’s Law” protects victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault.’

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Home Office, 26th October 2022

Source: www.gov.uk