“Deeds not words” – Has the Domestic Abuse Act sparked enough progress on VAWG, 5 years on?
""Is Jess Phillips right: is halving VAWG 5 years on from the Domestic Abuse Act just big talk from Starmer's Labour government?""
The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 was a landmark piece of legislation that brought into effect numerous significant changes to the way domestic abuse is handled by the justice system in the UK.
But last week, Jess Phillips, former Minister for Safeguarding, resigned her post with a damning letter, accusing Starmer’s Labour government of forgetting that it’s “deeds not words that matter” when it comes to tackling Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG), and claiming the former was found wanting.
5 years on from the Act, this post seeks to address whether, on the heels of the Domestic Abuse Act, the big talk of the Labour Government to halve violence against women and girls in the next 10 years is just words, or if, in fact, it is evidenced by deeds.
Coercive control: still an overlooked abuse?
Though coercive and controlling behaviour (CCB) has been recognised as an offence since the Serious Crime Act of 2015, the Domestic Abuse Act reinforced that domestic abuse comes in all forms.
The definition of abuse set out in the legislation makes clear that domestic abuse includes behaviour that consists of any of the following:
(a) physical or sexual abuse;
(b) violent or threatening behaviour;
(c) controlling or coercive behaviour;
(d) economic abuse;
(e) psychological, emotional or other abuse;
It also states that it does not matter whether the behaviour consists of a single incident or a course of conduct. This is critical for making out the offence of coercive control, in particular, in that CCB is characterised as a sustained pattern of domination over time.
But are our first-response police identifying CCB adequately?
CCB identification
Many officers report an insecurity in the identification of CCB at domestic abuse call-outs. In fact, research with frontline officers found that just 56% felt knowledgeable and confident about evidencing coercive and controlling behaviour, compared with 86% for actual bodily harm in domestic abuse cases.
It should be acknowledged that the College of Policing has rolled out guidance in this area.
All forces encourage the use of The Domestic Abuse Risk Assessment (known as DARA) at every domestic abuse call out to increase officers’ ability to detect the different forms of abuse that may be present, beyond the physical.
But Freedom of Information requests by the BBC have found that more than half (23) of the 43 police forces in England and Wales are still not using DARA.
Moreover, at Fair Hearing, we think that our first responders can go even further.
Our survivor-led approach means we believe meaningful engagement between officers and victims at the scene is key to increasing the likelihood of full disclosure about the extent and nature of the abuse experienced over time.
As such, we are championing the training of police officers in “relational policing,” focusing on the power of micro-interactions like eye contact, body language and active listening to build trust which will in turn empower officers to respond more comprehensively.
After all, how can we hope to protect victims of less visible forms of abuse like CCB if our first response officers do not have access to the most up-to-date, survivor-informed guidance?
Is there a postcode lottery in domestic abuse justice?
The Domestic Abuse Act brought in some vital protective features for victims of domestic abuse in criminal court proceedings, access to “special measures” being but one.
Prior to the Act, victims already had access to what is termed “special measures,” but only if they could prove to the court that their fear or distress was likely to diminish the quality of their evidence.
The Code of Practice for Victims of Crime in England and Wales lists common special measures as:
- having a screen/curtain around the witness box;
- giving evidence by live video-link, either from a separate room within the court; or
- a dedicated live-link site outside the court building, so the victim does not have to face the defendant and court observers.
What is significant about the Domestic Abuse Act is that Section 62 introduces automatic eligibility for these special measures for the first time, as well as a victim’s right to not be cross-examined by their perpetrator.
But a victim’s right to access these special measures to avoid re-traumatisation seems to be subject in part to the particular judge in charge on that day and the particular court building in which the proceedings are held.
Special measures variation
A “culture of disbelief,” well-documented in the family court system, seems to sadly prevail in some pockets of the Magistrate and Crown courts across the country, too.
Though victim experience in Specialist Domestic Abuse Courts within Magistrates’ Courts in areas like Greater London is found to be much more positive, it is concerning to read in the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s Shifting the Scales report of the dismissive and minimising comments directed towards victims by judges elsewhere.
Comments such as a complainant “not looking like a victim” or “having too good a job to be a victim” indicate a judiciary in some areas that is not trauma-informed, adjudicating from a place of stereotypes and misconceptions.
And if it’s not outdated prejudices getting in the way of access to special measures, it could be the court building itself.
According to Women’s Aid, in many cases, special measures cannot be implemented because of outdated court buildings lacking the necessary facilities.
At Fair Hearing, informed by lived experience, we have already trained hundreds of professionals working across the family justice system, but are now looking to expand our training to magistrates, who handle most domestic abuse cases, but receive very little training on the matter – as is clear from the concerning comments above.
With the Domestic Abuse Commissioner finding harmful regional inconsistencies for survivors in accessing specialist advocacy services like IDVAs, community-based domestic abuse services and perpetrator management, to name but a few, it would seem confronting magistrates’ inexpertise is only the first in a long line of steps needed to address the justice system’s postcode lottery.
Children’s voices: is experiencing domestic abuse not enough?
One major step forward in addressing violence against women and children is that Section 3 of the Domestic Abuse Act formally recognises a child witnessing, hearing or experiencing abuse of another to whom they are related as a victim in their own right.
This is a laudable breakthrough because it instates an automatic presumption that these children suffer profound trauma themselves without having to prove a direct assault, physically or mentally.
