The United Kingdom and Domestic Violence - Essay Example

of the of the of the The United Kingdom and Domestic Violence Women are increasingly being ed to assault and violence, and this is the situation obtaining in almost all the countries. Several hundreds of thousands of women are being subjected to violence in the form of rape, physical assault or emotional and psychological abuse. The unfortunate part of these incidents, are that the perpetrators of these criminal activities have been the partners, accomplices or close associates of these victims. International law or domestic law does not provide sufficient protection for women, by granting effective remedies. The main setback identified in this area is due to the fact that the national criminal justice system does not consider domestic abuse or violence as criminal activities, and fails to provide adequate protection for women against such offences1. To compound the misery, there is considerable bureaucratic apathy among the enforcement authorities, such as the police, prosecutors and judges. These persons have been found to be unwilling to identify the causes of domestic violence. Therefore, the enforcement of laws against domestic violence has not been effective or constructive. Most law enforcing authorities do not view domestic violence as a serious criminal issue, and consider it to be a private problem. Their belief is that women have to deal with the problem of domestic violence and arrive at a solution to it by themselves. Most women believe that the criminal justice system acts as a barrier to their seeking the court’s intervention to eliminate violence. Several international bodies claimed that domestic violence is a violation of human rights. They also demanded that human rights must be made applicable to domestic violence. Human rights treaties have to develop effective instruments to address the problem of domestic violence2. Activities such as physically hitting or slapping or a threat to cause harm to the victim or child of the victim, threatening to commit suicide or demeaning the victim verbally or physically, restricting the victim in visiting his or her friends or family member would constitute crimes of domestic violence3. Domestic violence is distinct from other types of assault. It should be dealt with separately with a separate dedicated mechanism for handling of cases; and there should be high levels of prosecutions and punishments. Only then will it be possible to eliminate domestic violence from the lives of women. The effects of domestic violence are much higher than that of physical assaults. Psychological damage is a very common outcome of domestic violence. Intimidation, in order to make women submissive, low self esteem among women and abusive dependence are other after effects of domestic violence. Relationships are based on trust in which individuals expect to obtain greater safety. However, domestic violence takes place in these relationships of dependence. Homes are considered to be private sanctuaries of safety but domestic violence occurs behind closed doors. Violence is a clear breach of the person and the security of women4. Although there is substantial evidence recognised at institutional level, regarding the psychological effects caused by domestic abuse; the criminal law in England and Wales intentionally ignored this fact, while including the same within the category of assaults. Domestic violence should be treated as a criminal offence based on gender power. The responses of the legislation towards domestic violence fortify the traditional acceptance of society as being male dominated. The concept of family is that both the husband and wife are equal in all respects. This concept is being ignored by the laws, and there is no emphasis on providing protection and support to the victims of domestic violence5. The introduction of relevant legislation has been instrumental in improving the living conditions of women and in protecting them from male violence6. However the effectiveness of these laws had been mitigated by the apathy of police in intervening in affairs of domestic violence. The other factor that weakened the effectiveness of these laws was the introduction of investigative proceedings with respect to rape7. The Domestic Violence Act changed the legal perception on domestic violence. Under the new legislation, common assault and breach of a non – molestation orders are deemed to be criminal offences and the offenders are liable to be arrested and prosecuted. The new act empowers courts to issue restraining orders, along with imposing a sentence on an offender8. Restraining orders can also be issued at the time of acquittal for an offence. They can also be issued when an appeal for rescinding conviction has been refused. Same sex couples are also included in the scope of the new act. Thus cohabiting same – sex couples can now invoke non – molestation and occupation orders9. The act extended the availability of these orders to couples who were unmarried or who had been living together. The act further strengthened the civil law on domestic violence and thereby established a statutory basis for domestic homicide. This act aims to provide a Code of Practice for courts under which they have to provide support, protection, information and advice to victims. At the same time, the new legislation empowers the police to take perpetrators of domestic violence into custody10. The new act had adopted a crime – centred approach in dealing with cases of domestic violence. This approach has had to countenance a great deal of a criticism for restricting the autonomy of women; and it was claimed to be adopting a paternalistic approach. This act imposes negative outcomes on ethnic minority males and females. It is criticised for being ineffective in eliminating violence and abuse. For instance, state intervention can harm the interests of victims belonging to the black population, economically poor victims and those who do not have a secured immigration status. Individuals who have a history of offending could also be affected by state intervention. Another major problem for these victims is the risk of being separated from their children; because support agencies can take their children into their custody, in order to protect them from being influenced by the abuse. In addition, there are risks of being arrested or deported11. Therefore, arrest and prosecution would not protect women from abuse or violence. If arrest and prosecution prevents further abuse or violence, then the risks would have been acceptable. Previously, offenders had been prosecuted after being arrested. However, the sophistication and advancement of the criminal justice system, has resulted in these cases being heard by domestic violence courts. Several of the victims are either withdrawing their complaints or retracting their earlier statements. However, the present courts are providing full fledged support to the victims by engaging multiple agencies12. The protection provided by both civil and criminal laws is subject to limitations to some extent in their effectiveness. This made most of the women to select the provisions under homeless legislation. This would provide them and their children with safe housing and protection for long periods from violation and abuse. Subsequently, the Housing Act modified accommodation arrangements, both in the public as well as the private sector13. Part VI and VII of the Housing Act determine the eligibility of individuals to be housed under these arrangements. This enables women and children, who had been