Victim hierarchies in the domestic violence disclosure scheme
| Date | 01 May 2018 |
| Author | Marian Duggan |
| DOI | 10.1177/0269758017749116 |
| Published date | 01 May 2018 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Victim hierarchies in the
domestic violence
disclosure scheme
Marian Duggan
University of Kent, UK
Abstract
Since its national implementation in March 2014, the UK Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme
(also known as ‘Clare’s Law’) has enabled thousands of people in England and Wales to seek
information from the police about whether their partner has a history of domestically abusive
behaviours. Politicians have hailedthe policy on the basis that it empowers peopleto make informed
choices about their safety, thus representing a vital part of wider domestic violence reduction
strategies.This, of course, is all dependent upon people knowingthe policy exists; being able to apply
to it; meeting the relevant criteria; there being information to disclose; and this being relayed to the
applicant accordingly. Drawing on empirical research into thepolicy’s operation in one policing area,
this paper highlights several discrepancies with respect to how the scheme is functioning. The
analysis suggeststhat the hierarchical, two-tierapproach to implementation is impactingon displaced
responsibility and potential risk enhancement, while the symbolic mobilisation of domestic violence
victims for contemporary political gain is also explored. The paper concludes with suggestions for
reform to boost the ability of the policy to prevent domestic violence and abuse.
Keywords
Domestic violence, victim hierarchies, violence prevention, risk
Introduction
On 8 March 2014 – International Women’s Day – the then Home Secretary for England and Wales,
Theresa May MP, implemented the national roll-out of the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme
(DVDS) across England and Wales. The DVDS gives members of the public the ‘right to ask’
(RtA) the police about a person’s history of domestic abuse or intimate partner violence. The
Corresponding author:
Marian Duggan, School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, 124 Cornwallis East, University of Kent, Canterbury,
Kent CT2 7NF, UK.
Email: m.c.duggan@kent.ac.uk
International Review of Victimology
2018, Vol. 24(2) 199–217
ªThe Author(s) 2018
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DOI: 10.1177/0269758017749116
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applicant will either be person ‘A’, who is in a relationship with person ‘B’ (the subject of the
application), or person ‘C’, who is someone acting on behalf of person ‘A’ in making the appli-
cation (a parent, for example). There are criteria to be met before such information can be
requested or imparted,
1
but importantly the policy allows access to information previously only
available to statutory agents. As such, this RtA element of the DVDS supplements the existing
‘right to know’ (RtK) route already available to those working in the statutory sector; this allows
for the initiation of disclosures of otherwise confidential information on a safeguarding or public
protection basis as a result of the potential risk to a person’s safety. This may be either through the
subject having committed a crime, or relevant information about the subject having been shared at
a safeguarding meeting where some risk to a victim has been identified.
2
Several key differences exist between the RtA and RtK routes. These (respectively) include:
who initiates the request (a member of the public, versus a professional from the statutory sector);
how long it takes to process (up to six weeks, versus much more immediately); the level of detail
included in the disclosure (scant, versus detailed); and the level of post-disclosure statutory
engagement with the victim (little to none, versus ongoing). In terms of timeframe, the Home
Office (2016) policy guidance stipulates the following:
For requests via the RtA route;
1. Initial contact checks should be completed within 24 h of the initial contact being made by
the applicant.
2. A face-to-face meeting should take place within 10 working days of step 1.
3. A full risk assessment should be completed within five working days of step 2.
4. Cases should then be referred to the local decision-making forum within 20 working days of
step 3.
For information imparted via the RtK route;
1. Minimum checks should be made within five working days of receipt of the information.
2. A full risk assessment should be completed within five working days of the minimum
checks being completed.
3. Cases should then be referred to the local decision-making forum.
Ordinarily, this discrepancy relates to the victim’s assessed level of risk. However, if there is a
concern of imminent harm to the person deemed to be at risk from the subject, then immediate
action must be taken to safeguard them regardless of route (Home Office, 2016: 17). Making
previously restricted information available to members of the public as part of efforts to reduce
victimisation may initially seem positive and empowering. However, the specific targeting of this
policy towards people experiencing domestic violence and abuse – as opposed to any other type of
victimisation – raises several concerns which in turn may render its implementation problematic.
Domestic violence and abuse may include a wide range of behaviours resulting in physical,
emotional, psychological or sexual harm, and may also involve control over a person’s social and
economic affairs. An estimated one in four women will experience domestic violence and abuse
during their lifetime; in the UK alone, an average of two women a week are killed by a current or
former partner annually (Office for National Statistics, 2015). While the majority of domestic
violence and abuse cases involve intimate partners, victimisation can also be committed by and
towards family members. This is often overlooked in popular and political discourse, even though
such experiences may have links to the intimate partner violence perpetrated or experienced later
200 International Review of Victimology 24(2)
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