Last October my office published the Safety Before Status report about migrant survivors of domestic abuse. It found that some of the most vulnerable domestic abuse victims are being forced to stay with their abusers or face homelessness and destitution because they are ineligible to access public funds to flee. Today the Home Office has …
Domestic Abuse Commissioner critical of government failure to offer safe reporting mechanisms for migrant victims of domestic abuse Government rejected recommendation to create a ‘firewall’ to enable migrant victims to safely report domestic abuse to police without fear of being reported to immigration authorities Decision plays into hands of perpetrators who threaten victims with deportation if they report their …
The Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales has vowed to end the “shocking” ‘postcode lottery’ of domestic abuse services in England and Wales. As a first step Nicole Jacobs is launching a comprehensive survey which is aimed at all domestic abuse survivors who have used or thought about using domestic abuse services in the …
Every day I hear from domestic abuse survivors about their experiences in the family courts. Far too often survivors and their children have been let down and retraumatised through the process and it is one of my utmost priorities to change this. The stakes in these cases could not be higher. The family justice system …
Improving the Family Court response to domestic abuse Read More »
In response to the Office of National Statistics latest figures on domestic abuse, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Nicole Jacobs, said: “Domestic abuse recorded by the police remains at near record volumes across England and Wales. Last year the numbers recorded by police were up 79,000 (6 per cent). “During the national lockdowns, we heard of …
CPS charging rates fell for the third year, ONS statistics show Read More »
LGBT+ domestic abuse victims are being let down by a lack of specialist support, new report finds There is a huge lack of specialist support for LGBT+ victims of domestic abuse across England and Wales Out of 803 full time frontline domestic abuse support workers (known as IDVAs) there are only 3.5 that are LGBT+ …
Huge lack of specialist support for LGBT+ victims Read More »
In response to the latest CPS statistics released today, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Nicole Jacobs, said: “I am deeply concerned to see that fewer perpetrators of domestic abuse are being held accountable for their actions, with the number of convictions for these offences falling by almost 15% in the last year. The past year has …
Commissioner responds to latest CPS statistics on domestic abuse Read More »
Report recognises “Immigration abuse” for the first time as being used by abusers as a form of coercion and control The risk that police pass information to immigration enforcement means that migrant victims fear reporting abuse, allowing dangerous offenders to escape justice. One survivor said: “I could barely tolerate the abuse, but couldn’t dare going to …
Responding to the findings of the HMICFRS report which calls for violence against women and girls to be treated with the same priority as terrorism, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Nicole Jacobs, said now was the time to take action. In its report commissioned by the Home Secretary, HMICFRS recommended a series of improvements that the …
The Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Nicole Jacobs, has issued a response to the government’s Violence and Women and Girls Strategy which was published today: “The urgent need to tackle the epidemic scale of violence against women and girls has never been more pressing. In the wake of the murders of Sarah Everard, Nicole Smallman and Bibaa …
