Refuge responds to new Home Office measures to combat VAWG including ‘Raneem’s law’

In response to measures announced by the Home Office to combat Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) including ‘Raneem’s law’ Abigail Ampofo, interim CEO of Refuge said:

“As we have seen over the last few weeks and months, violence against women and girls is at unprecedented levels. The scale of these crimes and their impact on survivors, victims and their loved ones really cannot be underestimated. Whilst we broadly support the raft of measures announced by the Home Office including specialists in 999 control rooms, we need to see far more detail on how these plans will be implemented and how staff will be safely recruited, vetted and most importantly trained for this pilot scheme due to be implemented in early 2025.

We have been waiting with bated breath for the roll out of Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs) which were first announced by the previous government under the landmark Domestic Abuse Act which passed in 2021. Refuge is pleased the piloting of these DAPOs are finally getting up and running which will allow more tools for the police and other agencies to implement protections for survivors of domestic abuse. However, we know there are a myriad of issues when it comes to police using their powers to protect survivors and hold perpetrators to account, so often survivors tell us that the police don’t act on breaches of these orders, and they are often worth ‘little more than the paper they are written on’.

We have also seen a very low uptake by forces nationwide to issue current protective orders available, with a Centre for Women’s Justice super complaint showing Domestic Violence Protection Orders (DVPOs) are obtained on average in only 1% of domestic abuse crimes. For DAPOs to work and provide survivors with real protections from abusers we need a real sea change in internal policing culture and the police forces response to domestic abuse overall. The focus needs to be on quality and mandatory training for all officers on how to issue and monitor these orders, as well as specialist training around the dynamics of domestic abuse. Without correct resourcing of trained and upskilled police officers, these protective orders will be worth nothing to women and their children experiencing domestic abuse.

We stand with Nour Norris in the memory of her niece Raneem Oudeh, and sister Khaola Saleem and all lives lost to domestic abuse. Their legacy is vital, and we must remember each and every life taken by male violence. Refuge welcomes Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s pledge to treat domestic abuse as a priority not just within her remit at the Home Office but across all government departments. It is only through societal change that we can eventually eradicate domestic abuse. On average in England and Wales a woman is killed by her partner or ex-partner every five days, this is an appalling statistic that we’ve all become too familiar with, change and action is long overdue.”