Domestic abuse is the worst possible violation of the trust that those in close relationships place in one another. That is why tackling domestic violence and abuse has been one of this Government\u2019s top priorities. We are committed to ensuring that victims of this serious crime are considered in all aspects of the criminal justice system, and supported appropriately.<\/p>
<\/p>
The Victims\u2019 Code was implemented in December 2013. It sets out to criminal justice agencies the enhanced services and support they must provide to victims of the most serious crimes, including victims of domestic violence. This includes providing information on pre-trial therapy and counselling and referral to specialist organisations for support.<\/p>
As part of the current pilot of adult out-of-court disposals, the Ministry of Justice has issued guidance to the three participating police forces (Staffordshire, West Yorkshire, and Leicestershire) setting out how the framework should be used for low-level offences involving domestic violence. The guidance imposes a number of restrictions on the forces and requires them to obtain the victim\u2019s consent for the matter to be dealt with out of court.<\/p>
In addition, the National Offender Management Service\u2019s framework Supporting Women offenders who have experienced domestic or sexual violence<\/em>, published in September 2011, is designed to provide guidance to those working with female offenders in custody and the community. The framework intends to ensure that interventions and services take place within an environment in which women who have been victims of domestic violence are able to both disclose abuse and receive support and advice in a safe, female only environment.<\/p> <\/p> In addition to these pieces of guidance, my Right Honourable Friend, the Secretary of State for the Home Department has issued the Violence Against Women and Girls Action Plan<\/em>, which sets out the Government\u2019s approach to tackling domestic violence and abuse, and is supported by guidance to victims, their friends, families, employers and colleagues.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1528", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir Mike Penning"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Hemel Hempstead"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mike Penning"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2015-01-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2015-01-19T17:40:36.873Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "54"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2015-01-14", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Domestic Abuse"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance his Department has issued on the treatment in the criminal treatment system of women experiencing domestic violence.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4253", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Seema Malhotra"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Feltham and Heston"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Seema Malhotra"}
], "uin" : "220702"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/170511", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Justice"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/170511/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " From April 2010 Local Criminal Justice Boards (LCJBs) took responsibility for the governance and performance management of the 143 accredited Specialist Domestic Violence Courts (SDVCs) across England and Wales. As of March 2014 there were 137 accredited SDVCs. However, the closure of SDVCs in some areas does not necessarily mean that provision in that area has ceased, as many of the SDVC systems cover a number of courthouses. Closure of an SDVC in one courthouse would simply mean that the case would be heard in another accredited courthouse within the Local Justice Area.<\/p> <\/p> HMCTS remains committed to a partnership approach to supporting domestic violence victims going through the Criminal Justice Process.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1496", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Shailesh Vara"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "North West Cambridgeshire"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mr Shailesh Vara"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2015-01-06", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2015-01-06T17:14:11.517Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "54"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2014-12-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Domestic Abuse"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many specialist domestic violence courts have closed since 2010.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1516", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Andy Slaughter"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Hammersmith"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mr Andy Slaughter"}
], "uin" : "218706"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/155540", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Ministry of Justice"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/155540/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " This government is committed to tackling domestic violence and abuse and to delivering a better response for the victims of these appalling crimes.<\/p> <\/p> We have ring-fenced £40 million for victims\u2019 services; piloted and rolled out Clare\u2019s Law and domestic violence protection orders; extended the definition of domestic abuse to cover controlling behaviour and teenage relationships; run two successful campaigns to challenge perceptions of abuse; placed Domestic Homicide Reviews on a statutory footing to make sure lessons are learnt from individual tragedies; criminalised forced marriage and consulted on the creation of a single criminal offence of domestic abuse.