We are pleased that the new UK Government will be ensuring that legal advocates for survivors are going to be in every police force area to advise survivors from the ‘moment of report to trial’, however we have concerns about how this will be funded. According to their manifesto, Labour plan to fund these legal advocates by redirecting PCC grants for victim’s services. Funding should not be taken from one area that supports survivors of violence against women and girls and placed into another. It is important that all funding is protected.
The UK Government have also announced plans to designate spiking as a specific offence. According to YouGov, women are 50% more likely to experience spiking. However, without proper education and training for night time economy staff, spiking will continue. Staff handling drinks need to ensure that they are able to recognise spiking in order to stop instances before they occur. Bystander training is also required to ensure that spiking is ‘called out’ socially. You can find out more about bystander training and other training offered by Welsh Women’s Aid by heading here: welshwomensaid.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/WWA-Training-Brochure-2024-25.pdf
Additionally, Labour pledged to strengthen the use of Stalking Protection Orders. Whilst this is welcomed, it needs to go hand in hand with training officers in how to utilise these. Welsh Women’s Aid have previously raised concerns about the lack of police training and understanding of SPOs.
The UK Government will be exempting certain crimes of domestic abuse, stalking and sexual violence offences from the early release scheme, however, this will not include any past offences from the perpetrator. It will also not include offences that are charged under other crimes. In order for offenders to be released safely, we need a fully resourced probation service to be able to manage the early release scheme.
Welsh Women’s Aid welcomes the UK Government’s pledge within the King’s Speech to halve violence against women and girls. However, this must be done with a supportive and trauma informed legal process.
Survivors of domestic abuse face countless challenges at all levels of the civil and criminal justice system. From a lack of trust when reporting incidents of VAWDASV to authorities, facing years of waiting for a traumatic trial and facing the family court system, survivors are having to navigate barriers to justice. As stated in our manifesto for a Change That Lasts in Wales, the UK government must focus on implementing the recommendations from the Harm panel report to address the deep-rooted systemic concerns with how the court identify and respond to domestic abuse.
To hear more about our asks for the new UK Government, head to Change That Lasts for Wales, Manifesto 2023 : Welsh Women’s Aid (welshwomensaid.org.uk).
ENDS