Domestic Abuse: Victims and Survivors

Baroness Brinton Excerpts

Thursday 12th December 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Brinton (LD)]

My Lords, I also congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Chisholm, on securing this important debate and all the other speakers who have so movingly talked about the scourge of domestic abuse and why it must be eliminated. She was right to say that it can affect anyone, but much of it remains invisible. And the noble Baroness, Lady Laing, was right to say that there is still much to be done. It was good to hear from our own Victims’ Commissioner, the noble Baroness, Lady Newlove, who talked about the experience of women and girls who are at the forefront of our minds today as we have this debate. I thank the many organisations who have sent us briefings and all the amazing work that they do with women struggling to flee from domestic abuse.

One in four women experiences domestic abuse. Women’s Aid is right to describe this as an epidemic. Women also experience higher rates of repeated victimisation and are much more likely to be seriously hurt or killed than male victims of DA. At least one woman a week is killed by a current or former partner. As the noble Baroness, Lady Hazarika, said, this is a public emergency, yet four in five British people do not believe that the scale of domestic abuse is greater than car accidents or house fires. That is to do with the way that we as society, and our press and media, handle it. So, can the Minister say what plans the Government have to help society to listen and understand that DA is just not acceptable, and to teach people, all of us, to help intervene if we have concerns? On a practical level, can the Minister guarantee that the police and crime commissioners’ budget for victim support will be protected?

It was good that the noble Lord, Lord Meston, outlined some of the positive changes that we have seen in the family court system and the effect on children. The support is vital for victims, as my noble friend Lady Doocey outlined. Too many are persuaded or bullied into withdrawing their criminal cases. The Domestic Abuse Commissioner has outlined three-planet model of types of victims. There is the domestic violence planet, where domestic abuse is considered a crime. There is the child protection planet, where victims and survivors are expected to remove themselves and the children from the perpetrator. And then there is the child contact planet, where there are lots of negotiations between all three. She says that most of the rest of the systems in society do not understand how all of those conflict to make life for victims very difficult.

The excellent Ministry of Justice report some years ago on assessing the risk of harm to children and parents in private law children cases, the Harm Panel report, has really started to make some changes, and it is good that that has finally been recognised. As the noble Baronesses, Lady Barran and Lady Hazarika, also said, Sara Sharif’s death was shocking, not just for the violence that was inflicted on her but once again for the continued failures of all those in important roles to keep our children safe. “Lessons learned” is no longer good enough; we really need to make sure that things change. Along with the noble Lord, Lord Russell, I want to pay great credit to the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, who has really begun to change the tone of the debate that we have.

Other speakers have spoken about the effect on young people aged 16 and under. We definitely need a law change. The law ignores the fact that Holly Newton and other teens do have relationships. The Children’s Commissioner noted that only 1% of under-18s access advocacy services because they are not targeted at that age group. It is not the young people’s fault; they are just not seeing it. The noble Lord, Lord Patten, outlined the shocking effect on older people of abuse, and I absolutely agree with him as well. When you add dementia into it, it becomes a very difficult issue to manage. The noble Baroness, Lady Gale, spoke movingly about the special problems of migrant women who are victims of domestic abuse, and she is right. We have to make sure that services for the particularly vulnerable in our society who are also victims of domestic abuse are supported.

The noble Baroness, Lady May, talked about the impact on the economy, but there are other financial impacts too. The Price of Safety report found that it could cost a woman up to £50,000 to leave her abuser. That is just the direct cost of fleeing and rebuilding a new life. Even women who have state support and benefits can find themselves facing a deficit of up to £10,000 and nearly 1 million women in the UK cannot escape dangerous partners because of economic abuse. The noble Baroness, Lady Laing, was right to say it is even less visible than DA. And the noble Baroness, Lady Gohir, rightly outlined spiritual abuse, which is a particularly unpalatable form of coercive control. The noble Baroness, Lady Sugg, talked about honour-based abuse. That is such an appalling misnomer that almost gives credibility to the perpetrators. We need to find another way of discussing it.

The elimination of domestic abuse needs a whole-system response. As the noble Lord, Lord Loomba, outlined, health and domestic abuse are inextricably linked. Others have talked about pregnancy, but there are other health issues as well. The noble Baroness, Lady Jenkin, spoke about the sobriety tag scheme started by Kit Malthouse and her success in getting this into legislation. There is another reason why it is important. LSE research shows that domestic abuse rises after football matches when people have more opportunity to drink alcohol. Perhaps for repeat offenders in that area there might be short-term tag wearing that would help.

The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans talked about the important role of civic society. He specifically mentioned the Mothers’ Union, but there are many other groups as well. There is a lot of work going on behind the scenes. We need to make it much more visible, so that everyone recognises that there is strong and good work continuing. The noble Baroness, Lady Morris, talked about the importance of initiatives and pilots, and oh my goodness, she is right. How can these initiatives be scaled up and turned into something that will work and be financially supported at the right level across the country?

Above all, we absolutely must have a complete change in society. Will the Government ensure that there are changes and perhaps even a bigger campaign to make us in society understand that?

I have one last question for the Minister. Hardly any of the Victims and Prisoners Act has been commenced. Can he tell us when every part that relates to victims will be fully commenced, including the revised victims’ code?