Now orders will give better protection (Image: Getty)
Domestic abusers will be ordered to stay away from their victims or face five years behind bars under tough new protective orders coming into force today.
In a new joined-up approach all types of domestic abuse will be covered including physical, psychological, stalking, and coercive control will be covered providing vital protection to victims.
The new Domestic Abuse Protection Notices and Orders will also be handed out by all courts – family, civil, and criminal – meaning more abusers will be forced to live under the tougher restrictions aimed at bringing a halt to the epidemic of violence against women.
They will initially launch in Greater Manchester and across three London boroughs and with the British Transport Police.
They will also be used in Cleveland and North Wales in the new year ahead of a national rollout throughout 2025.
Women at risk (Image: Getty)
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The notices can be issued by the police immediately following any incident of abuse, providing protection straight away and giving police time to apply for a Domestic Abuse Protection Order to secure longer-term protection for the victim.
And unlike some existing protections, which can only be enforced for 28 days, the new orders will have no time restrictions, meaning victims are protected for as long as needed to stay safe. Breaching the order will be a criminal offence punishable by up to five years in prison, making sure abusers who flout the rules are punished.
Friends and family of victims will also be able to apply for the new orders on behalf of the victim, as well as victims themselves and the police.
This will reduce victim engagement with the criminal justice system, if necessary – a process which can be daunting for some survivors.
As well as imposing exclusion zones, the orders can mandate positive requirements such as attendance at a behaviour change programme.
For the first time, family courts were able to impose tagging in the most serious cases, a power previously reserved for the police and criminal courts only.
Minister for Victims and Violence Against Women and Girls, Alex Davies-Jones, said: “It takes tremendous courage for victims of domestic abuse to seek help. Our role in Government is to make this as straightforward as possible. These new orders reduce the pressure on victims by allowing third parties to make an application on their behalf while ensuring the powers available to the courts are more stringent than ever before. This Government will continue to do all it can to end violence against women and girls.”
Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls Jess Phillips added: “More than two million people are estimated to have experienced domestic abuse in the last year – a number that is appalling, frightening and we are determined to change.
“That’s why one of our first acts to deliver against our ambitious manifesto pledge to halve violence against women and girls in a decade is to launch new, strengthened Domestic Abuse Protection Orders. By bringing together the strongest elements of existing orders into a flexible order that covers all forms of domestic abuse and has no time limit, we’ll ensure more victims receive the robust protection they deserve.”
The Domestic Abuse Commissioner Nicole Jacobs said: “Domestic Abuse Protection Orders were designed to bring together the most effective features of existing orders to provide flexible and long-term protection to victims of domestic abuse.
“The DAPO pilot should evidence what is needed to sufficiently resource participating agencies and sector partners alike, so that it can be fully funded for a national rollout.
“I look forward to closely following the pilot’s progress and see how DAPOs can improve the safety of domestic abuse victims and hold perpetrators to account across England and Wales.”