Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme Research Articles

Self-blame and (becoming) the crazy ex: Domestic abuse, information sharing and responsibilisation

The 2021 Domestic Abuse Act puts the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (Clare’s Law) on a statutory footing which allows police forces to share someone’s criminal history to prevent domestic abuse. In this article, we draw on the findings from a wider study on women’s experiences of accessing such schemes and instead highlight the informal ways in which women shared and received information about domestic abuse experiences among each other to prevent domestic abuse. These experiences are located within a ‘red flag’ discourse which we argue inadvertently responsibilises women, who in turn blame themselves for failing to leave abusive relationships. The conclusion makes some suggestions as to how a better understanding of the reality of victim-survivors’ everyday lives might inform the practices of those tasked with supporting women in making sense of disclosures of domestic abuse and providing appropriate support at the right time.

Using criminal histories to empower victim–survivors of domestic abuse

The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS) was first introduced in England and Wales in 2014 and has since been reproduced across the world. Its aim is to empower victim–survivors by giving them access to a partner’s criminal history and thereby helping them make informed decisions about their relationship. Yet the relationship between information and empowerment in this context remains contested and unexplored both theoretically and empirically. This paper draws on findings from the largest qualitative study of the DVDS to date as well as coercive control, to show that police are using disclosures to undermine perpetrators’ ‘monopolies on perception’ and in doing so aiming to empower victim–survivors to redefine their own realities. The implications for practice-oriented models of empowerment and evaluation methodologies are explored.

‘Social Care Told me I Had to’: Empowerment And Responsibilization in The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme

Abstract Domestic Violence Disclosure Schemes (DVDS), recently introduced in many jurisdictions, aim to empower victim-survivors of domestic abuse by giving them access to information about their partner’s criminal history. This paper presents findings from the largest study of the police implementation of the first such scheme, introduced in the United Kingdom in 2014. It finds that the disclosure process is increasingly being shaped by a child protection agenda that makes victim-survivors responsible for protecting their children from the harms of domestic abuse. It examines tensions and dilemmas this raises for police seeking to safeguarding and empower victim-survivors, and draws on feminist ethical theory to develop a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics between the professional spheres of domestic abuse and child protection.

‘No black and white answer about how far we can go’: police decision making under the domestic violence disclosure scheme

ABSTRACT Domestic violence disclosure schemes are being adopted by police forces in countries around the world, yet they remain controversial and empirically under-researched. This paper presents findings from the largest study of police implementation of such a scheme to date, drawing on in-depth interviews and Freedom of Information data from 12 police forces in England and Wales. We reveal that victims of domestic abuse face a ‘postcode lottery’ of disclosures, with some receiving minimal or no information about the criminal histories of their partners, and others receiving lengthy and detailed descriptions. We identify and analyse two contrasting police approaches to disclosure: ‘risk-averse’ approaches, which are driven by efforts to avoid costly legal action by disgruntled offenders, and to minimise the resource implications of the scheme; and ‘permissive’ approaches, which are more explicitly victim-centred, reflect an increasingly prevalent ‘coercive control’ discourse, and are informed and guided by close collaboration with specialist partner agencies. The discussion sheds light on the shifting culture of domestic violence policing in the UK, yields immediate recommendations for the regulation and best practice of domestic violence disclosure schemes, and has methodological implications for efforts to assess their effectiveness.

Reflections on the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (England and Wales)

The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS) aims to reduce harm through improving access to background information for people with concerns about a romantic partner’s behaviour. This reduction is predicated on the disclosure recipient taking steps to ensure their safety, either by managing the situation or ending the relationship. As fewer than half of the thousands of annual applications result in disclosures, and no information is held about any subsequent steps taken by applicants or recipients, it is unclear whether or not the DVDS is actually reducing domestic violence. Nonetheless, Scotland and Northern Ireland have implemented their own variations of this policy, as have some Canadian and Australian states. This policy analysis draws on empirical research into the DVDS in terms of its national and local operation in order to assess the strengths and limitations of its capacity to reduce harm. The analysis outlines how the policy may be difficult to access; deflect – rather than prevent – harm; shift safeguarding responsibilities onto the most vulnerable; and be incorrectly interpreted in terms of outcome. The paper makes recommendations for improvement in order to enhance the policy’s efficacy.

