More Essex residents than ever are using their legal right to learn if their partner has a violent past, new figures have revealed. The data reveals the amount of times requests to disclose information about residents under the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS) were made in Essex. The DVDS is often called Clare’s Law, which was implemented in March 2014. It provides procedures for disclosing information which will enable a partner to make informed choices about whether and how to take forward a relationship. Clare s Law is named after Clare Wood, a woman murdered in England by a former partner, who was known to police.