28 November 2007
The Royal National Hotel, Bedford Way, London
Bridget Prentice highlighted the white ribbon campaign at the Women's Issues Network Event. She laid out implementation plans of the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act and the staff domestic violence policy.
Introduction
Thank you very much Anita. Good morning and welcome to what is the first MoJ event highlighting the White ribbon day campaign. Particular thanks to the Women's Issues Network for inviting me to speak today.
I'm glad to see so many of us wearing the white ribbon. The symbol is important The spirit behind White Ribbon Day is one of international collaboration. It brings together men and women from many different communities and backgrounds to raise awareness of domestic violence and acting as an educational tool to encourage reflection and discussion. And it provides, I think, an opportunity for agencies, organisations as well as individuals to focus on a problem that is clearly still a blight on our society. It is a symbol of hope. It is a personal pledge to challenge the acceptability of violence against women and to show your support to end it.
I am very pleased to be able to talk today about the positive work my department is doing in this area, including the help being given to MoJ staff who victims domestic violence. I want to begin to talk about this new staff domestic violence policy; the ongoing external domestic violence initiatives where we are working with other government departments; and about some new legislation relevant to domestic violence, in particular the Forced Marriage Act 2007.
General comments on domestic violence
It is safe to say we recognise that domestic violence can affect anyone and that although the majority of victims are women, men also suffer domestic violence whether it is in marriages, civil partnerships and other relationships.
You know as well as I do that domestic violence deeply affects victims and the video we've just seen highlights that. It transcends gender, race, class, age and sexuality. It accounts for 15% of all violent crime and one in three of all homicides.
But since 1997 this government has done quite a substantial deal of work in trying to tackle this particularly appalling crime. In 2005 we published our first inter-departmental National Delivery Plan for Domestic Violence which sets out clear aims and objectives and set us on course for a three year programme which is proving to be effective in protecting victims and bringing perpetrators to justice. That plan is now updated each year and published with an annual report.
And at the centre piece of it is a coordinated set of initiatives in the criminal justice system, including the development of Specialist Domestic Violence Courts SDVCs; Multi Agency Risk assessment Conferences (MARACS) and Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAS) some of which I'll touch on later on.
Domestic violence policy for MoJ staff
I'm pleased that my department is playing a key role in all of these initiatives, because they have such a significant impact on the lives of victims and their children.
And I'm also pleased that we are trying to address these issues closer to home by launching the domestic violence policy for Ministry of Justice staff. That will assist those experiencing domestic violence and provide supporting guidance, suitably tailored for victims, their line managers, colleagues and perpetrators.
Under the new policy, professional counselling; special workplace security arrangements; flexibility in terms of work pattern; and financial support and legal advice, can be provided to victims. Line managers and workplace support officers must of course carry out that support in complete secrecy and confidence.
I think this new policy recognises that domestic violence can affect anyone - including, very sadly, the people you work with day in day out. It demonstrates, I hope, that the ministry is committed to tackling domestic violence wherever it occurs. In the past the support and help available to staff has not been particularly well publicised.
The introduction of the policy plays an important part in shaping the culture of the ministry that we are all striving to develop. And I think it will send a clear message to victims of domestic violence that our department, the MoJ, as employers are completely committed to providing support and will encourage victims to come forward to ask for help. It will also send the message to perpetrators that the ministry will simply not tolerate domestic violence in any form.
Outward facing initiatives
Now, if I may, I will speak in more detail about some of the initiatives that have been implemented to tackle domestic violence and protect victims and bring perpetrators to justice.
At the moment some 64 Specialist Domestic Violence Courts systems in place and we are considering expressions of interest in setting up further such courts and hope to make the decision on new sites by the end of March next year.