Reflections on the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (England and Wales)

The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS) aims to reduce harm through improving access to background information for people with concerns about a romantic partner’s behaviour. This reduction is predicated on the disclosure recipient taking steps to ensure their safety, either by managing the situation or ending the relationship. As fewer than half of the thousands of annual applications result in disclosures, and no information is held about any subsequent steps taken by applicants or recipients, it is unclear whether or not the DVDS is actually reducing domestic violence. Nonetheless, Scotland and Northern Ireland have implemented their own variations of this policy, as have some Canadian and Australian states.<br />This policy analysis draws on empirical research into the DVDS in terms of its national and local operation in order to assess the strengths and limitations of its capacity to reduce harm. The analysis outlines how the policy may be difficult to access; deflect – rather than prevent – harm; shift safeguarding responsibilities onto the most vulnerable; and be incorrectly interpreted in terms of outcome. The paper makes recommendations for improvement in order to enhance the policy’s efficacy.<br />key messagesDomestic violence prevention policies which require active citizenship may be less effective at preventing victimisation.<br />The monitoring of outcomes following a DVDS application/disclosure is required.<br />Care needs to be taken to ensure engagement with the DVDS does not put people at a greater risk of harm.

Whatever Happened to 'Clare's Law'? Reviewing the Available Evidence on the Effectiveness of the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme

While the overall trend has been for the rate of applications and disclosures under the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS) in England and Wales to increase over time; there is an emerging 'postcode lottery' as to how the DVDS is operated across those forces concerned. Meanwhile HMICFRS have made it clear to forces that more needs to be done to deploy preventive measures aimed at reducing the risk of domestic violence toward those vulnerable to such abuse. These measures can be said to include the DVDS in England and Wales. However, there is mixed evidence available in the public domain as to the overall effectiveness of the DVDS at preventing domestic abuse arising through the bringing to an end of a risky relationship, or through the empowerment of victims through the ability to increase their knowledge of their partners' abusive past. The results of a recent freedom-of-information study underpinning this report show that 45.6% of 'early wave' recipients of disclosures under the DVDS have gone on to be victimised by the very partner they were warned about; while there are suggestions from reported cases from the courts that recipients of disclosures are not always able to act on the warnings provided in order to keep themselves safe. Police forces in England and Wales should undertake an exercise to establish whether the disclosures they have made under the DVDS in the last 12 months have had an effect; entailing checking to see if recipients of disclosures have since reported victimisation by the subjects of the disclosures concerned. Follow-up qualitative research may be required, however, to fully explore the problem should a force discover that 'Clare's Law' disclosures are not contributing as effectively as might be hoped to the challenge of protecting potential victims from the harms of domestic abuse. In this way, police forces in England and Wales can begin to evaluate whether recent disclosures under the DVDS have been having a positive impact on the safety and empowerment of victims; or whether more needs to be done by the force to establish how 'Clare's Law' disclosures can be managed and made effectively in conjunction with other preventive measures aimed at tackling domestic abuse. This sort of effectiveness evaluation is particularly important now that domestic abuse disclosure schemes have been taken up outside of England and Wales, in both Scotland and Northern Ireland; and further afield in New Zealand and some parts of Australia.

Victim hierarchies in the domestic violence disclosure scheme

Since its national implementation in March 2014, the UK Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (also known as ‘Clare’s Law’) has enabled thousands of people in England and Wales to seek information from the police about whether their partner has a history of domestically abusive behaviours. Politicians have hailed the policy on the basis that it empowers people to make informed choices about their safety, thus representing a vital part of wider domestic violence reduction strategies. This, of course, is all dependent upon people knowing the policy exists; being able to apply to it; meeting the relevant criteria; there being information to disclose; and this being relayed to the applicant accordingly. Drawing on empirical research into the policy’s operation in one policing area, this paper highlights several discrepancies with respect to how the scheme is functioning. The analysis suggests that the hierarchical, two-tier approach to implementation is impacting on displaced responsibility and potential risk enhancement, while the symbolic mobilisation of domestic violence victims for contemporary political gain is also explored. The paper concludes with suggestions for reform to boost the ability of the policy to prevent domestic violence and abuse.

A disclosure scheme for protecting the victims of domestic violence.

Richard Griffith, Senior Lecturer in Health Law at Swansea University, explains how the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme aims to protect potential victims by allowing disclosure of a partner's previous crimes.

