This needs to STOP NOW

This needs to STOP NOW

Many people have found over 1,300 partners have had abusive pasts under Clare’s Law, which was brought to light 12 months ago.

The stats confirm the large number of domestic abuse that is happening right now in England and Wales.

Police acted on one out of three occasions, providing sensitive information; 1,335 times from 3,760 applications.

Clare’s Law was introduced last year after 14 months of pilot in Gwent, Wiltshire, Nottinghamshire and Greater Manchester.

The law lets Police give out information regarding a partner’s previous history of domestic abuse or violence.

The scheme is named after Clare Wood, 36, who was strangled by her partner and then set on fire in Salford, Manchester; the offender, Appleton had a history of violent acts.

Her Father Michael Brown, 71, admitted that he is 'quietly delighted'

That the law has been enforced but he figures are just the 'tip of the iceberg'.

He said: 'This is just people that are coming to the fore. This is only the tip of the iceberg. There's an awful lot of it not reported, people are frightened to come forward.

'We didn't have the lofty ambitions to do away with domestic violence – that would have been nonsensical.

'What we did was try to give ladies and gents who were in trouble another chink in their armour. I think we succeeded in that.

'This is just the start. This is what it is in just the first year, all these people know about Clare's Law, they're going to tell another five, another dozen, and next year this is going to snowball.'+1

There are of course regional variations in disclosures- for instance, Lancashire has the highest amount of disclosures with 146, but Norfolk only has 5.

Greater Manchester is the likeliest force to reveal information, with 60% of cases being divulged. However, Merseyside’s figure was just 11%.

Wood’s partner Appleton had a history of violent acts towards women and joined dating websites under false names. He hanged himself 6 days after the murder in a derelict pub.

Courts have issued 2,220 domestic violence protection orders, which aim to protect victims of abuse and were introduced after a one year pilot in West Mercia, Wiltshire and Greater Manchester.

Salford and Eccles MP Hazel Blears, who campaigned to have the law put in place, says that this confirms the sheer magnitude of domestic violence in the UK, and she is worried that the differences in disclosure throughout Britain demonstrates that the law is dependent on the force.

In 2014, many domestic violence cases were failed by the police due to 'alarming and unacceptable weaknesses'.

There were a staggering 269,700 domestic abuse-related crimes in England and Wales between 2012 and 2013, with 77 women killed by their partners or ex-partners in the same period.

Every 30 seconds the police receive a domestic violence call and 8% of crime is comprised of domestic abuse in the home.

Polly Neate, of Women's Aid, said any woman who asks for help under Clare's Law should also be referred to support groups for help.

 



 


by for www.femalefirst.co.uk
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