Engendering Justice - from Policy to Practice - The Fawcett Society

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Chapter Four:Women Need Justice - Women as Victims of CrimeSupport for Victims –Building the LinkI was told about the counselling service by SouthYorkshire police but none of them had councillorsavailable. The shortest waiting list was estimated at 2months. I had to borrow money from my parents forprivate counselling. When I lost my job I asked the GPabout NHS Counselling [but] she said it was pointlesseven going on the waiting list and prescribed me antidepressants.179Whilst links are developing between the criminal justicesystem and specialised support services, the dearth ofsuch services, and their limited capacity, mean that womenare not able to access support, even when, as the caseabove illustrates, they are aware of their own needs. Thecriminal justice system and community provision for victimsof violence, should not be seen as two distinct systems,but should be inter-linked. As one woman who works withfemale victims described to the Commission:Some more cooperation when dealing with the victimswould perhaps result in a better case being put forwardas we could provide some moral support for the victimwhen the case is being prepared and this may result in astronger case. 180Victim Support told the Commission that although therewas greater recognition of support services at the policylevel this did not always filter down to frontline police staffand prosecutors. Women’s Aid raised concern that womenare being helped through the criminal justice system byWitness Care Units, which is in direct contradiction to CPSpolicy and leads to support being provided by individualswithout specialist training in domestic or sexual violence.Criminal Justice Boards should be actively involved inensuring specialised support is available in their area.I suppose an improvement would have been if someonehad contacted me from the police as I was simply left tomy own devices which subsequently created emotionalproblems which took extreme effort to finally deal with…It took a very long time for me to get back on my feet -especially as I was stupid enough to allow him to moveback in, although I subsequently ended the marriage sixmonths later. I felt enormous guilt at the time for somereason and perhaps some support/counselling wouldhave made all the difference, and I wouldn’t have gone onto waste another year of my life. I recall feeling extremelyfoolish and wondered if I was wasting everyone’s time- that somehow I should have been able to manage thesituation and his attacks by myself.Female victim of domestic violence, QuestionnaireResponse, February 2009The Government has implemented a number of initiatives,designed to increase the support provided to victims.Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs) andIndependent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVAs) have beenintroduced to provide support for victims negotiating thecriminal justice system. 38 ISVA posts are currently fundedby the Home Office in England and Wales. IDVA and ISVAposts have the potential to provide much needed supportfor victims. However, the Commission has a number ofconcerns with the existing model:• The ISVA scheme is currently under-resourced. Forexample, the ISVA who gave evidence to the Commissionwas the only ISVA for the whole of the Eastern region andthe Commission was also told about delays in fundingstreams which have meant services have been forced tosuspend their ISVA post.• IDVA funding is being mainstreamed to local authoritiesthis year and it is unclear whether funding will continueand also if continuance will be at the cost of otherservices such as refuges.• The ISVA training and framework is based on thatdeveloped for domestic violence and fails to address thespecialist and complex issues specific to sexual violenceand the crucial differences between the Magistrates Courtand the Crown Court. This is amplified where IDVA andISVA roles are merged in some regions.• There is inconsistency between regions with ISVAposts - roles are defined differently and tools such asPage 62
isk assessments are not uniform. In one region, the riskassessment is 75 pages long.• The acceptance of ISVAs within the court system alsodiffers between areas, with some Courts allowing ISVAs tosit in the court while in other areas they are required to sitin the public gallery.• In order for victims to have confidence in ISVAs, therole must be independent from the police and healthauthorities. However, there are plans for the managers ofSARCs to be responsible for the management of ISVAsas well as some ISVAs working out of police and healthsettings.Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARACS)have become the cornerstone of the Government’sapproach to high-risk victims of domestic violence. TheGovernment has now funded over 100 MARACS and from1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008, almost 12,000 cases werebrought to MARACS. 