The efficacy of Clare’s Law in domestic violence law reform in England and Wales

In 2011 the high profile murder of Clare Wood led to the introduction of the national domestic violence disclosure scheme (‘Clare’s Law’) in England and Wales. The scheme aims to prevent the perpetration of violence between intimate partners through the sharing of information about prior histories of violence. Despite already spreading to comparable jurisdictions in the UK and Australia, to date the merits of a domestic violence disclosure scheme have been the subject of limited scholarly review and analysis. This article provides a timely critical analysis of the need for and merits of Clare’s Law. It examines the data impediments to the scheme, the need to balance the right to protection with the right to privacy and the question of victim empowerment versus responsibilization and victim blaming. The article concludes that there is a need to heed caution in adopting this policy elsewhere.

Understanding the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme

British Journal of MidwiferyVol. 24, No. 4 LegalUnderstanding the Domestic Violence Disclosure SchemeRichard GriffithRichard GriffithSearch for more papers by this authorRichard GriffithPublished Online:7 Apr 2016https://doi.org/10.12968/bjom.2016.24.4.298AboutSectionsView articleView Full TextPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail View article References Cornelius v DeTaranto [2001] EWCA Civ 1511 Google ScholarHome Office (2012) Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme: guidance. Home Office, London Google ScholarMullender (2000) Reducing Domestic Violence… What Works? Meeting the Needs of Children. Home Office, London Google ScholarNational Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2014) Domestic violence and abuse: multi-agency working. www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ph50 (accessed 22 March 2016) Google ScholarSimmons J, Dodd T (2003) Crime in England and Wales 2002/2003. Home Office, London Google ScholarStrickland P (2013) “Clare's law”: the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme. http://tinyurl.com/z62d3zh (accessed 22 March 2016) Google ScholarTaket A (2004) Tackling Domestic Violence: the role of health professionals. 2nd edn. Home Office, London Google Scholar FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails 2 April 2016Volume 24Issue 4ISSN (print): 0969-4900ISSN (online): 2052-4307 Metrics History Published online 7 April 2016 Published in print 2 April 2016 Information© MA Healthcare LimitedPDF download

Protecting Victims of Domestic Violence—Have We Got the Balance Right?

That states should act to prevent domestic violence and protect victims is clearly acknowledged in international law. Yet international law confirms also that victims, perpetrators and their families have rights to privacy, to a family life and to a home. The extent to which rights to respect for private and family life should be interfered with in order to protect victims remains in dispute. With the aim of improving the protection afforded to domestic violence victims in England and Wales, in 2011–2012 the police and courts piloted the use of two new short-term protective measures; domestic violence protection notices and orders. Between 2012 and 2013 the police also piloted the domestic violence disclosure scheme, which saw prospective victims provided with information about their partner’s previous violent behaviour. The disclosure scheme and the domestic violence protection orders and notices were rolled out nationally in March 2014. In this article, consideration is given to the impact these two initiatives will have on the privacy of victims and perpetrators, an issue not considered in government evaluations of the pilots. This article analyses whether the roll-out of these new initiatives is justified, given their potential for interference in private and family life.

Clare’s Law, or the national Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme

Clare’s Law has been a PR success for the police in England and Wales—the police have engaged directly with the media over the national roll-out of the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme. But the precise operation of the Scheme, at a doctrinal level, is unclear, and warrants further scrutiny (and, I would argue, reform) before a crisis of confidence in the Scheme is precipitated by a challenge by way of judicial review. Human rights case law concerning the procedural rights of (suspected) domestic violence perpetrators is the medium through which this piece explores the manner in which the Scheme currently operates on the basis of Home Office guidance and policy.

Disclosing domestic violence

In November 2013 the Home Secretary announced that from March 2014 the ‘right to ask’ and ‘right to know’ strands of the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (the Scheme) would be operated nationally under existing police common law powers. The Scheme sees the police proactively (right to know) and reactively (right to ask) disclose ‘intelligence’ on (alleged) offenders to their partners, for example, supposedly in order that those partners can take betterinformed decisions as to remaining in a relationship/continuing to live with the ‘risky’ individual concerned.

Domestic violence disclosure scheme: a guide to Clare's Law for district nurses.

The Government is rolling out a national Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme from March 2014 that will allow people who are worried that they may be at risk of violence from their new partner to ask police whether they have a past history of domestic abuse. This article considers the value of the scheme and the role that district nurses must take in promoting the scheme as part of their intervention and support in domestic violence cases.