Legal protection under criminal law
Criminal law protects all victims regardless of marital status. Although there are no specific provisions for domestic violence under criminal law, charges under assault, wounding, grievous bodily harm, kidnap, blackmail etc., cover issues linked to domestic violence, and there is further recourse for less violent offences such as stalking and harassment under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (PHA).
Under Government involvement and new initiatives, police powers have been enlarged and they can make an arrest for any offence under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005; including breach of NMO and breach of civil injunctions and restraining orders under the PHA. Whether to charge or not depends on the CPS not the victim. Even if a victim wanted to retract the evidence, the prosecution will proceed if they have enough evidence to prove their case and if it is in the public interest.
Madden Dempsey argues that State intervention in domestic violence cases through criminal law is essential on three counts: firstly, prosecutorial action representing the State is the same as saying that the State is the one taking action against the perpetrator. This she argues is different from a mere due diligence obligation to protect a woman's human right to …show more content…
This will suggest the police and the courts to take a more serious approach towards the issue instead of regarding domestic violence as a lesser crime, although in recent years they seem to have become more aware of the problem, particularly in cases of molestation and stalking. However, the response of the police to victims of domestic abuse is not good enough and it has been reported that in a group of 600 cases of bodily harm, the victims found police intervention to be inadequate, mostly issuing cautions to the perpetrator rather than making
Criminal law protects all victims regardless of marital status. Although there are no specific provisions for domestic violence under criminal law, charges under assault, wounding, grievous bodily harm, kidnap, blackmail etc., cover issues linked to domestic violence, and there is further recourse for less violent offences such as stalking and harassment under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (PHA).
Under Government involvement and new initiatives, police powers have been enlarged and they can make an arrest for any offence under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005; including breach of NMO and breach of civil injunctions and restraining orders under the PHA. Whether to charge or not depends on the CPS not the victim. Even if a victim wanted to retract the evidence, the prosecution will proceed if they have enough evidence to prove their case and if it is in the public interest.
Madden Dempsey argues that State intervention in domestic violence cases through criminal law is essential on three counts: firstly, prosecutorial action representing the State is the same as saying that the State is the one taking action against the perpetrator. This she argues is different from a mere due diligence obligation to protect a woman's human right to …show more content…
This will suggest the police and the courts to take a more serious approach towards the issue instead of regarding domestic violence as a lesser crime, although in recent years they seem to have become more aware of the problem, particularly in cases of molestation and stalking. However, the response of the police to victims of domestic abuse is not good enough and it has been reported that in a group of 600 cases of bodily harm, the victims found police intervention to be inadequate, mostly issuing cautions to the perpetrator rather than making