subjected to abuse and violence, in getting safe accommodation14. The Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act has proved to be a revolutionary piece of legislation in the field of domestic violence, because it has provided a high level of protection and support to victims of violence and abuse. Moreover, it provides unlimited access to seek health services, housing and economic support from the government. The act takes into account the rights of the offender and considers other institutional needs. It respects the rights of the victims and witnesses. Therefore, it gives an opportunity to all the concerned parties to obtain justice. This act had established the Code of Practice which provides the necessary framework for carrying out statutory responsibilities of the agencies15. In addition to all these efforts, the fundamental requirement is that the criminal justice professional ethos should undergo substantial reform. There should be adequate resources to make this happen. It is also essential that there should be continuous monitoring of the functionality of the enforcement authorities. The government has to publicise the available statutory entitlements to the public and to the communities16. A research study was conducted with regard to the contact orders in England and Denmark in the year 1996. On the basis of the findings in this study, it was recommended that if there is proven existence of domestic violence, then the courts should not issue contact orders. This was in order to protect the women and their children17. Further research in this field has established that there is a direct link between domestic violence against the mother and child abuse. The awarding of contact orders would escalate the chances of continued abuse. They also serve as a means to impose control on the mother. Parental failure in providing better career options for their children and failure to protect them both psychologically and physically will also constitute domestic violence18. Any infringement of the non – molestation order issued under the Family Law Act 1996 attracts a sentence of imprisonment for a maximum of five years. Breach of non – molestation orders is a criminal offence. In the recent years, the United Kingdom had witnessed several developments that had sought to protect women and children from domestic violence. The criminal justice system in terms of domestic violence has been improved. However, with regard to child safety and contact arrangements subsequent to the separation of their parents, the situation has been found to be lacking in several important aspects. Responses have remained fully controlled by pro – contact avenues which fail to address the aftermath of domestic violence or in eliminating violence against children19. Non – sexual abuse by partners is the most prevailing form of violence between men and women, from the time that the latter are sixteen years old. In a study it was revealed that nearly thirty percent of women had experienced this type of violence and twenty percent of men had also experienced partner initiated non – sexual abuse20. Nearly ninety percent of women and eighty – three percent of men had experienced serious sexual assaults. Partners and ex – partners are the main offenders in these cases. Twenty – three percent of women have experienced stalking at the age of sixteen years. The main forms of stalking are obscene and threatening telephone calls or letters. Twelve percent of women had experienced some sort of non – sexual family – based abuse. Sixteen percent of women who were victims of partner violence had been victims of serious sexual assaults by partners and twenty – six percent had experienced stalking by their partners. Partner – abuse and intimate violence was found to more common among young people21. The housing act included22 important portions of the housing (homeless persons) act23, some of these were the provision of the right to accommodation for persons who had been subjected to domestic violence. Subsequently, the homelessness act extended this facility to all victims of violence24. Moreover, some more changes to section 31 of the Children Act25 were engendered by the adoption and children act26. The result of these changes was to include children who had observed another person being harmed, under the term significant harm to children. Moreover, such harm was customarily due to domestic violence27. The Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act signifies an improvement in the situation, because it constitutes represents legislative fortification in respect of occupation, non – molestation and restraining orders. All the same, the enacted legislation fell far short of comparable legislation in some of the more progressive European countries, which had drastically curbed the menace of domestic violence. These exemplary measures ensure that the offender is prohibited from the home for extended periods after having indulged in violence. Section 38 A (2) of the Children Act precludes the local authority from obtaining an exclusion order, until and unless there exists an interim care order or emergency protection order. However, even in such instances, it is essential to obtain the child’s carer’s or mother’s informed consent28. In the criminal law context, domestic violence does not constitute an issue of family law. It constitutes a violation of human rights. Moreover, the violation of human rights influences the community at large as well as political issues. Hence, it is important to protect the victims and prevent domestic violence. Governments have to enact more stringent legislation that effectively addresses the problem of domestic violence. Works Cited Adoption and Children Act 2002 BBC World Service. “Case Study: Domestic Violence.” 15 April. 2008. Burden, Tom and Mike Campbell. Capitalism and Public Policy in the UK. Routledge. 1985. ISBN: 0709906854. P229. Children Act 1989 Coleman, et al. "Homicides, Firearm Offences and Intimate violence 2005/6: Supplementary Volumen 1 to Crime in England and Wales 2005 -6." Home Office Statistical Bulletin 02/07. Office for National Statistics, 2007. Domestic Violence Act 1976 Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 Domestic Violence. In the World of Criminal Justice, Gale. 2002. 14 April 2008 Family Law Act 1996 Harrison, Christine. Implacably Hostile or Appropriately Protective? 14 April 2008 Hester and Radford. Domestic Violence and Child Contact Arrangements in England and Denmark. Policy Press. 1996. Hester, Marianne, Chris Pearson, Nicola Harwin, Hilary Abrahams. Children and Domestic Violence: A Reader. Jessica Kingsley. ISBN: 1843101572. 2006. Page 160. Homelessness Act 2002 Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977 Housing Act 1996, Part VII Humphreys, Catherine & Nicky Stanley. Domestic Violence and Child Protection: Directions for Good Practice. Jessica Kingsley. ISBN: 1843102765. 2006. Page 11. Kaur, Ranjith, 2002. Contact, Domestic Violence and Risk Assessment. 14 April 2008 Probert, Rebecca. Family Life and the Law: Under One Roof. Ashgate Publishing Ltd., ISBN: 0754647609. 2007 Pages 49 – 52. Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1976 Thomas, Terry. Sex Crime: Sex Offending and Society. Willan Publishing. ISBN: 1843921057. 2005 Page 132. The Housing Act 1996 Walklate, Sandra. Handbook on Victims and Victimology. Willan Publishing. ISBN: 1843922576. 2007. Pages 157 – 159. Winstone, Jane & Francis J. Pakes. Community Justice: Issues for Probation and Criminal Justice. Willan Publishing. ISBN: 184392128. 2005. P 253. Read More