Domestic Abuse Bill

Written evidence submitted by Frank Mullane MBE, CEO of Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse (AAFDA), Registered Charity 1125973 (DAB78)

Written evidence to the House of Commons Public Bill Committee on the Domestic Abuse Bill 2019-21 in relation to amendments.

Executive Summary

1. We ask the Government to note in the Domestic Abuse Bill, the statutory duty to commission a Domestic Homicide Review as per the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004.

2. We ask that the Government's commitment to Domestic Homicide Reviews is stated in the Bill.

3. We ask that suicides as a result of domestic abuse are recognised in the Domestic Abuse Bill.

4. We ask that statutory funding is provided to support families bereaved by suicide like it is with homicide.

5. We ask for an inclusion in Section 11, Clause 4 of the Bill, to read "at least one person with lived experience appearing to the Commissioner to represent the interests of victims of domestic homicide".

6. We ask that there is an inclusion in Section 54, Clause 2 of the Bill, to read "at least one person appearing to the authority to represent the interests of local victims of domestic homicide" at the domestic abuse local partnership board.

7. AAFDA supports the amendment NC4: To move the following Clause - "No defence for consent to death".

8. AAFDA supports the amendment NC7: To move the following Clause - "Director of Public Prosecutions consultation with victim’s family in domestic homicides".

9. AAFDA supports the amendment NC8: To move the following Clause – "Offence of non-fatal strangulation".

10. AAFDA supports the amendment NC9: To move the following Clause – "Offence of non-fatal strangulation in domestic abuse context".

11. AAFDA supports the amendment NC10: To move the following Clause – "Prohibition of reference to sexual history of the deceased in domestic homicide trials".

Introduction

12. The national charity Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse (AAFDA), established in 2008, is a Centre of Excellence for reviews after fatal domestic abuse. It provides specialist advocacy and peer support to families bereaved by fatal domestic abuse (homicide, suicides and unexplained deaths). Its CEO is widely published on this subject, is a ‘reader’ of Domestic Homicide Reviews (advises the Government’s National Quality Assurance Panel, of which AAFDA is a member) and sits on the Government’s Victims’ Panel. AAFDA helped to bring Domestic Homicide Reviews into law in 2011, and helped develop the statutory guidance. See www.aafda.org.uk .

13. AAFDA is the only organisation currently supporting families across the UK bereaved by all types of fatal domestic abuse (homicide, suicide and unexplained deaths). Statutory funding exists only for the homicides.

Reason for submitting evidence

14. Despite commitments relating to Domestic Homicide Reviews in the Government’s latest Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy, and the Government's response to the public consultation on the draft Domestic Abuse Bill in January 2019, neither domestic homicide nor Domestic Homicide Reviews are mentioned in the Bill.

15. Domestic Homicide Reviews illuminate the past to make the future safer via improvements in agency and community responses. This process delivers on the Government's commitment to a Domestic Abuse Bill "aimed at supporting victims and their families and pursuing offenders."

16. As a result of AAFDA’s work, and having quality assured c.750 Domestic Homicide Reviews, we know that consistently, opportunities are missed to both prevent domestic abuse and to learn from these cases. Quality Domestic Homicide Reviews provide valuable learning. They encourage partnership working, raise understanding of domestic abuse and its impact on victims, and improve the protection for victims of domestic abuse.

17. We are submitting evidence to the committee to request amendments that enhance the Bill in relation to domestic homicide reviews and fatal domestic abuse.

Details of Amendments suggested by AAFDA

18. Statutory duty to commission a Domestic Homicide Review

19. We ask the Government to note in the Domestic Abuse Bill, the statutory duty to commission a Domestic Homicide Review as per the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004. The Bill makes no mention of domestic homicides despite the five Domestic Homicide Review related commitments in Annexe C of the Government's response to the public consultation on the draft Domestic Abuse Bill in January 2019 [1] (commitments 119-123 on page 81).

20. Value of the Domestic Homicide Review process

21. We ask that the Government's commitment to Domestic Homicide Reviews is stated in the Bill. This is because quality Domestic Homicide Reviews significantly assist in delivering the Domestic Abuse Bill's stated aims to: raise awareness and understanding of domestic abuse and its impact on victims; improve the effectiveness of the justice system in providing protection for victims of domestic abuse and bringing perpetrators to justice; and strengthen the support for victims of abuse provided by other statutory agencies.

