MNHQ here: petition to make it safer for victims of domestic abuse to register to vote

[RowanMumsnet]

Hello

We've been contacted by someone who works for Nottingham Rape Crisis who wanted us to draw your attention to a petition. It's regarding the rules for getting on the electoral roll when leaving a domestic violence refuge for a new home.

As lots of you will know, when you register to vote you can opt out of having your details - your name and your full address - included on the 'edited' register (which gets sold to lots of commercial companies).

But for people at risk of violence or abuse, this may not be safeguard enough. The 'full' register, containing full names and addresses, is still made available to lots of agencies (see here for more details), and the argument runs that this poses too great a risk for people fleeing potentially life-threatening situations.

For those leaving shelters who wish to take up their democratic right to vote, the safest option is to go on the electoral register anonymously, meaning that your name is not included even on the 'full' register. At the moment the process for doing this is quite complex, meaning that many in this situation end up not registering at all.

The petition is asking the government to automatically offer anonymous registration to people leaving shelters.

We thought some of you might like to see this and offer your support - or indeed your thoughts, as ever.

The petition link is here.

Thanks
MNHQ

[ProcrastinatorGeneral]

What a no-brainer. Signed and shared. I hope it's successful.

[AnnieOnnieMouse]

signed

[EveryoneElsie]

Signed. Its disgusting that anyone can buy that info.

[DowntonIsMyHome]

signed. what an incredibly stupid system

[Helennn]

Signed.

[almondpudding]

Thanks for this, MNHQ.

[TalkingintheDark]

Signed, thanks for flagging it up.

[tipsytrifle]

Signed - thanks for the info!

[thecatfromjapan]

Signed. I hope it's successful.

[megletthesecond]

Signed.

[Timetosay58]

Signed

[Upwiththisiwillnotput]

Signed.

[TheWeeBabySeamus1]

Signed

[frostyfingers]

I did some work for our local council last year and had several "anonymous" voters on my list. I believe you can apply to be anonymous which means that no name appears on the register and you are able to vote anonymously.

I found this on the government website which explains it better, I certainly hope it includes victims of domestic abuse.
www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/501400/Register_anonymously_to_vote__living_in_England_and_Wales_.pdf

That doesn't mean I think a petition is unnecessary btw, I think it's a great idea but hope the above link helps too.

[frostyfingers]

Sorry I've just realised that the anonymous part is mentioned in the post, that'll teach me to skip read.

[5608Carrie]

I have a very close friend who was tracked down because the electoral office failed to keep her details of the full register. Their response was "oops sorry!"

She was very lucky not to be physically harmed

[5608Carrie]

I have a very close friend who was tracked down because the electoral office failed to keep her details of the full register. Their response was "oops sorry!"

She was very lucky not to be physically harmed

[IcaMorgan]

Signed

[Threefaries]

Signed.

[mummytime]

Signed

[LurcioAgain]

Signed!

[venusinscorpio]

Signed.

[dailymailsdrugmule]

Signed.

For those who know about electoral registers- the full register that does have your details on is kept by libraries.

Is any member of the public able to access this register just by going into the library and having a look?

[Ginkypig]

Hi I'm not sure if il ramble so sorry if I do! or if anyone can carry this idea forward but I wanted to add.

There are lots of people out there who have the exact same problem but due to childhood sexual abuse.
They are in hiding and feel they can't risk being registered to vote because the abusers (esp if it was a family member) are trying to track them down to either keep them under control so they are too scared to disclose or are looking for revenge after said child (now adult) has "told"
The difference is they most likely have not been in a refuge.

I feel it would make a great add on to this but have no idea if it's possible. Basically if anyone who's been abused could easily have their name added to the anonymous list.

I know of one person who did but it took her a lot of hoops and difficulty.

[BeyondTellsEveryoneRealFacts]

There are also plenty of people who leave abusive relationships but dont go via a shelter. It should definitely be an option to anyone to register anonymously