Home Office Domestic Abuse Statutory Guidance

Transcript:Home Office Domestic Abuse Statutory Guidance:
Home Office Domestic Abuse Statutory Guidance October 2022 Purpose The statutory guidance is issued under section 84 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and is intended to increase awareness and inform the response to domestic abuse The Act (S84) requires professionals exercising public functions to carry out the guidance as specified to the types of organisations set out in the guidance Audience Organisations working with victims, perpetrators and commissioning services Includes the Police, local authorities, NHS, specialist DA & SV Services, early years, childcare and educational establishments, Social Care (Adults and Children), YOS and employers Introducing the Statutory Guidance Chapter 1- Objectives OBJECTIVES OF THE DA ACT 2021 Promote awareness- introducing a statutory definition which includes economic abuse and children as victims in their own right Protect and support victims- Establishing the Office of the DA Commissioner, new DAPN and DAPO and placing a new duty on Tier 1 local authorities to provide support to victims in refuges and other safe accommodation Hold perpetrators to account- Extending controlling or coercive behaviour to cover post-separation abuse, and extending the office of private sexual photographs to cause distress, introduction of new offence of non-fatal strangulation and by restating in statute that a person may not consent to being subjected to serious harm and therefore unable to consent to their own death Transform the justice response- use of video evidence, screens and special measures and ensuring victims of abuse are not subjected to further trauma by being cross-examined by the perpetrator Improve performance- Including by putting Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS) on a statutory footing and a statutory code of practice relating to the processing of DA data for immigration purposes Chapter 1- Objectives OBJECTIVES OF THE DA STATUTORY GUIDANCE Provide clear information on what domestic abuse is and how to identify it Provide guidance and support to frontline professionals, and other organisations, including signposting to further resources Convey standards and promote best practice for agency and multiagency response Chapter 2- Understanding DA DA is a high harm, high volume crime that remains largely hidden The police recorded over 1.5 million domestic abuse related incidents and crimes in England and Wales in the year ending March 2021 Includes controlling or coercive behaviour, harassment, stalking, criminal damage, physical assault, sexual assault, rape and murder Anyone can be a victim of DA regardless of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender reassignment, race, religion