The Specialist Domestic Violence Court takes a different approach to how domestic violence is tackled within the courts, including:
- accredited independent domestic violence advisers who can offer victims one point of contact during and after their case. And I am pleased to say that continued funding for IDVAs has now been confirmed
- there are also now dedicated prosecutors, police and trained magistrates as well as legal advisors who specialise in the issues involved in domestic violence cases
- either a fast-tracking of domestic violence cases, or alternatively a clustering of cases together on a designated day each week or month to make courts run more effectively and speed up justice for victims
and
- separate entrances, exits and waiting areas so that victims are not confronted by their attackers.
We've done an evaluation of the first seven specialist courts in March 2004 found that the benefits at court systems: Enhanced effectiveness of court as well as support services for victims. Much better information sharing which increased public confidence and victim participation and most crucially placed the victim at the heart of the process.
As a result nationally, successful prosecutions of domestic violence increased from 46% in December 2003 to 65% in December 2006. But with specialist domestic violence courts the results are better - 71% of successful cases were successfully prosecuted.
The programme is jointly managed by Her Majesty's Court Service, the Home Office and the Crown Prosecution Service. It has shown when we take this on together it can make a real difference. I do laugh at the name - you can't make it up - but I am pleased to say that the programme was short-listed for The Joined-Up Government Award in the Whitehall & Westminster World Civil Service Awards 2006. This does at least recognise we are working together well.
It is clear that Specialist Domestic Violence Court systems are making encouraging progress. Recently members of the joint management team have visited 6 of the first 25 SDVCs. They found that, SDVCs have led to improvements in victim safety and satisfaction, reducing delays and improved evidence gathering.
I hear constantly of very positive stories in one area, for example, a victim said that even though her abuser was not convicted, being able to give evidence in court, with that kind of support had helped her draw a line under her ordeal and allowed her to move on without fear of retribution. So even where abusers are not necessarily convicted the system has given women more support.
Work is also continuing on the Croydon Integrated Domestic Violence Court pilot. The pilot will coordinate court action for families affected by domestic violence by bringing related cases involving the same family into one court, so there is complete information about family issues to aid in the judicial decision making and will give comprehensive resources and services to one court to address the multiple needs of these families.
Implementation of domestic violence legislation
This year we have also implemented and passed a number of important pieces of legislation.
From 1 June 2007, victims of stalking and domestic violence have been able to benefit from new legislation in the Electoral Administration Act 2006. It might sound odd that an Act like this is relevant. However it contains provision designed to protect people at risk if their details appear on the electoral register. Those at risk can apply to their local authority in England and Wales to be registered anonymously while still being able to vote.
On 1 July 2007, the remaining provisions of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 were implemented. Section 1 makes the breach of a family non-molestation order a criminal offence punishable by up to five years' imprisonment. Section 4 extends availability of non-molestation and occupation orders to those persons that have never cohabited or married.
In addition, the Forced Marriage Act 2007 received royal assent on 27 July 2007. The aim of the Act is to provide protection to those at risk of forced marriage and to provide recourse for those who have already been forced into marriage. Under the Act, a person who is being forced into marriage or has been forced into marriage may apply to the court for a Protection Order. The court can order the behaviour or conduct of those responsible for forcing that person into marriage to change or stop or to impose requirements upon them. If they fail to comply with the court order they will be dealt with by the court and indeed may be sent to prison.
So it sends out a very strong signal that forced marriage is unacceptable and will not be tolerated and I am pleased to say that it will be fully implemented in autumn 2008.
Conclusion
I want to conclude by talking briefly about the role of men in our national delivery plan. We recognise that the majority of domestic and sexual violence is gender based and that there is a need to get men to address these issues with their brothers, fathers, sons, friends, neighbours, work colleagues in order to speak out against these appalling crimes.
That Is why I am very pleased to see the formation of the Men's Coalition that was launched yesterday (26 November) which will add a strong voice to the public debate about important public policy areas which affect men and boys in general but in particular their work to address violence against women.
And I look forward to working with them in the future and hearing about their contribution to this debate.
Once again thank you all for your support in the work the ministry is doing and I know that it is only by working together, both men and women that we will enable a positive change to take place. Thank you very much.