This survey is designed to collect feedback from frontline domestic abuse practitioners and those who work with domestic abuse survivors, their children and perpetrators, to inform SafeLives' response to the Domestic Abuse Bill consultation which closes on May 31st: https://consult.justice.gov.uk/homeoffice-moj/domestic-abuse-consultation/

This survey should take around ten minutes of your time and will help us to ensure your voice is at the centre of our response, alongside that of survivors and our own practice experts. The deadline to submit responses is Friday 18th May. Please do forward the link to the survey to colleagues and friends who you think might like to make their voice heard.

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* 1. Your details

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* 2. The Government is proposing to make the following definition statutory:

Any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are, or have been, intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexual orientation. The abuse can encompass, but is not limited to:

• psychological

• physical

• sexual

• economic

• emotional

Controlling behaviour
Controlling behaviour is a range of acts designed to make a person subordinate and/or dependent by isolating them from sources of support, exploiting their resources and capacities for personal gain, depriving them of the means needed for independence, resistance and escape and regulating their everyday behaviour.

Coercive behaviour

Coercive behaviour is an act or a pattern of acts of assault, threats, humiliation and intimidation or other abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten their victim.

This definition will include economic abuse for the first time and covers all forms of domestic abuse including so-called ‘honour’-based violence and forced marriage, as well as adult to parent abuse.

Do you agree with the definition?

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* 3. The proposed statutory definition sets the age at 16 and above. We know that young people under 16 can experience domestic abuse and can also exhibit harmful behaviour. Scotland and Northern Ireland do not have an age limit for domestic abuse. However, lowering the age could potentially lead to an increase in criminalisation of young people without the right guidance and also take away the remit of children’s social care to ensure young people are protected against harmful behaviour.

Do you agree that the definition of domestic abuse should only apply to 16 year olds and over?

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* 4. The Government has committed to introduce mandatory Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) which is planned to come into force in September 2019.

How do you think the domestic and sexual abuse element of RSE should be delivered in schools?

Please include any experience you or your organisation has of delivering domestic abuse or healthy relationships education in schools.

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* 5. Over 60% of female offenders have experienced domestic abuse. How can we work better with female offenders and vulnerable women at risk of offending to identify their domestic abuse earlier? For example, should Idvas be attached to prisons, co-located in probation services or should there be routine screening of female offenders to identify issues of domestic or sexual abuse?

Please contribute your thoughts on female offenders including any experience you or your organisation has of working with female offenders

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* 6. How can the Government better protect victims of domestic abuse with ‘no recourse to public funds’ (NRPF)?

What reforms should be made to the Destitute Domestic Violence Concession (DDVC)?

 How can the system of supporting migrants and refugee victims of domestic abuse be improved?

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* 7. The Government is proposing to introduce a new Domestic Abuse Protection Notice (DAPN), which could be made by the police, and a Domestic Abuse Protection Order (DAPO), which could be made by the courts in a wide range of circumstances. Other orders e.g. Restraining, non-molestation orders and occupation orders will remain. Circumstances for the new order would be linked to new definition of domestic abuse – so extending application to coercive and controlling behaviour or economic abuse. The DAPO will be flexible in terms of conditions attached e.g. prohibitions – not to come within certain distance of victim and to refrain from alcohol/drugs, as well as positive requirements – e.g. to attend perpetrator programme, attend alcohol and drug treatment programmes, parenting programmes. Tagging and notification requirements could also be used as conditions. There will be a flexible length of time for the new order, so not just 28 days maximum duration for current DVPO. Finally breach of the new DAPO will be criminalised.

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* 8. How can we better ensure perpetrators of domestic abuse are monitored by the police and other agencies including ensuring they are tracked cross-border?

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* 9. Would you support the idea of a Register of Domestic Abuse perpetrators similar for example to the Violent and Sex Offender Register? 

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* 10. What more could be done to ensure information and data on perpetrators is shared more effectively?

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* 11. The Government is proposing to place a duty on the police to have regard to the guidance covering Clare’s Law (the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme). 

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* 12. How can we better promote guidance on Clare’s Law to practitioners and the general public?

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* 13. What practical barriers do domestic abuse victims face in escaping or recovering from economic abuse and how could these be overcome?

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* 14. What more can we do to tackle domestic abuse which is perpetrated online, or through control of technology? E.g. training for frontline practitioners, regulation of social media companies and those who provide online platforms, greater regulation/awareness raising of spyware/GPS on devices, better advice online for survivors and friends and family.

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* 15. Is there more this government could do to explain the range and remit of existing measures for victims to help support them in the criminal justice process? For example, ensuring all victims of domestic abuse who go to court have the support of an advocate (e.g. Idva) trained in domestic abuse?

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* 16. The Government is proposing to introduce a statutory aggravating factor to apply to circumstances of domestic abuse, including behaviour involving, or with particular impact on, a child. Do you think that this is necessary, on top of the revised set of guidelines for sentencing in domestic abuse cases were published by the independent Sentencing Council on 22 February 2018?

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* 17. The Government is proposing to look at increasing the use of conditional cautions with rehabilitation programmes than is currently permitted for lower-level, normally first time domestic abuse incidents. Do you agree with this? 

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* 18. What more could be done to work with perpetrators in prisons, particularly offenders who receive a sentence of less than 12 months and do not have sufficient time to complete a domestic abuse programme in custody?

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* 19. What more could be done to ensure we learn the lessons from Domestic Homicide Reviews and Serious Case Reviews? For example, should all DHRs and SCRs be published centrally and be open indefinitely for everyone to be able to look at?

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