The effectiveness of new government legislation meant to protect domestic abuse victims has been called into question by a family lawyer, who says the new orders are simply a “rehash” of previous legislation which police officers are not trained to use properly.
Richard Port MBE, partner at mfg Solicitors with expertise in providing advise to victims of domestic abuse, claims the new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders being rolled out by the government are “essentially just repackaged original orders” that don’t offer the flexible protection promised by ministers, but simply give the impression that more is being done.
“The orders provide for rehabilitation of perpetrators with alcohol programmes, anger management and tagging, but the police cannot cope with the offences we have now, let alone adding something new,” Port said.
“We see perpetrators go on the run and the police are powerless to find them. We also see cases where evidence supports that the victim has been abused, but then no further action is taken by the police or CPS.
“Adding another tool to a carpenter’s belt doesn’t make them a good carpenter.”
The orders announced by safeguarding minister Jess Phillips as part of the government’s new Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy cover all forms of domestic abuse, including economic abuse, coercive and controlling behaviour, stalking and honour-based abuse. They can be issued by all courts and applied for not only by the police, but also by third parties such as local authorities, charities, social services, and even victims themselves. Breaching an order is a criminal offence punishable by up to five years in prison.
However, Port fears perpetrators will learn to use the measures against their victims. He explained:
“When we give a victim a shield such as a Domestic Abuse Protection Order, perpetrators eventually learn to manipulate the police, courts and CPS to use it as a sword against their victims. It worries me that with the approach currently being taken, where numbers matter to show results, real victims will fall foul of these orders so the government can show their ‘success’.
“If we focus on real investigating, real communication, and real victim protection, rather than praising an order which encompasses the basics of what policing should already do, then we would have a greater foundation for protecting domestic abuse victims.
“We also need to stop focusing on just women and girls and think of the bigger picture. Men and non-binary people are also affected by domestic abuse. Tackling domestic abuse as a whole is what we need to do so we can truly protect all victims.”
