The Justice Committee of the House of Commons has published a report on its pre-legislative scrutiny of the Government’s draft Victims Bill, with the Committee – and subsequently others, including Women’s Aid and the Children’s Commissioner – voicing their concerns.
In principle, the report found that that the draft Bill will have limited effect on police and other agencies’ delivery of victims’ rights.
Specifically, the cross-party Committee points to flaws in the way “victims” are defined, a lack of enforcement powers, and the need for additional resources for the draft Bill’s proposals to be effective, particularly around victim liaison and counselling.
It also noted that the sharing of victims’ immigration status by the police with the Home Office acts as a barrier to justice and calls for the practice to end.
What is the Bill aiming to achieve?
The Government is seeking to improve the police, CPS, and Prison and Probation Service’s compliance with the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (the Victims’ Code). The Bill would place four “overarching principles” of the Code into statute. The Committee finds that the principles are so “broad and permissive that it is unclear if they will serve any legal purpose” and would do little to improve agencies’ compliance with the Code.
The draft Bill will also change the mechanisms for oversight of the delivery of the Code, enhancing the role of PCCs while diminishing that of the Victims’ Commissioner. While the Committee welcomes the introduction of local monitoring through the PCCs, it recommends that Victims’ Commissioner’s role should instead be strengthened.
The report also welcomes the recognition given to Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVAs) and Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs), but urges ministers to find additional funding to meet demand and allow the Victims Bill to live up to its ambitions.
Reaction to the draft Bill
“The draft Bill’s aim to improve the criminal justice system’s treatment of victims is laudable, but the Government must provide new funding to make it all possible,” said Justice Committee Chair Sir Bob Neill MP. “If not, the police, CPS and Probation Service will be forced to divert funds away from their core functions,” he added.
While the Committee seems to fully appreciate and respect the intentions of the draft Bill, there is no doubt that its contents – and efficacy – are in question. Neill continued:
“The definition of a victim must be explained in more detail, particularly where it includes witnesses without any mention of how badly said witness has been affected. It can’t be the Government’s intention that a witness to petty theft should have more rights under this legislation than a murder victim’s next of kin.
The draft Bill comes amid a backdrop of significant and growing court backlogs with victims of crime too often waiting years for their cases to come to court, and criminal legal aid barristers turning away from the profession. The Government is taking steps in tackling those deep-rooted problems but until they are resolved victims will continue to suffer harm for too long.”
Farah Nazeer, chief executive at Women’s Aid, said the report “reflects many of Women’s Aid’s concerns about the effectiveness of the legislation as it currently stands”. She added:
“The victims’ bill still puts the onus on victims to realise their rights and does not do enough to improve agencies’ compliance with the victims’ code. We also share the committee’s concerns that the bill does not go far enough to ensure that vital community-based support services, provided to domestic abuse survivors in their local areas, are readily available. We strongly urge that the bill commits to multi-year funding for these vital services – which can include counselling, outreach and advocacy support – including ring-fenced funding for services provided by and for Black and minoritised, and Deaf and disabled survivors.
We are pleased the committee recognised Women’s Aid’s concerns about creating a statutory definition of IDVAs (independent domestic violence advocates), which could risk creating a ‘one size fits all approach’ to vital advocacy support and neglect the variety of specialist advocacy and wraparound support that specialist services provide.
At Women’s Aid we look forward to continuing these conversations with decision-makers to ensure all survivors of domestic abuse are effectively supported.”
Children’s Commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza said it was “heartening” that the report included many of her recommendations, namely:
Child victims of domestic abuse:
The Bill must be amended to incorporate reference to Clause 8 of the Domestic Abuse Act to ensure that children are recognised as victims of domestic abuse in their own right.
CHIDVAs and CHISVAs:
The Bill should define the specific role of Child Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (CHISVAs) and Child Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (CHIDVAs).
Children born through rape:
The Bill should recognise children who are born through rape as victims and these individuals should be entitled to the rights under the Victims Code.
De Souza said:
“I would also like to pay testament to the brave campaigns of other adult survivors of child sexual abuse, including Sammy Woodhouse. My conversations with survivors have greatly informed my understanding of the challenges facing child victims.
I will continue to campaign for the rights of child victims and ensure that their views are represented in the legislative process. Above all, it is vital that the new Government prioritise the passage of the Victims Bill to ensure that victims’ entitlements are placed on a statutory footing as soon as possible, this Parliamentary session.”
Join nearly 1,000 other family lawyers – sign up to our newsletter