<\/p> <\/p> The Ministry of Justice Court Proceeding Database holds information on offences provided by the statute under which proceedings are brought but not all the specific circumstances of each case. Data on those proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for offences involving domestic violence, such as threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between adults are not separately identified in the data reported centrally to the Ministry of Justice. Furthermore, it is not possible to separately identify the relationship between defendant and victim, and their gender. This detailed information is not reported to Justice Statistical Analytical Services due to their size and complexity and as such, it can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1528", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir Mike Penning"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Hemel Hempstead"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mike Penning"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-11-21", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-11-21T14:41:48.917Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "54"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Justice"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2014-11-11", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Domestic Abuse"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of cases in courts marked as domestic violence incidents related to (a) male perpetrators against female partners and (b) all other forms of domestic violence in the latest period for which figures are available.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1565", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir Philip Davies"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Shipley"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Philip Davies"}
], "uin" : "214191"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/91306", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Home Office"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/91306/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " In 2012-13, the most recent year for which we have this information, there were 838,026 incidents of domestic abuse, which covers both physical and <\/p> <\/p> Domestic violence is a dreadful form of abuse and is not acceptable within our <\/p> <\/p> <\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/28", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Norman Baker"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Lewes"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Norman Baker"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-06-26", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "previousAnswerVersion" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/62337/answer/previousversion/4350", "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/28", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Norman Baker"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Lewes"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Norman Baker"}
}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-06-26T15:22:10.2229767Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Home Office"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Home Office"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2014-06-17", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Domestic Abuse"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department is taking to help end domestic abuse and violence against women.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4105", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Justin Tomlinson"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "North Swindon"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Justin Tomlinson"}
], "uin" : "201115"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/89769", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Home Office"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/89769/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " <\/p> <\/p>
non-physical abuse, recorded by the police. Data for incidents in which the police took no further action are not collected by the Home Office.
The latest data from the Crown Prosecution Service show that the volume of domestic violence referrals from the police rose to 103,569 in 2013-14 from 2012-13 which is the highest level since CPS recording began. 72,905 (70.4% of these referrals) were charged, the highest volumes and proportions since CPS recording began in 2007-8. The volume of prosecutions completed in 2013-14 rose to 78,071 - a rise of 7,369 prosecutions(10.4%) from 2012-13. The volume of convictions reached 58,276 - a rise of 5,727 convictions (10.9%) since 2012-13.
In September 2013, the Home Secretary commissioned Her Majesty\u2019s Inspectorate of Constabulary to undertake a comprehensive review on how the police deal with domestic violence and abuse because she was concerned that the response is inadequate.
Their report, published in March 2013, exposed significant failings, including unacceptable variations in charging perpetrators of domestic abuse with
criminal offences. In response to that report, the Home Secretary established a National Oversight Group, which she is chairing, to drive delivery against HMIC\u2019s recommendations. The Home Secretary also wrote to chief constables making it clear that every police force must have a domestic abuse action plan in place by September 2014.<\/p>
society. The Coalition Government's approach to tackling domestic violence and
abuse is set out in its Violence against Women and Girls Action Plan, updated in March
2014.
In 2013, the Home Secretary commissioned Her Majesty's Inspectorate of
Constabulary to undertake a comprehensive review on how the police deal with
domestic violence and abuse. HMIC's report exposed significant failings. In response
to the Review, the Home Secretary has established a National Oversight Group, which
she is chairing, and on which I sit, to ensure HMIC's recommendations are acted upon.
The Group met for the first time on 10 June. The Home Secretary has also written to chief constables making it clear that every police force must have an action plan in place by September 2014, to improve their response to domestic violence and abuse.
The Government is committed to ensuring that the police and other agencies have
the tools necessary to tackle domestic violence, to bring offenders to justice
and to ensure victims have the support they need to rebuild their lives. On 8
March 2014, the Government announced the national roll-out of Domestic Violence
Protection Orders following the successful conclusion of a one-year
pilot in three police force areas including Wiltshire, as well as the Domestic
Violence Disclosure Scheme following the successful conclusion in
September 2013 of a one-year pilot in four police force areas \u2013 once again
including Wiltshire.<\/p>