Women’s Aid enlists live chat service in battle against domestic abuse
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Summary:
As survivors have struggled with deteriorating situations at home under lockdown, UK-based charity Women’s Aid has provided another way for them to reach out and get help.
On 29 April, the UK’s Domestic Abuse Bill passed both Houses of Parliament and was finally signed into law. The new Act aims to provide greater protections for survivors; better measures to tackle perpetrators; and a more wide-ranging legal definition of domestic abuse - one that goes beyond physical violence, to also include emotional and economic abuse and coercive or controlling behavior.
by Bethany Rielly
AMENDED domestic-abuse legislation still has a “significant gap” because it fails to protect many migrant women, campaigners warned today.
They warned that domestic abuse will continue to force women with no recourse to public funds onto the streets unless the proposed Domestic Abuse Bill is extended to include them.
The government announced an amendment to the Bill that would make non-fatal strangulation a specific offence punishable by five years’ imprisonment.
The move comes after campaigners warned that perpetrators are avoiding punishment because strangulation can sometimes leave no signs of physical injury.
The amendment also aims to strengthen laws on controlling or coercive behaviour and to expand legislation targeting revenge porn: material shared without the subject’s consent in order to cause embarrassment or distress.