181 MARACS have the potential toassist, with preliminary data supplied by some MARACareas in 2008 indicated a 50 percent overall reduction inrepeat victimisation among cases heard at the MARAC.However, the Commission has a number of concernsabout the current operation of the conferences. Forexample, the Commission was told that many workersconnected to MARACs lack training in domestic violenceissues and sensitivities. Further, there are concerns thatthe conferences may be frequently breaching a woman’sright to privacy through defects in consent proceduresand follow-ups. The Commission was told of a particulardiscussion within a MARAC in which it was decided that awoman would be given a warning that if she did not leaveher partner, her children would be removed. This approach,rather than providing support for women, is likely to ensurethey do not seek help if the violence recurs. These issuesneed to be taken seriously through an independent audit ofMARAC processes, with priority given to the experiencesof women whose cases are presented and to independentwomen’s organisations.The national Witness and Victim Evaluation Survey (‘WAVE’)measures the satisfaction of witnesses and victims butsignificantly excludes victims of rape, sexual assault anddomestic violence. While the British Crime Survey includessome relevant questions on VAW, the current format doesnot allow for the collection of detailed information fromVAW victims who have reported crimes. There is a needfor a national monitoring system to be developed so thatthe various targets of the criminal justice agencies are notpurely conviction rate driven.Steps are currently being taken to develop such a measure.The Home Office Violent Crime Unit has funded a feasibilitystudy on surveying the satisfaction of victims of serioussexual offences within the criminal justice system. It isanticipated that a report on this study will be available inMay 2009. Further, in August 2008, a steering group led byCPS was set up to lead a project to develop methodologiesto measure support, safety and satisfaction of victims ofviolence against women in the criminal justice system. Thisinitial work of this project, culminating in an anticipated pilotin September 2009, is promising, with detailed assessmentbeing conducted of current national and internationalmeasurement methods.No Recourse to Public FundsWomen fleeing domestic violence, with an insecureimmigration status and therefore no recourse to publicfunds cannot access any kind of emergency or socialhousing. In 2008, the CEDAW Committee singled out,protection of women with no recourse to public funds,female asylum seekers and women refugees as an issueunder which the United Kingdom is failing to live up to itsobligations under CEDAW. In 2006/7 within London, 18 DVrefuges had to turn away 222 requests for services fromwomen with no recourse to public funds. 182The Commission has consistently highlighted this issue andcommends the work of organisations, such as SouthallBlack Sisters, continuing to campaign around this issue.Southall Black Sisters, have, with funds provided by LondonCouncils and Oxfam, recently set up a small last resort fundcalled the ‘SBS No Recourse Fund.’Women, who are subject to immigration control, should bemade exempt from the ‘no recourse to public funds’ rulein order to ensure there are not discriminatory responsesto women suffering violence. This would enable women toleave violent situations, access support, report violence andwhere appropriate make use of the domestic violence andimmigration concession.Page 63
Page 1 and 2:
Engendering Justice- from Policy to
Page 3 and 4:
ContentsForeword 5Executive Summary
Page 5 and 6:
ForewordFor the past five years, Fa
Page 7 and 8:
Executive SummarySince 2003, Fawcet
Page 10 and 11:
Executive Summary continuedon domes
Page 12 and 13: Executive Summary continuedFemale O
Page 14 and 15: Chapter One: Continued.Methodology
Page 16 and 17: The Five Years of the CommissionCom
Page 18 and 19: Chapter Two:Introduction - From Pol
Page 20 and 21: Chapter Three:Women and Justice - M
Page 23 and 24: [A woman] had admitted to an offenc
Page 25 and 26: Figure 3: Female Reoffending Rate b
Page 27 and 28: writing the Government had undertak
Page 29 and 30: equirement could be used to refer w
Page 31 and 32: given current funding allocations a
Page 33 and 34: I feel that women with severe menta
Page 35 and 36: Good Practice Example: Birth Compan
Page 37 and 38: Female offenders serving indetermin
Page 39 and 40: The Commission recommends that if p
Page 41 and 42: Moving TowardsCommunity ProvisionTh
Page 43 and 44: which can be developed in conjuncti
Page 45 and 46: Chapter Four:Women Need Justice - W
Page 47 and 48: that VAW is a relevant issue for ev
Page 49 and 50: Women also need to have clear infor
Page 51 and 52: Victims reported telling their stor
Page 53 and 54: However, Rights of Women told the C
Page 55 and 56: in the decision-making process is l
Page 57 and 58: continued commitment to joint worki
Page 59 and 60: It is also important for the CPS to
Page 61: He pleaded innocent, so I prepared
Page 65 and 66: espect and sexual violence is a com
Page 67 and 68: different needs and experiences of
Page 69 and 70: managers. “Sometimes childcare is
Page 71 and 72: local area, with women who have rea
Page 73 and 74: her career, as these women may find
Page 75 and 76: The key issue in my view is that th
Page 77 and 78: Some magistrates noted that they fe
Page 79 and 80: for women to access development opp
Page 81 and 82: Organisations sharing their views w
Page 83 and 84: Institutional change needed:➤ A c
Page 85 and 86: International example of good pract
Page 87 and 88: ➤ The Criminal JusticeSystem will
Page 89 and 90: Key targets / indicators of success
Page 91 and 92: ➤ Women working inthe criminal ju
Page 93 and 94: Key targets / indicators of success
Page 95 and 96: ➤ Policy and practiceof all crimi
Page 97 and 98: ➤The Judiciary and thesenior leve
Page 99 and 100: Appendix ACOMMISSIONERS:Baroness Je
Page 101 and 102: Annexure BSummary of Recommendation
Page 103 and 104: not be means tested.• First night
Page 105 and 106: in circumstances where the Prosecut
Page 107 and 108: • Allocation to a particular cour
Page 109 and 110: EndnotesMarch 200985Questionnaire R
Page 111: About FawcettThe Fawcett Society is
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Engendering Justice - from Policy to Practice - The Fawcett Society

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