This presumption should pave the way for children to have automatic access to critical services to support their mental health, their educational outcomes, and to mitigate the likelihood that they will become victims or perpetrators of abuse themselves in later life.
However, this crucial step is not reflected in police practice guidance.
Victims in their own right?
The Approved Professional Practice (APP) for policing currently distinguishes between children being a victim “when they are directly targeted for violence/abuse” or “accidentally assaulted in an incident involving others”, and separately if they witness domestic abuse.
In the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s Victims in their own right? report, the commissioner’s recommendation 21 is for this guidance to be amended.
As yet, we are still awaiting the updating of these frameworks.
If we are even to begin to address and heal the direct trauma that children suffer simply by virtue of being in these abusive environments, we need clearer police guidance that gives equal weight to the experiences of all children of abuse.
At Fair Hearing, we train professionals working across the justice system, providing context to them on the impact of domestic abuse on children and what to expect in the way they present and behave.
As Herbert Ward says, childhood trauma “casts a shadow the length of a lifetime.”
We can’t afford to miss the signs.
Is No Recourse to Public Funds still exacerbating domestic abuse?
One of the groups in our society left most vulnerable by the Domestic Abuse Act is those women whose right to remain in the UK is based upon their relationship with a British Citizen, alone.
If that relationship becomes abusive, and they seek to leave, these individuals will become subject to the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition, meaning they will be unable to access most welfare benefits and social housing.
And if they seek help, they risk their details being passed on to immigration enforcement, putting their right to continue living in the UK in jeopardy.
In short, these women find themselves effectively trapped in abusive relationships, fearing worse treatment if they leave.
The Domestic Abuse Act did make some provisions to address this vulnerability.
Sections 81 and 82 of The Domestic Abuse Act state that, “The Secretary of State must…review the processing of domestic abuse data carried out by specified public authorities for immigration purposes” and “may issue a code of practice relating to the processing of domestic abuse data for immigration purposes.”
According to the Post-legislative scrutiny of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021: “The combined intention of sections 81 and 82 is to improve the confidence of migrant victims of domestic abuse, who may fear that the police will share their data with Immigration Enforcement.”
But it would seem that the fears of these vulnerable individuals are being realised, in reality.
A Firewall to Fight Fear
Home Office data indicates that between April 2020 and March 2023, every police force area across England and Wales referred victims of domestic abuse to Immigration Enforcement.
According to Southall Black Sisters, we cannot hope to begin to tackle the abuse suffered by women and children with insecure immigration status unless a “firewall on data sharing between the police and Immigration enforcement” is established.
This would permanently block police from sharing the personal details of victims reporting crime and seeking help with Immigration enforcement.
It is only once this fear of arrest, detention and deportation is removed that migrant victims of abuse will feel safe to come forward.
We at Fair Hearing stand with Southall Black Sisters, and any other organisation, fighting for the protection of all victims of domestic abuse – immigration status has no bearing on the harm they are suffering.
Preventative Education in Domestic Abuse
In December 2025, extending the legislative progress made through the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, the Violence Against Women and Girls strategy was released.
One key area of focus was preventative education for children. Domestic abuse is a cycle that is difficult to break if abusive treatment and stereotypes are normalised for children who grow up with the belief that abuse is acceptable.
Long-term cultural change is what is called for.
Within this strategy document, the government reiterated the measures it has already taken to overhaul the Relationships, Sex, and Health Education (RSHE) curriculum, “with a new focus on developing skills for healthy relationships from the beginning of primary school, and equipping children with the tools to tackle harmful influences.”
They also pledged that by the end of Parliament 2029, “every secondary school in England will have a credible offer for educating students about healthy and respectful relationships, with every child able to access support” by investing “£3 million in a teacher training fund.”
However, though welcoming the long-called-for investment in preventative education, expert campaigners such as End Violence Against Women fear that the £3million investment will “barely touch the surface of the additional infrastructure needed within schools to really tackle the issues at hand.”
Targeted Education
Given funding pressures, it is our view at Fair Hearing that high-need schools should be targeted for more intensive preventative schemes.
With the worrying statistic from the Children’s Commissioner that 37% of children in gangs have witnessed domestic violence, we are currently pitching an education programme to target those schools where youth gang violence is particularly prevalent. This will address stereotypical connections of masculinity with violence and help students recognise the signs of all forms of domestic abuse as they navigate relationships in secondary school.
It is education that is power, not violence.
Do we have more words than deeds?
5 years on from the Domestic Abuse Act, Violence Against Women and Children is finally starting to get the attention that it has desperately needed for so long.
In words, we have a lot to be encouraged by. We now have:
- a clearer picture of the forms abuse can take;
- the automatic eligibility of victims to special measures;
- the recognition that the vulnerable voices of children and minorities need amplifying to access support; and
- the understanding that education is the only way to break the abusive cycle.
But the deeds are lagging behind.
Until we have adequate funding to train and support those across the justice system and educational services, regardless of postcode, dangerous gaps will remain:
- less visible forms of abuse will be missed;
- special measures will in actuality be kept out of reach;
- the status of children and immigrants as victims will continue to be downgraded; and
- the impact of preventative education schemes will be set back before they’ve begun.
Deeds not words are what matter, said Jess Phillips.
Will her successor, Natalie Fleet, take up her cry?
by Claire Orndal
Freelance Copywriter
