Faith leaders warn: new Bill will hurt domestic abuse victims

A coalition of ten prominent faith leaders has written to the Secretary of State for Justice, to warn that the government’s Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill will harm vast numbers of domestic abuse victims in “dire need” of support.

The letter, signed by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Southwark, the Anglican Bishop of Leicester and the Chief Executive of the Jewish Board of Deputies among others, states that the Bill will prevent many people experiencing domestic abuse from accessing legal aid that may be essential for obtaining injunctions against
abusive partners or securing the custody of children.

Recognising domestic abuse as “one of the greatest ills in our society” the faith leaders state that government proposals due to be debated in the House of Lords this week risk undermining the progress made by successive governments in tackling domestic abuse.

The intervention follows recent research by leading domestic abuse charities, indicating that 46% of victims will no longer be able to access legal aid under proposed restrictions on the type of evidence accepted in order to qualify for support. The fact that someone has made use of a charitable service including a women’s refuge will no longer be accepted as evidence, police attendance at a domestic violence incident and medical records will also be deemed insufficient.

The figure of those who will be ineligible for support rises to 54% when also taking into account the proposed 12 month limitation on the validity of evidence. The letter states that this could leave victims “without access to support, even when they may still be at risk of further abuse.”

The faith leaders’ concerns echo those of faith-based charities working with domestic abuse victims. St Antony’s Centre, a member of Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN) - the Catholic Church’s domestic social action arm, states: “We represented a wife in divorce and financial proceedings. She had been the subject of violent and abusive behaviour from her husband for many years and had moved out of the family home to return to her parents. The husband remained in the jointly owned family home, running his business and during the case he even moved his girlfriend into the house. Legal aid was essential in the negotiation of the husband buying out our client’s share of the property. Under the proposed change this client would not have been able to obtain legal aid... she would have been alone in representing herself at court, facing the perpetrator of the violence.”

CSAN’s Chief Executive Helen O’Brien said: “Civil legal aid frequently plays a fundamental role in protecting victims of domestic abuse and ultimately allowing them to break away from the horrific circumstances that they face. We regard the new restrictions as unjustifiable and believe that the Bill should be amended in order to protect some of the most vulnerable people in our society.”

The full letter follows:

The Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke MP QC
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Ministry of Justice
102 Petty France
London
SW1H 9AJ

28th February 2012

Dear Secretary of State,

Domestic abuse is recognised as one of the greatest ills in our society, damaging the lives of over a million women, men and children every year. We commend the actions taken by successive governments to tackle domestic abuse in its many and varied forms and the positive advances made in protecting more people. However, we are very concerned by aspects of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill which threaten to undermine such progress.

Legal aid is nothing short of essential for many victims of domestic abuse to escape the horrendous circumstances that they face. Without this support they would be unable to secure recourse in relation to fundamental issues such as injunctions, housing or access to children, potentially trapping them in a cycle of mistreatment and fear. It is clear that legal aid frequently allows for the resolution of domestic abuse cases before they escalate, in some cases avoiding serious injuries or even loss of life.

We welcome the government’s decision, reflected in the Bill, to protect the provision of legal aid in many cases where domestic abuse is involved. Yet, by deviating from the standard definition of domestic abuse utilised across government departments and police forces, the Bill risks restricting the overall number of cases entitled to support, and consequently causing harm to many individuals and families.

Similarly the proposed list of ‘objective evidence of domestic violence’, required in order to qualify for legal aid, appears restrictively narrow. Most worryingly, the fact that someone has used specialist domestic violence services, provided by voluntary agencies such as women’s refuges, will not necessarily be accepted as evidence. This may leave many victims in dire need of support but without the ‘right kind of evidence’ to secure it, whilst others will be discouraged from pursuing legal solutions at all.

Furthermore, arbitrary time-limitations on the validity of evidence risk leaving victims without access to support, even when they may still be at risk of further abuse.

We recognise your government’s genuine commitment to tackling domestic abuse, and urge you to fulfil this by addressing these matters as the Bill reaches its Report Stage in the House of Lords and when it returns to the House of Commons.

Yours sincerely,


Signatories to the letter: Most Rev Peter Smith, RC Archbishop of Southwark; Rt Rev Timothy Stevens, Bishop of Leicester (Church of England) ; Rev Dr Patricia Took, President, Baptist Union of Great Britain; Rev Leo Osborn, President, Methodist Conference; Rev Dr Kirsty Thorpe, Moderator of the General Assembly, United Reformed Church; Lt Col Marion Drew, Secretary for Communications, Salvation Army ;Jon Benjamin, Chief Executive, Board of Deputies of British Jews; Baron Singh of Wimbledon CBE, Director, Network of Sikh Organisations UK; Bhai Sahib Bhai Mohinder Singh, Chairman, Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha ; Malcolm M Deboo, President, Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe. The letter’s content is supported by Bharti Tailor, Secretary General of the Hindu Forum of Britain.