Event Summary

One in 20 adults experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2022* and record numbers of children are affected by this horrific crime.*

With the Victims’ Bill progressing through Parliament, in February, the Government set out new measures to tackle domestic abuse and new protections for victims. This includes tougher management of dangerous offenders, identifying perpetrators before conviction, piloting civil orders, amongst other initiatives.  Violence against women and girls was added to the  strategic policing requirement and categorised as a national threat, setting out expectations about how this threat should be tackled by police forces.

Claire’s Law was strengthened and the guidance placed on a statutory footing. New funding is promised, from April, for perpetrator interventions and for specialist victim support programmes including trauma-informed support. 

This raft of initiatives and policy, follows the Domestic Abuse Act; and 2022’s statutory guidance, recognising children as victims of domestic abuse in their own right.

It’s clear how much is being done, but also how much needs to be done. Join us at our timely, and highly-regarded bi-annual Domestic Abuse Conference in May.  You will hear from experts, policy makers, and specialist practitioners. You’ll learn from multi-agency panels, including the Government, police, local authorities, housing, courts, NHS  and community groups, sharing best practice and insights in  joint working.  We’ll spotlight perspectives from the victim’s viewpoint, and the frontline.

Don’t miss this timely opportunity to come together with peers, stakeholders, and key agencies to hear how to prioritise victims, ensuring they are at the heart of our response to domestic abuse.

Key Points

• Reviewing progress against the key commitments in the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan

• The Victims’ Bill and steps to improve support for victims and survivors
• Understanding the legislative changes on non-fatal strangulation and reducing the incidence of strangulation and suffocation in the UK
• Transforming the NHS response to domestic abuse and sexual violence
• Supporting children and young victims of domestic abuse
• Learning from the family courts pilot aiming to improve information sharing between agencies such as the police, local authorities and the courts 

• Providing a more effective response to processing domestic abuse cases through Specialist Domestic Abuse Courts
• Identifying and tackling serial perpetrators of domestic abuse through effective MATAC process
• Learn from lived experience and victim insights
• Exploring a whole-family approach to intervene early and ensure support for families
• Understanding housing rights of domestic abuse survivors and tackling joint-tenancy issues