Civil and Criminal Remedies for Domestic Violence in England and Wales

Assignment One – Proposal template
1. Title
Domestic violence in England and Wales
2. Topic chosen
Civil and Criminal Remedies for sufferers of Domestic Violence in England and Wales
3. Specific focus
Maximum penalty for domestic violence in civil and criminal law in England and Wales and
the case study will discuss about the punishment provisions in both civil as well as criminal
law.
4. Contemporary concern
The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) provides an estimation of the male and
female victims of domestic violence which include threats, force, physical abuse, sexual
assault, stalking and such others. It has been estimated that 7.3% i.e. around 1.2 million
women and 713,000 men have suffered domestic violence in the year 2017.1 The domestic
violence accounts for 8% of the total crime, 33% of assault with injury and 49% of the total
recorded crimes related to harassment.
Despite civil and criminal provisions for severe punishments to the offenders, the crime rate
is not reduced to a commendable extent. In spite of the efforts being made by the
government, by launching various legislative proposals, the rate of domestic violence is still
not under control.2
5. Comparison
In this context, England and Wales will be compared with the legal provisions in the US
regarding domestic violence. It has become a contemporary concern in both the countries in
spite of lots of efforts being taken by both the countries in this regard.
6. Nature and extent
The problem of domestic violence is a serious concern in both the countries as, along with
victims their whole families and children get disturbed because of the violence.The civil and
criminal remedies are in existence for sufferers of domestic violence. In England and Wales,
section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 criminalizes the forms of intimidating conduct
wherein, they are committed against close partner or family member. Despite such
legislations, 82 women and 13 men were killed by a partner or former partner in 2016-17 in
England and Wales. The cases remain unreported to the police because of various reasons
such a fear among victims for not being believed, no place to go, intimidation and such
others.
1Anicca W-Fowler, 'Domestic Abuse Statistics' (Lwa.org.uk, 2018)
<https://www.lwa.org.uk/understanding-abuse/statistics.htm> accessed 8 December 2018.
2Pat Strickland and Grahame Allen, 'Domestic Violence in England and Wales'
(Researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk, 2018)
<http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06337/SN06337.pdf> accessed 7
December 2018.

The criminal offences applied to this range include rape, murder and manslaughter through
assault and threatening behaviour. In a similar manner, civil procedures include non-
molestation orders, domestic violence protection orders and occupation orders. Furthermore,
the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 provides civil as well as criminal remedies which
include non-harassment and preventive orders.3
According to the British Crime Survey Statistical Bulletin, 1 in 4 females and 1 in 6 males are
affected in their lifetime, which accounts for 16% of all the violent crimes; however, such a
violent crime is still least reported to the police. It has also been assessed that domestic
violence prices for £23 billion every year, which include costs to the justice system, to
healthcare, social maintenance and to housing.4
From the point of view of National Statistics Domestic Violence fact sheet, around 20
peopleare substantially abused by their intimate companion in the US every minute, which
becomes around 10 million people including males as well as females in a year. The range
of domestic violence includes rape, murder, children and domestic violence, economic
impact, physical and mental impact. However, in US, the violence against women is focused
more upon and there is an office on Violence against Women that does not provide services
directly to general public but, there is national hotline numbers, which can be accessed in
the situation of emergency. In US, the domestic and family violence laws of the jurisdiction
provide protection against domestic violence.5
7. Explanations
As rape, assault and cruelty is various forms of violence against women along with domestic
violence, and the common elements of violence against females are gender and power. The
feminist theorists believe in feminism which means a movement for complete equality
between males and females per day. Another is individualist approach wherein, problem is
located within the individual understood from the point of view of individual preferences,
features, interests and many more. Neo-Darwinism, Machismo cultures & approval of male
violence, Battered women’s syndrome or learned vulnerability approach has been developed
as a feminist explanation to assist females to recognise the changing aspects and influence
of domestic violence.6 This theory is considered as reductionist and vulnerable to be
misused because it does not comprisesensible social, cultural and economic preferences
which might lead to the judgment of the victim to stayin relationship with their culprits.
Women-blaming explanations usually rely on supposition of gendered roles prospects of
improper behaviours of female in performing her duties towards family and husband. The
propensity to blame the sufferer has strongly predisposedthe way of psychological analysis,
which led the researchers to search for the clarification for doer of violence to become a
victim.Another theory known as Male pathologies, consider domestic violence as the deviant
3National Organization for Women, 'Violence against Women in the United States: Statistics'
(Now.org, 2018) <https://now.org/resource/violence-against-women-in-the-united-states-statistic/>
accessed 7 December 2018.
4U.S. Department of Justice, 'Domestic Violence' (Justice.gov, 2018)
<https://www.justice.gov/ovw/domestic-violence> accessed 8 December 2018.
5National Organization for Women, 'Violence against Women in the United States: Statistics'
(Now.org, 2018) <https://now.org/resource/violence-against-women-in-the-united-states-statistic/>
accessed 7 December 2018.
6Government of Scotland, 'Theories Used to Explain Male Violence against Women Partners and Ex-
Partners' (The Scottish Government, 2006) <https://www2.gov.scot/resource/doc/925/0063072.pdf>
accessed 7 December 2018.