Is ‘Clare’s Law’ the Answer to Preventing Domestic Abuse in the UK?

This week, the news has been full of praise for "Clare's Law", also known as the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme. The system is named after Clare Wood, who died in 2009 after being strangled and set on fire by her ex-partner – a man whose history of violence against women she was completely unaware of.

The eponymous scheme aims to curb tragedies like this, allowing both men and women to request information as to whether their partner has a recorded history of domestic violence. The Press Association now report that there have been over 3,700 applications, resulting in over 1,300 disclosures since the scheme launched nationwide in March last year.

Clare's Law potentially saves lives, but national domestic violence charity Refuge are concerned that it's not a long-term solution to a problem endemic in our culture.

"Clare's Law sounds good on paper, but in reality it will do very little to help the hundreds of thousands of women and children who experience domestic violence in this country," says Sandra Horley CBE, the chief executive of Refuge. "Domestic violence is also chronically under-reported, with only 23 percent of victims reporting their experiences to the police. This means that the vast majority of perpetrators are never known to the police. If a woman inquires about her partner under the new disclosure scheme, she may be told that he has no history of violence; she may then believe that she is safe, but this does not necessarily mean that she will be safe – possibly quite the reverse."

One in four women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. If it hasn't happened to you, it may well have happened to someone you know, since domestic violence transcends race, gender, class and religion. We know it's a problem in this country when educators pick up on children as young as five saying things like, "Just hit your mum – what's wrong with that?"

This is exactly what Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson, the head teacher of Anderton Park School in Birmingham, has overheard in the playground. Sarah is well-known in the community for her work fighting against sexism and homophobia. In the West Midlands, 10 percent of all recorded crime takes place within the home.

"Children know it's not right to hurt anyone, but they occasionally tell us that adults are mean to other adults in their homes and treat them unkindly," Sarah tells me. "Domestic violence has always happened. I've been a teacher for 22 years and it's happened in all schools where I've taught. I believe, however, attitudes towards women are getting worse."

Although a new law combating domestic violence – especially one as heavily reported as Clare's Law – is a step in the right direction, and helps to prevent individual cases, Sarah believes that negative attitudes towards women are a symptom of wider social issues. "I want to be very strong on gender equality in school," she says. "Clear messages that girls are equal to boys. Challenge stereotypical behaviour and attitudes, and do not accept sexist comments.

"We have learned that subtleties of language are really important. I'd like to see more messages that portray boys and girls as equal, that nothing is necessarily a 'man's job' or a 'woman's job', and that both children and adults have choices.

"Violence is unacceptable. Aggressive dominance is unacceptable. Women who are strong should not be described using male adjectives like 'ballsy'. Strong women are strong, just as strong men are strong. They are not 'bossy', 'feisty' and do not 'have balls' – they are strong women."

Sadly, schools aren't the only places where inequality and violence are seen as the norm. Misogynistic language and behaviour are still common in most social domains, with systemic state failures costing women their lives on a regular basis. Sandra Horley sees these issues daily through her work at Refuge.

"Refuge supports 3,000 women and children experiencing domestic violence on any given day," she tells me. "In many of these cases there has been evidence of shocking failures on the part of the police and other state agencies.

"The list of ways in which women are failed by the police is alarmingly long. Negative attitudes are rife: all too often, abused women are met with apathy, disbelief and outright hostility from officers. The recent case of two West Midlands officers caught on tape allegedly calling a victim of domestic violence a 'f***ing bitch' and 'slag' offered a shocking insight into this 'canteen culture'."

The investigation into the police officers has been ongoing since February of last year, and has only just reached the Crown Prosecution Service.

"Failure to properly investigate reports, collect evidence or arrest the perpetrator is also common," says Sandra. Risk assessment is patchy and, all too often, police officers fail to take proper action to keep women and children safe from violent men – even after they have been assessed as being at high risk. All this begs the question: how can a new disclosure scheme be a priority when the police cannot even get the basics right?

"What will happen if a woman is told that her partner does have a history of violence? Will she be expected to pack her bags and leave straight away? We know that it isn't that simple. Leaving a violent partner is an incredibly difficult step to take. It is also extremely dangerous – women are at greatest risk of homicide at the point of separation or after leaving a violent partner. And if women do leave, where are they supposed to go? Refuges are closing up and down the country because of huge funding cuts."

And so the merry-go-round keeps spinning.

What's needed more than anything are changes in education that would help to fight gender discrimination (of all genders) from a young age. Will things change in our lifetime? It's a tough call to make. For now, the best we can do is to keep on looking out for each other.

If you, or someone you know, is experiencing domestic violence, you are not alone. Contact www.refuge.org.uk for support or advice on helping a friend or family member.

@mysticm3g

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