ONEVOICE NEVER SILENCED
THE HOME FOR ALL BE YOU MAN, WOMAN OR CHILD. WE ARE HERE TO COCOON, SERVE & PROTECT.
THE PROTECTION OF VICTIMS ACT 2014
PLEASE WRITE/EMAIL YOUR LOCAL MP AND ASK WILL THEY SUPPORT EVE'S LAW - EVE'S MARKER
SAFE CAMPAIGN
A victim of domestic violence/abuse, rape, stalking etc should never be held in contempt of court and face prison for withholding their flee/safe address. This is an infringement of human rights and reveals a dangerous conflict in domestic legislation and human rights and puts victims in direct danger!
As the loophole was revealed during a very public court case this year what followed was shocking. Here's just a few examples -
Refuge staff - women and men who work tirelessly with victims of domestic violence and abuse threatened with legal action by Judges because they refuse to disclose a victims safe address -
Victims safe addresses disclosed on court documentation - anti molestation orders served with safe address on
Late night "welfare checks" by police officers to refuges on the abusers/perps request
Safe address disclose and failure of police to recognise the dangers/risks
(2 women are MURDERED every week by a partner or ex partner - it is ok bleating out the statistics & saying you do all you can but when a safe address is disclosed it is SERIOUS!)
I am not here to bad mouth services, I am a BIG supporter of the police and know only too well how stretched they are but victims NEED to be taken seriously, their fears and anxieties. We all have one goal and that is to beat this, to break the cycle - to encourage silent victims to report we NEED to ensure their safety.
Eve's Law - Eve's Marker - common sense
2014 Victims Year!
We hope you will support our national campaign to protect all victims by signing the petition which can be found by following this link.
“Dear Ms Thomas
We fully support the campaign of OneVoice
Never Silenced. Our refuge has been
running for more than forty years.
During this time there has undoubtedly been progress made in the quality
of services for women and children who have been subjected to abuse in Britain
however we continue to experience the impact of the short-sighted and
ill-informed judgments and systems of the UK courts.
Lack of personalization in favour of the
sole focus of legal judgment has meant that victims of domestic abuse have had
their addresses and other personal information carelessly leaked to
perpetrators.
In the last twelve months alone two women
residing in our refuge have been rendered unsafe after our address has been
given out by the court to their ex-partners.
Additionally police officers have been given our address and
inadvertently continued the harassment of women and their children undertaking
“welfare checks” at the request of perpetrators of abuse, the most recent
involved an officer attending the address late at night and asking for the
whereabouts of an ex resident (who had been moved to another refuge after her
partner had continued to pose a threat to her and her children.) Whilst this example does not relate directly
to the courts it highlights a lack of understanding of the issue plus the undeniable
continuation of poor attitudes of workers operating within the criminal justice
system. After all, serious violent
crimes perpetrated by partners of victims are still often described as
“domestic incidents.”
We have come across numerous incidents of
bad practice, compounding the suffering of victims and their children after a
prolonged experience of abuse. Each
incident breeds doubt in the criminal justice system which can deter victims
from reporting these crimes. We want
systems to be simplified and made more accessible to victims of domestic
abuse. We also want a legal system that
recognizes the importance of not only confidentiality but the safety of victims
of abuse. These are not unreasonable
expectation just common sense.
Forever striving for the end of abuse
against women and children.”
Domestic violence cost our country £16
billion a year yet every week 2 women are murdered, a figure that has not
changed in over 3 decades. We also have
to remember that men are victims too and 1 man is also murdered every 3 weeks
but it is the 100’s and 1000’s of children that are also affected by domestic
violence/abuse.
“Eves Law” is not a woman’s law although Eve
was the first woman so is all women; “Eves Law” is a law for all victims and is
a valuable opportunity to initiate talks and change. David Malone named “Eves Law” and yes it is
very unusual for a new law to be passed without a death but isn’t it time that
the “lessons learnt” really were.
Eve's Law/Eve's Marker has received significant press attention - this I welcome with open arms because so many silent victims are now coming forward and being signposted to help.
You can view media links for Eve's Law and Eve's Marker by clicking here.
Eve
Twitter: @OneVoiceEve
