GBV Bill – Success – Women are back in the Bill
In September WWA’s new CEO, Eleri Butler, gave evidence to the committee scrutinising the Gender-based Violence Bill. You can access footage of the session here. WWA was able to make a number of important points based around our written evidence, also submitted last month and available here. This evidence was collated from information submitted by our member organisations across Wales and focuses on the need to return the term ‘violence against women and girls’ to the Bill, returning education and prevention elements, along with other issues.
We are also working closely with the Wales Violence Against Women Action Group on the #WhereAreTheWomen campaign launched on the 25th of September, to get women back in the Bill – which we have now achieved!
Many thanks to all of those who have offered their opinions and data during the Bill process, we are now able to see some real, tangible progress based on our input, but there is still more work yet to come to ensure the Bill makes the best impact to work towards an end to violence against women.
Home Office consultation on criminalising Domestic Abuse
As you will all be aware, the Home Office are currently consulting on criminalising Domestic Abuse as a specific offence. The purpose is to create a specific crime of Domestic Abuse which recognises coercive control, thereby improving the recognition of Domestic Abuse as a criminal act by all stakeholders including victims, perpetrators, police, judiciary, civil society, media and our communities. Its intention will be to enable consistent recording and analysis of the crime; to publicly escalate the severity of the crime; allow clear and consistent mandatory criminal justice responses; ensure that Domestic Abuse is always named for what it is; and ultimately facilitate rapid cultural change in response to Domestic Abuse.
The view from both service providers and service users is vital to this consultation. To ensure the making of Domestic Abuse as a specific offence is fit for purpose and protects victims.
Click here to view the Home Office consultation page for your information.
It is really important that any the criminalising of Domestic Abuse as a specific offence is fit for purpose and makes a difference for victims and their families. Yours and your service users feedback is vital to ensuring this happens.
Please provide your response by Monday 6th October 2014 via email to [email protected] or call Becky in the office if you wish to provide this orally.
If you have any questions regarding this consultation, please contact Becky Jones at [email protected] or call the National Office on 02920 541551.