Partners will get right to records of abuse

POTENTIAL victims of domestic abuse will have a legal right to discover if their partners have a violent past, under proposals to be unveiled this week.

When the draft Domestic Abuse Bill is published tomorrow, men and women could be given greater access to Clare’s Law, named after the landmark domestic abuse case.

Clare’s Law, or The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme, was introduced in 2014 to give anyone the right to ask the police if their partner has a history of violence.

George Appleton murdered Clare Wood in 2009, despite several complaints made to police about her former boyfriend, who had a history of domestic violence.

Concerns arose over the effectiveness of the system, after Office for National Statistics figures showed that less than 44 per cent of applications made by the public resulted in disclosure of information.

Under the system, the police are able to contact potential victims about their partner’s past – but in some cases, this advice has been ignored. The new draft Bill looks to write the service into law, meaning that police will have a duty to provide men and women with the criminal background of a potential abuser.

Measures include a statutory government definition of domestic abuse to specifically include economic and controlling and manipulative nonphysical abuse.

An office of the Domestic Abuse Commissioner could be established to offer support for victims through courts, and there will be further work to support children affected by abuse.

Theresa May, the Prime Minister said: “We know, from the harrowing experiences of victims and their families, that there is still more to do to stamp out this life-shattering crime. The Bill represents a step-change in our approach.”

Government research, due to be published alongside the Bill, reveals the cost of domestic abuse in England and Wales was £66billion in the year 2016-17. Suzanne Jacob, chief executive of the charity SafeLives, said: “We’re pleased the Government is listening.”