In January 2019, the government introduced the Domestic Abuse Bill 2017-19 following a consultation on transforming the response to domestic abuse.
The legislation was reintroduced in March 2020 as the Domestic Abuse Bill 2019-21, and received royal assent on 29 April 2021.
The act:
- creates a statutory definition of domestic abuse
- establishes the office of Domestic Abuse Commissioner
- prohibits offenders from cross-examining their victims in person in the family courts
- creates a domestic abuse protection notice (DAPN) and domestic abuse protection order (DAPO)
- provides a statutory basis for the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (Clare’s law) guidance
- creates a new domestic abuse offence in Northern Ireland to criminalise controlling or coercive behaviour
- creates a statutory presumption that victims of domestic abuse are eligible for special measures in the criminal courts
- enables domestic abuse offenders to be subject to polygraph testing as a licence condition following release from custody
- places a duty on local authorities to give support to victims of domestic abuse and their children in refuges and safe accommodation
- requires local authorities to grant new secure tenancies to social tenants leaving existing secure tenancies for reasons connected with domestic abuse
- extends the extra-territorial jurisdiction of the criminal courts of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to further violent and sexual offences
On 28 October 2021 the Home Office added new translations of the guidance on how to get help if you or someone you know is a victim of domestic abuse.
Translations of the page have been added in Arabic, Bangla, Chinese, French, Gujarati, Hindi, Italian, Persian, Polish, Punjabi, Romanian, Somali, Spanish, Tamil, Urdu and Welsh
The guidance covers how to recognise domestic abuse, get help and support and how to check whether someone has an abusive past.
Click here to find out more.
