Women's Views on News |
| Posted: 11 Feb 2015 07:28 AM PST
Women’s Aid conducts a survey of its national network of services each year in order to ascertain the use of domestic violence services in England. Since 2006 Women’s Aid has also undertaken a Residents’ Survey, to provide socio-demographic information about a sample of women residents inside refuge services on one day. These surveys provide Women’s Aid with information about the services provided, and the number of women and children supported by Women’s Aid national network. They also give a more detailed snapshot about those using domestic violence services on a specific day. The Women's Aid Annual Survey of domestic violence services across England is the largest collection of such data in the country, so the information it provides about domestic violence services, the thousands of women and children they support and the challenges they face every year is invaluable for Women's Aid, the sector and decision-makers. The key findings from the Annual Survey 2014 have now been released and have been presented in 3 infographics and an accompanying report. These findings depict, once again, a concerning picture of continued demand for domestic violence services, along with increased pressure being put on services because of funding cuts and commissioning processes. The key findings showed that, over the past financial year (2103/14): Nearly a third (31 per cent) of referrals to refuges in 2013/14 were turned away because of a lack of space; 37 per cent of respondents were running services without dedicated funding. Data was provided by 132 services. Of these respondents (n=49), 65 per cent (32), were running services on reserves and 24 per cent (12) were running services on a voluntary basis. 13 per cent of respondents had suspended/closed an area of service due to lack of funding; 42 per cent of the responding specialist children and young people's services reported having difficulties in placing children living in refuge in schools according to data provided by 90 services, and 44 per cent of responding services reported encountering problems in accessing mental health services for children and young people according to data provided by 90 services. 74 per cent of the women accommodated came from a different local authority area to the refuge; Women’s Aid received responses from 110 refuge services about the number of women and children supported in refuge accommodation: these services supported 6,163 women and 6,665 children in 2013/14. Responses from 109 services about the number of women and children supported in non-refuge services in the community showed that these services supported 74,500 women and 13,701 children in 2013/14. According to data provided by 140 refuges, on just one day in 2014 112 women and their 84 children were turned away from a refuge because they could not be accommodated. Data provided by 87 services showed that in just one week in 2014 369 women were turned away from outreach services in the community because of a lack of capacity. This survey clearly shows the constant demand for domestic violence services, so the lack of sustainable funding to the domestic violence sector is extremely concerning – and the cost of this lack is being met by women and children. The survey also shows the commitment and dedication of those who work in domestic violence services throughout the country as they continue to run services, sometimes without any dedicated funding, so that women and children can access the much-needed support and protection they offer. But above all the figures show there are women and children who are not able to access the support they need, and they will be in danger of further violence – and that some risk being killed. To download the Women's Aid Annual Survey 2014 Briefing click here.  |
| Posted: 11 Feb 2015 07:07 AM PST
Policy makers and legal professionals should work together to introduce specialist 'sexual violence courts' in order to improve how the legal system in England and Wales responds to rape cases, according to the authors of a new report. The latest Institute for Policy Research (IPR) Policy Brief, produced by researchers at Bath and Anglia Ruskin University, proposes a widespread overhaul of the current provisions in place for rape victims and calls for a radical rethink of how legal guidance surrounding rape cases is interpreted. New ‘sexual violence courts’, adapted from traditional courtrooms to better protect victims and take into account their vulnerability during trials, would provide alternative entrances for vulnerable or intimidated witnesses to use when moving around the court building. The authors of the new report found that victims of sexual assaults often encounter defendants on their way to give evidence or end up waiting alongside a defendant's family or friends outside the courtroom. Among other measures to be considered, the report proposes routinely emptying the public gallery when witnesses enter or exit the court, to avoid intimidation, and the introduction of a new pager system to allow witnesses to wait away from the court before giving evidence. The authors also raise questions over how common misconceptions about rape persist in the courtroom and how these are being used by defence barristers to mislead a jury and advance the defence’s case. This, the report points out, might include raising questions about a witness's credibility based on so called 'irrational actions', such as delayed reporting of an assault, or the fact that victims may not have physically resisted an assault. Other studies have shown how both these 'irrational actions' are very common, and indeed very normal among victims. Lead author, Dr Olivia Smith, Lecturer in Criminology at Anglia Ruskin University, formerly of Bath’s Department of Social & Policy Sciences, explained: "From many studies we know that certain actions such as delayed reporting of rape or not resisting an attack, are widely misunderstood as suspicious despite being common among rape victims. "Yet, in spite of greater awareness in the Bar, we found that defence barristers are still drawing heavily on misconceptions about rape to appeal to a jury and advance their case." Bar Association guidelines state that barristers should not mislead a jury, but they are also told to prioritise winning their case – something the authors of the IPR report suggest currently takes precedence. From Frances Andrade's death after giving evidence in February 2013 to the Director for Public Prosecution's recent calls for further reform of the way the Criminal Justice System (CJS) handles rape cases, inadequacies in how courts respond to rape cases have been widely reported in the media. Most recently, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) released a 'rape toolkit' for police officers, which attempts to clarify misunderstandings about consent. The CPS is also consulting about the disclosure of defence arguments to witnesses in order to better prepare them for cross-examination. Co-author, Dr Tina Skinner of Bath’s Department of Social and Policy Sciences, said: "Although the difficulties with rape trials are complex, establishing a specialist court which uses best practice is key to improving responses to victims and witnesses. "Having specialised legal professionals who are aware of the key research in this area can go a long way to challenging misunderstandings about rape. "It would also help address misunderstandings about legal rules and court practice, which are all too often a barrier to using the helpful policies already in place." The new IPR policy brief is based on research conducted by observing adult rape and sexual assault trials at a large English Crown Court. The observations took place over a 10-month period in 2012, after a 3-month pilot study in 2010. The findings were discussed with barristers and victim support workers. To read the IPR Policy Brief ‘Court responses to rape and sexual assault in the UK’ click here.  |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Women's Views on News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |