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<p>As part of the Government’s ambition to protect and better support victims of domestic
abuse, the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 introduces a range of measures to help protect
victims of domestic abuse and their children. These include important new protections
and support for victims ensuring that abusers will no longer be allowed to directly
cross-examine their victims in the family and civil courts, and giving victims better
access to special measures in the courtroom, such as protective screens and giving
evidence via video link. The Act also introduces measures to tackle levels of domestic
abuse including new criminal offences such as non-fatal strangulation and suffocation
and extending the coercing and controlling behaviour offence to remove the “living
together’’ requirement, so that the offence applies to partners, ex-partners or family
members, regardless of whether the victim and perpetrator live together.</p><p> </p><p>Building
on the Domestic Abuse Act, we have made substantial commitments in the Tackling Domestic
Abuse Plan published by the Home Office in March 2022, to better support victims of
domestic abuse. Commitments include multi-year funding for victim support services
which are crucial for helping victims engage in the criminal justice process. As part
of this, the Ministry of Justice is bolstering support for victims by increasing its
funding from £150.5m in 2021/22 to £185 million by 2024/25. This will ensure support
is available to more victims and includes funding to increase the number of Independent
Sexual and Domestic Violence Advisers to over 1,000, and other key services like crisis
helplines. A Perpetrator Strategy forms part of the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan and
sets out clear commitments to prioritise addressing behaviour, stopping people from
becoming perpetrators and victims in the first place.</p><p> </p><p>Through the Police,
Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, we are also giving victims more time to report
domestic abuse-related assaults by extending the time limit for prosecutions to six
months from a formal report to the police within an overall limit of two years from
the offence. We have also consulted and will publish a draft Bill which will continue
to ensure victims are at the heart of the criminal justice system.</p>
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