The Home Office has released new statutory guidance on domestic abuse’s impact on victims, how to recognize it, and how to respond.
The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 statutory guidance will guarantee that victims are supported to access frontline support that addresses the complexity of their needs by guaranteeing that the police, medical professionals, and local authorities have the required resources and knowledge to provide victims and survivors with specialized support.
The guidance supports the application of the broad statutory definition of domestic abuse set forth in the Act and offers direction to those who work with victims, such as the police and local authorities.
Beyond physical violence, the statutory definition of abuse included in the Act encompasses a variety of abusive behaviors, including emotional, controlling or coercive behavior, and, for the first time, economic abuse.
Children who witness, hear, or experience domestic abuse are recognized as victims in their own right under the Domestic Abuse Act of 2021.
Further ensuring that the complexity of domestic abuse is properly understood to support a cogent “whole system” response to supporting victims and survivors, including children, is this new statutory guidance.
A whole system response, which recognizes that everyone has a role to play in aiding victims and survivors of domestic violence, will achieve the step change needed to fight this heinous crime by outlining best practices and promoting multi-agency working.
Priti Patel, the home secretary, said:
We must acknowledge that anyone can become a victim of domestic violence and the many complicated forms it can take in order to combat this heinous crime.
This groundbreaking Domestic Abuse Act, which will strengthen the response to domestic abuse across all agencies, is accompanied by legislative advice that will clarify what constitutes domestic abuse and how frontline services can effectively safeguard and support victims, including children.
The guidelines were created in conjunction with experts from domestic abuse organizations and frontline services, including working groups with a particular focus on victims with disabilities, children as victims, men as victims, victims from ethnic minorities and migrants, and victims from the LGBT+ community.
Additionally, there was a public consultation where people, including those with firsthand experience, and organizations shared their opinions.
This feedback was used to help shape and inform the final guidance.
Nicole Jacobs, the commissioner for domestic abuse, said:
Victims, kids, and society at large are all horribly affected by domestic abuse.
I applaud the release of the legislative advice, which provides us with a thorough road map for how to better understand domestic violence and respond to it.
To combat domestic abuse, we must all work together and adopt a comprehensive strategy, which the guidance mostly lays out.
Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe, the domestic abuse lead for the National Police Chiefs Council, stated:
We appreciate the new, comprehensive strategy being used to address domestic violence. Support must be provided for all victims of this heinous crime, whether they are women, men, or children, at all levels and throughout the whole sector.
Police will continue to make every effort to stop those who commit these crimes and protect the victims and witnesses who suffer so tremendously as a result of them.
I’m happy to see that non-physical abuse is starting to be treated with the same severity as physical abuse because combating domestic abuse is a top priority for the police.
Numerous victims experience horrific controlling and coercive behavior in addition to financial, emotional, and psychological abuse.
This is a crucial step in the fight against domestic violence in all of its manifestations.
In addition to further guidelines on the effects of domestic abuse on children and more details on early intervention strategies in social care and educational settings, the Act now recognizes children as victims of domestic abuse.