Clare’s Law question

[Stressyfab]

Hello,
I’ve just submitted a Clare’s Law request for the first time. I’m now panicking that my ex is going to know/ be told that I’ve done this.
When I Google it says it’s anonymous, but I put all my details in.
Does anybody know what will happen please?

Your ex won’t be told. The police should get in contact with you to let you know the outcome (ie if there’s anything you need to know about or not) - this can take a few weeks. But they won’t contact your ex about it. I went through the process a few years ago.

He won’t be told, the police will assess if there is information they need to share with you, if there is a risk they will probably refer you to MARAC, who will advise you on keeping safe and actions you can take to protect yourself.

The Scotland version your ex would hear nothing about and I’m pretty sure Clare’s Law will be the same. However the Scotland version you do still need to be in the relationship to get any relevant information shared, you wouldn’t get it if it’s an ex, eg the relationship is over. Hope this helps xx

They are very unlikely to give you the report as he is now your ex. I’ve just been through this with a relative. She left after he brutally attacked her, her kids were there so social services were involved and insisted she make a request under Claire’s law. They told her that they knew his history and it would put her off going back to him.

Once the police had determined that she had no intention of going back to him following the attack they refused to give her a Claire’s law report due to GDPR. Social services were bound not to disclose what they knew either. His right to privacy and all that. Unbelievable.

That’s interesting LolaLu1980, as the most dangerous time for a woman is often when she leaves the relationship, in England you can ask about an ex.

GDPR applies if they are now an ex and they won’t provide it. The experience I’ve detailed above was in the last couple of months in England.

Yep, not ideal at all, however in my experience of submitting a few on behalf of people (used to work with children and families) the police wouldn’t share if the relationship was over, in Scotland that is, can’t comment on elsewhere in the uk.

I sit on the panels where the decision is made about whether to make a Domestic Violence Disclosure (Clare's law requests are decided on at the panel as well) and we have really clear guidance that we can't just go around making disclosures to people just because they want to know - there has to be an ongoing risk from someone they are in a intimate relationship with.

Sadly your relative is already acutely aware he is a risk so any additional information shared with her is unlikely to make a difference. If there is an ongoing risk to her from her ex then this should be dealt with under the MARAC process rather than DVDS/Clare's Law.

It works the other way as well - its actually less common for someone to make a Clare's law request, most of the decisions we make are because we have intelligence that a known DV perpetrator is in a new relationship and we feel there is a duty to inform them we feel there is a risk to them. We can't MAKE them hear that information and many decline to hear the information

Thank you everyone, my minds more at ease now.
Fingers crossed but at least I’ve tried.

Thanks again x

Thanks for this, it helps to understand the process. He won’t pose a risk to her, or anyone else, for a while now thankfully but I expect there will be some professional involvement if and when that changes.

I didn’t know that it worked the other way and you could elect to advise potential victims, good to know x