‘Knowing that he’s just getting on with life like normal in a new relationship and then there’s me’
has been met with non-custodial sentences, when the same violence on the street would have brought custody.
“But these guidelines are not simply tough, they show an understanding, which is very commendable, of the dynamics of domestic abuse.”
Dame Baird is also welcoming the fact the Sentencing Council is supportive of prosecutions that do not involve victims giving evidence.
She said: “I also welcome the assertion that sentences should be appropriate in the public interest irrespective of the wishes of the victim.
“This may seem strange to some but it is vital because pressure can be put on a victim to ask for leniency when the responsibility is that of the court.
“I hope these guidelines lead to an improvement in cases here in the North East and beyond.”
Trained fighter McLuskey started his attack while Brogan was asleep at the home they shared. The assault lasted up to an hour and left Brogan with a broken nose, a missing front tooth and covered in bruises. McLuskey, formerly of Victoria Road, Gateshead, who had three previous convictions for battery, admitted assaulting Brogan and was last year jailed for 13 months, at Newcastle Crown Court. But Brogan is still living with the effects of McLuskey’s abuse. “It’s been just over a year and to be honest it’s just been recently that it’s started to really affect me. Knowing that he’s just getting on with life like normal in a new relationship and then there’s me, I always have a doubt in my mind when I meet someone that it’s just going to happen again so it puts me off.” In its report, the Justice Committee said: “We recognise that recorded offences related to domestic abuse are largely, but not exclusively, perpetrated by men and boys against women and girls. “In giving a message to sentencers and (via them) to perpetrators, victims, and wider society that offences related to domestic abuse warrant a more serious response than similar offences conducted in other circumstances, the overall effect of the guideline is to condemn such behaviour in the strongest terms.”