Domestic abuse, was once seen as a gender-specific offence committed by males towards females. From as early as the mid 1800’s, the law deemed it a husband’s acceptable right to exert control over his wife, through the use of physical abuse.

Over the last 18 years, the government has debated and discussed the increasing social problem of domestic abuse within the UK and reinforced the provisions available to law enforcement agencies. A the beginning of the 1990’s the Home Office took an approach to address and develop policy on domestic violence at a National and Multi-agency level. By 2003, numerous policy documents surrounding domestic abuse and the increase in reports had been published and presented to the government. They reacted to these findings by proposing a strategy tackling prevention, protection and justice for victims of domestic abuse; supporting victims to rebuild their lives.

£19 million funding has been granted by the Government to expand support for survivors of domestic abuse services across England. This funding is to help survivors of abuse, and will go towards the provision of refuge beds, education and life skills training. Councils in England that are working with domestic abuse support charities will be able to bid for a share of funding, to help support victims in their local areas.

In 12 months to the end of March 2017, there were 1.9 million adults in England and Wales, between 16 and 59 years old who reported domestic abuse. The Office of National Statistics tells us that this equates to 1.2 million survivors being female and 0.7 million survivors are male. Even though domestic abuse occurs in all genders, there is still a disproportionate number who are female and the Government recognises that the most severe forms of domestic abuse is perpetrated against females. v

On 17th July 2018, the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee began examining the Domestic Abuse Bill. As part of the inquiry, the Committee intend to explore not only what should be included in the legislation, but also what other non-legislative policies should be included, for the legislation to be the most effective.

Official data has revealed that teenage girls and single parents are among the most likely victims of domestic abuse. Statistics have found that 7.6% of 16-19 year old girls had been the victim of abuse by a partner or ex-partner in the last 12 months, with 7.4% of 20-24 year olds also experiencing domestic abuse from a partner or ex-partner.

Shocking statistics have been revealed confirming that 1 in 13 women in Yorkshire and the Humber have experienced domestic abuse in the last year. Figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal that 7.7% of all women aged 16 to 59 in this region were victims of domestic abuse at least once in the last year. Alarmingly, this means that an estimated 119,500 women and girls in Yorkshire and the Humber suffered abuse in 2017.

Domestic abuse is a widespread issue across the UK. It is well reported that 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men will experience domestic abuse throughout their life time. The UK’s leading children’s charity, Barnardo’s, has responded to the recent consultation on the Domestic Abuse and Violence Bill. Barnardo’s say that children affected by domestic violence and abuse need specialist services to help them deal with trauma and have the chance to lead healthy and happy lives.