Our CEO Heidi Riedel comments on the latest report from the Domestic Abuse Commissioner Nicole Jacobs.
“We fully support the recommendations made by the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Nicole Jacobs, in her report on long overdue improvements to the criminal justice system, to support survivors of domestic abuse.
“Woman’s Trust is one of the specialist ‘by and for’ services referred to in this report; and we have heard from thousands of women over the years whose domestic abuse has been compounded, not improved, by their experience of the criminal justice system.
“For domestic abuse survivors, from the initial response and through every delay, their interactions with criminal justice agencies, the protracted process, the lack of available support, the waiting – this all allows space for greater coercive control and manipulation by perpetrators who often use the justice system to further traumatise their partners or ex-partners.
“The cumulative impact on women’s mental health and emotional wellbeing, their trauma, their ability to work and to rebuild their lives cannot be understated.
“We call on the Government to make an explicit commitment to provide free, confidential and specialist counselling and mental healthcare to survivors throughout their journey with the criminal justice system – and after, if they need it.
“We look forward to working with the Commissioner as she firms up her final recommendations for the government.”
You can read the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s full briefing here: briefing
