The subject area of Violence Against Women & Girls (VAWG) is a public protection and community safety matter, which includes many diverse forms of violence and abuses (Psychological, Physical, Sexual, Financial and Emotional) that have a notable and sometimes grave impact on women and girls. What is clear is that women need to be safeguarded and protected from violence and abuse from people that they know.
Prevalence
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports that in the last year there were almost 2 million (of which 1.3. million were female) 16 – 59 years in England & Wales who have experience domestic abuse in the last year. There were 599, 549 domestic abuse related crimes recorded by police leading to 225,714 arrests. For more details visit: ONS.GOV.UK
In the year ending March 2018 there were 63 women were tragically murdered by a partner (married, common –law, co-habiting, girlfriend/boyfriend) or former partner. More women were sadly killed by other family members too: ONS.GOV.UK
Definition
The United Nations (UN) defines: “Violence against women means any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life”
The term is also used inter-changeably with Gender Based Violence / Abuse, which is defined as:
“Violence that is directed against a woman because she is a woman, or violence that affects women disproportionately. It includes acts that inflict physical, mental or sexual harm or suffering, threats of such acts, coercion and other deprivations of liberty”.
The Law in England and Wales
The EU Lawyers Foundation Manual (The Hague, Netherlands) contains an informative summary on the law, challenges and practices in England and Wales, which was co-authored by Connaught Law’s Gerry Campbell.
The Manual can be found here
Visit Connaught Law’s web-site for the services that we offer to safeguard and protect you and your family.
Disclaimer:
The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Connaught Law and authors accept no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please don’t hesitate to contact Connaught Law. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Connaught Law.
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