Hi, just thought I would flag up, for anyone who would like to listen on catch up, a report on R4's World at One at approx 13.35 today. It was an interesting item featuring DV experts and whether the current DV Bill goes far enough. It featured:
Dr Nicole Westmarland of Durham University: She argues that we will never stop DV unless there are clear consequences and a certainty of response from the law;
The founder of SODA (Survivors of Domestic Abuse), Samantha Billingham: also advocating for stronger punishment and clarity as to what constitutes abuse. For example, her abuser was never given a custodial sentence, but was convicted for spitting at her, which is ABH;
Laura Richards, a Criminal Behaviour Analyst and DV expert: advocating that there needs to be a coherent perpetrator strategy to hold them to account; and there needs to be a register of domestic abusers and a reporting obligation on them (changes of name, address, new relationships) as there are with convicted sex offenders;
John Sutherland, former Chief Superintendent in the Metropolitan Police: he believes DV is a pandemic and that the Govt must not try to "solve" this with soundbites. He says we need a 20 year plan that recognises what a difficult crime it is that has generational consequences - we need to invest for a lifetime in ending DV, not some half arses, short term plan.
They were interesting comments from DV experts. It gave me the impression that the DV Bill might not go far enough.