There was an article in the daily mail today about a woman who was beaten by her boyfriend. He fractured bones in her face and did not even get a custodial sentence.
We don't take violence against women seriously in this country. If it's in the context of a current or recent relationship, it's taken far less seriously than if it was violence to a stranger on the street. That's what needs to change.
The reason I write this is because the police have what is called a positive action policy regarding abuse. Ignoring calls or doing nothing when attending them is not an option, and there are strict rules in place for how these cases are handled and how the victim's risk is assessed. Despite this, and despite all those procedures being followed, Maria Stubbings still died. The police fault in this case is only a part of the picture.
Cases like this will continue to happen until social attitudes towards DV change, because police officers, social workers and all other public agencies are made up of members of society.
IMO this needs to start by initiatives in sentencing for domestic violence, in the same way that crimes involving knives were made an example of. Make the punishment fit the crime and it will do a lot to make people consider it more serious than is currently the case. In turn this will give perpetrators and their apologists a much harder time justifying their behaviour and give victims the awareness to realise they are being abused and the courage to stand up to it.