22. Suicides as a result of domestic abuse

23. Walby (2004) [2] estimated that between four and ten women took their own lives each week in the UK because of domestic abuse.

24. We ask that suicides as a result of domestic abuse are recognised in the Domestic Abuse Bill, as they are required to be reviewed under the statutory guidance for Domestic Homicide Reviews . [3]

25. We ask that statutory funding is provided to support families bereaved by suicide as it is with homicide.

26. In our experience working with over 35 families bereaved by domestic abuse related suicide / unexplained death over the past year, most front-line responders and the community, are not well informed as to the incidence of suicides due to domestic abuse, and have missed opportunities for intervention. We also find that many suicides following domestic abuse are not investigated with the same rigour as are suspected homicides.

27. We recommend that the Police are instructed to investigate suicides where there has been a domestic abuse history or where there is suspicion of domestic abuse, with the same rigour that they investigate homicides.

28. We further recommend that Police should record suspected domestic abuse suicides so we can understand the extent of the problem well before the inquest.

29. Domestic Homicide Victim representation on the Advisory Board

30. We ask that there is an inclusion in Section 11, Clause 4 of the Bill, to read "at least one person with lived experience appearing to the Commissioner to represent the interests of victims of domestic homicide". There are five stated commitments in relation to Domestic Homicide Reviews in the Government's response to the public consultation on the draft Domestic Abuse Bill in January 2019 (p81). However, there is currently no requirement in the Bill for a person to represent the interests of victims of domestic homicide on the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s Advisory Board.

31. This amendment would require representation for domestic homicide victims and their fami lies, ensuring the interests of victims of fatal domestic abuse are equally addressed by someone with lived experience on the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s Advisory Board.

32. Domestic Homicide Victim representation on the Domestic Abuse Local Partnership Board

33. We ask that there is an inclusion in Section 54, Clause 2 of the Bill, to read "at least one person appearing to the authority to represent the interests of local victims of domestic homicide" at the domestic abuse local partnership board.

34. This amendment would require representation for local domestic homicide victims and their fami lies, ensuring the interests of victims of fatal domestic abuse are considered and equally addressed when the authority is seeking advice about the exercise of its functions.

35. AAFDA supports the following amendments made by various Members of Parliament as at 10 th June 2020:

36. NC4: To move the following Clause - "No defence for consent to death". This new clause would prevent consent of the victim from being used as a defence to a prosecution in domestic homicides.

37. NC7: To move the following Clause - "Director of Public Prosecutions consultation with victim’s family in domestic homicides". This new clause would require the Director of Public Prosecutions to consult the immediate family of the victim before charging less than murder in a domestic homicide and provide the family with legal advice so they can understand the legal background. AAFDA supports this amendment because our experience of working with hundreds of families after fatal domestic abuse, is that lack of consultation by the authorities causes secondary trauma in some families.

38. NC8: To move the following Clause – "Offence of non-fatal strangulation". This new clause will create a new offence of non-fatal strangulation. AAFDA supports this amendment because our experience of working with hundreds of families after fatal domestic abuse, and having quality assured c.700 Domestic Homicide Reviews, is that non-fatal strangulation occurs regularly in the histories of homicide victims yet was repeatedly under-charged. Further evidence supporting the addition of this clause is provided by the Centre for Women's Justice [4] (CWJ).

39. NC9: To move the following Clause – "Offence of non-fatal strangulation in domestic abuse context". This new clause will create a new offence of non-fatal strangulation in domestic abuse offences. For the same reasons that AAFDA supports NC08, we support NC09.

40. NC10: To move the following Clause – "Prohibition of reference to sexual history of the deceased in domestic homicide trials". This new clause will prevent the victim’s previous sexual history being used as evidence to prove consent to violence in a domestic homicide case. This draws on the legislative measures in the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 to prevent rape defendants raking up or inventing complainants’ previous sexual history.

41. For more information in relation to the amendments above or the wider work of Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse, please contact Frank Mullane MBE, Chief Executive on info@aafda.org.uk

June 2020